Many love cabbage, but not everyone succeeds in growing it. The reasons here are different: the absence of hotbeds, the inability to grow seedlings at home, many pests and ailments and the inability to deal with them, weather conditions, the high cost of chemicals. But you can grow cabbage. Planting early cabbage in open ground will correct the situation. This method is perfect for growing white cabbage or Peking cabbage, kohlrabi and broccoli.
Methods and terms for planting early cabbage in open ground
For growing such a beloved, wonderful, amazing culture as ordinary cabbage, seedling-free and seedling methods of planting are used. The planting of early cabbage in the soil by the seedling method is used to obtain an early harvest. Below are the dates for planting seeds of different types of cabbage for seedlings.
1. Seeds of early and hybrid varieties of white and cauliflower - 10.03-25.03. This time is good for planting red-headed varieties.
2. Mid-season and late white-headed - 5.04-15.04.
3. Kohlrabi - 10.03-30.03.
4. Broccoli, cauliflower - 03.15-25.03.
5. Brussels, Savoy 15.03-10.04.
Early cabbage is not used for pickling and storage. Harvested 100-120 days after sowing. Early varieties are frost-resistant, withstand spring frosts, but crack.
Landing early cabbage in open ground is not possible in all regions. And the timing largely depends on geographical latitude.
Planting early cabbage in the ground: preparing seeds
Processing all kinds of cabbage seeds for planting is exactly the same. Pour seeds of a separate variety on gauze, folded 3-4 times. For disinfection, put gauze with seeds for 20 minutes in warm water, then for 3 minutes in cold water. Then, together with gauze for a day, leave on a plate (room temperature). The gauze should be a little wet. Then the already swollen seeds are kept for hardening for another day in the refrigerator (only not near the freezer). Next, the seeds need to be dried and sown. The quality of the land is important. Soil “random” - garden soil, susceptible to fungal diseases, extremely dangerous for shoots, will not work. It is necessary to purchase soil for cabbage seedlings. He is calcined for about 15 minutes in the oven. The calcination temperature is 200 ° C.
Seedling boxes are washed with soap, preferably household, and the cooled soil is poured into them. Make a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and fill it with earth. Seeds are sown on the surface and sprinkled with the remaining soil for 1cm. Boxes are covered with polyethylene, placed in a moderately warm room.
Growing seedlings
It is important not to miss the appearance of sprouts. As soon as the first “hooks” appear from the ground, it is necessary to determine the boxes on the windowsills, on the glazed loggias or balcony, at a temperature of about 12 ° C. So that the seedlings are strong, you must not allow the shoots to stretch. It is required to observe the optimum temperature, watering mode. At the first shoots, the boxes are taken out to a bright place, but where the temperature does not exceed 17 ° C, otherwise the sprouts will stretch. Humidity and excessive humidity, when it occurs, the roots are pulled and rotted, and it is also possible to become infected with a “black leg”.
If suddenly the stem from below becomes thinner and blackens, then the seedlings have a “black leg”. Such a stalk is removed, and the rest are transplanted into another soil. You can save a diseased sprout if you cultivate the earth around with a solution of potassium permanganate, and then fill it with ash and stop watering.
Dive
Shoots are transplanted into seedlings 20 days after germination. Using a small spatula or spoon, taking care, the plant is removed with a lump of soil, transplanted into a glass, occupied by 2/3 of the moist earth. Next, the stem is covered with moist soil on cotyledon leaves. To sprouts have taken root, the glasses are placed in a bright place where there is no direct sunlight. For survival under these conditions, seedlings will need 3 days. After that, it is put in a place where the temperature is 10-14 ° C.
Planting seedlings of early cabbage in the open ground
Cabbage will grow well where garlic, legumes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes grew before it.
The timing of planting early cabbage in the soil on the bed - 04.25-5.05, depending on the weather. Before that, cruciferous plants - radish, turnip, watercress, turnip, radish, rutabaga, should not have grown on this land for more than three to four years.
Planting seedlings of early cabbage in the soil is as follows.
The soil is dug up, loosened by a rake, a "nest" is made into a shovel, into which are placed: 2 handfuls of humus, one handful of peat, wood ash, sand. All this is mixed and filled with water. The root of the seedlings is lowered into the hole in the first pair of real leaves, and everything is covered with dry earth.
In sunny weather, plants necessarily shade. This is done using wide leaves of burdock, grapes or newspapers.
Every evening, seedlings are watered, very carefully, from a watering can. After 7 days, the shading is removed. It is left only in case of alleged frosts.
About reckless way
Planting early cabbage in the open ground begins in mid-May. Peking cabbage and kohlrabi have quick shoots, they can be sown until July. With this method, the seeds immediately acquire the status quo in the garden.
Planting early cabbage in the soil with seeds is as follows.
The soil is cultivated in the fall. Then dolomite flour is introduced into the soil , it gives the cabbage grace in taste, reduces the acidity of the earth, moreover, it is harmless.
After the snow melts, the earth is poured with boiling water and covered with polyethylene for a couple of days - the soil is thawing. Then they dig up the soil and make grooves in it (no deeper than one centimeter). The distance between them is 20 cm. Furrows are watered with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate, and prepared seeds are sown in them.
If the soil is poor in nutrients, the beds are fertilized. Usually make a mixture of peat or humus.
With increased acidity of the soil, in order to avoid plant diseases of the keel, the area is lime, the soil ph should be neutral.
Small arcs are installed above the crops, which are covered with dense polyethylene. With the onset of heat, it opens slightly. You can cover plants with plastic scraps of bottles or glass jars. After 30 days, the seedlings are planted on the beds.
We care for plants
After the early cabbage has been planted in the ground, it needs good watering and plenty of moisture. If the weather is dry and hot, then watering is done every other day. If it is cloudy, watered no more than 1 time in 5 days. Watering is done in the evening.
Loosening is better combined with hilling. Peat is added for the best result , this is a wonderful mulching product, it drowns out weed growth, nourishes the plant, and retains moisture.
We destroy pests
To destroy harmful cruciferous fleas appearing in dry weather, dusting with sifted ash will help cabbage.
Slugs are the main enemies of cabbage with dampness. They are fought with folk and chemical means. Excellent products - ground pepper or dry mustard, they dust the soil around the cabbage. Chemical slug repellents are powerful but unsafe. The slugs are collected manually, and then burned. Good protection comes from the top of large plastic bottles.
Cabbage butterfly likes to lay off the larva in this plant. It is better to plant seedlings as early as possible, when the butterfly has not yet flown out. Folk remedies - stepchildren of tomatoes, arranged between rows, and an infusion, which is prepared as follows: 10 grams are mixed in a liter of water. mustard powder. The solution is infused for a couple of days, diluted with water 1: 5. Cabbage is also sprayed with such a liquid.