Cabbage belongs to cruciferous crops. It has several varieties. For storage in winter, cabbage of medium late and late varieties is used. It is a cold-resistant plant, little susceptible to diseases and pests.
A bit of history
Cultivated cabbage began long ago, during the Stone Age. This is evidenced by archaeological excavations. The culture owes its appearance to leaf forms. She first appeared in Rome. Merchants brought cabbage to our country. Already in the 16th century, she was present in the list of dishes of Russians.
Harvesting cabbage for storage
Medium-late and late varieties of cabbage are suitable for winter storage . Their cleaning occurs in mid-October, when the air temperature during the day will not be higher than 5 degrees, and at night it will drop to zero. When to store cabbage for storage? For this, a dry, dry October day is better. You should not wait for the onset of stable frosts when the thermometer drops four degrees below zero. Cabbage can freeze and winter storage cannot be tolerated.
But do not rush. When you will store cabbage for storage ahead of schedule, do not lower it directly into the cellar. First you need to cool or ventilate it well in a draft. Note: cabbage, which ripens in the later stages, is appreciated for its high sugar content.
Winter cabbage storage
Usually, cabbage is lowered into the cellar, basement or cool pantry for winter storage. Before laying vegetables, the room is well ventilated and disinfected. For this, walls, drawers, shelving and the ceiling are whitewashed and fumigated with sulfur.
At what temperature should cabbage be stored? The optimum is considered to be from -1 o C to +1 o C with a relative humidity of 90-98%. Compliance with the temperature regime is a prerequisite for the storage of any vegetables, including cabbage. For the winter, strong, elastic, medium-sized heads of cabbage are laid.
Do not store large cabbage, it cracks. Small also does not fit - it dries quickly. Stumps and 4-5 cover leaves are left on the heads of cabbage. When harvesting cabbage for the winter, you should not mix its varieties in order to prevent the formation of a center of rot. Periodically looking at vegetables, unhealthy heads of cabbage are removed. Places where they were placed for the winter are treated with lime.
Storage methods
- Large plastic bags are suitable for storage. Loaded with cabbage, they are placed on the floor of the cellar. You do not need to tie them.
- Many housewives store cabbage, wrapping each head of cabbage with a newspaper. From time to time, cabbage is scanned, dry top leaves and the old newspaper are removed. Heads of cabbage are stacked on shelves without touching each other.
- The easiest way: cabbage is stacked in a cellar on straw, bricks or boards in a row and upwards with stitches.
- When you are going to clean the cabbage for storage, you can dig it out with the root. A loop is attached to it, for which a head of cabbage is hung from the ceiling of the cellar.
- If you lower the stalk in the sand, the vegetable will not deteriorate.
- Cabbage is well preserved if it is placed in earthen grooves with stitches upwards and sprinkled with lime. So it will not be damaged by rot. Laying in the grooves is done before the onset of frost. With their arrival, vegetables should be covered with leaves and straw.
- You can roll cabbage in paraffin or liquid clay. Drying, these mixtures form a film, and the head will not be damaged by rot.
- When you will keep the late cabbage for storage, you can wrap the heads of cabbage with cling film, release air, bandage it and hang it on the ceiling. With this method, vegetables do not absorb moisture and are not damaged.
Harvesting cabbage from the garden
When to remove cabbage from the garden? If you have decided which day you will harvest the cabbage, pour plenty of water in the early morning. During the day, it will moisten the soil well, and in the evening you can remove the heads of cabbage from the garden by digging with the root. You can cut the cabbage with a sharp knife, leaving a small stump.
Heads of cabbage should be strong, leaves bright with shine. When to remove cabbage from the garden for further Will be long-term storage, please note that it should not have cracks, stains and rotten leaves. During harvesting, 4-5 extreme leaves are left on the head, which will protect the vegetable from disease, damage and drying.
Pests and the fight against them
Before you think about when to put the cabbage in storage, you need to grow healthy, strong heads of cabbage. To achieve a good crop, care should be taken to protect it from pests. Some of them need to be introduced.
- Fleas are small bugs with black stripes. Their favorite treat is the leaves of cabbage, on which they gnaw holes. To combat this pest, lime, ash or tobacco dust is used. They sprinkle with leaves. You can smoke plants with smoke. To do this, just burn the garden garbage. If all else fails, chemical agents should be used: Hexachloran or sodium silicofluoride solution.
- Cabbage white and cabbage scoop damage the underside of the leaf. Pests lay eggs, which in a week turn into caterpillars. They completely eat all the leaves and bite into the head of cabbage. With these pests you need to fight mercilessly, otherwise you can not wait for the cabbage harvest. The caterpillars should be collected and burned, and the eggs crushed on the leaves. After this, chemical agents are used, plants are sprayed with them. But this can only be done before the head of cabbage.
- Cabbage fly is the most dangerous pest of this crop. Lays eggs on the ground, next to the plant. In a week, a huge number of larvae appear from them, which feed on the roots, damaging them. The fight against this pest begins with the destruction of egg laying. To do this, the earth around the cabbage is sprayed with the Hexachloran preparation with a frequency of 6-8 days. Can be used to powder naphthalene or tobacco dust. So that the larvae do not appear on the roots, you need to hob and fertilize the plant. So the upper tier of roots is formed more quickly.
Beneficial features
The benefits of cabbage and its nutritional value are undeniable. It contains a large number of vitamins, minerals and proteins, which are well absorbed and of high quality. Cabbage is rich in vitamin C. It is several times more than in lemons and oranges, beets and carrots, garlic and onions.
The content of tartranic acid allows you to use the vegetable in various diets to reduce weight. Fiber cabbage lowers cholesterol and blood sugar. Raw, fried, stewed, pickled, canned, pickled and dried cabbage is used. This vegetable is indispensable in the kitchen of every housewife.