by After cutting early cabbage, we often rush to pull out the stalks in order to sow greens or green manure in this place faster. But if you do not rush to clean up the garden, but leave the plants to vegetate, then before the onset of cold weather you can still manage to grow small, but fully formed heads of cabbage.
Many gardeners cut broccoli, kale, cauliflower and Savoy cabbage several times a season. But not everyone knows that early-ripening white cabbage can also please us with a second harvest.
How the second cabbage harvest is formed
Early cabbage ripens in late June – July, and mid-early cabbage ripens 2-3 weeks later. Formed heads of cabbage should not be left in the garden for a long time, as they are prone to cracking. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly inspect the plantings and harvest the crop in stages, as soon as the heads of cabbage become dense.
Early-ripening cabbage, which is intended for direct consumption, can be cut without the covering leaves. That is, the stalk with the lower leaves remains in the ground.
It is advisable to dust the cut with ash to prevent rotting in this area. And after a few weeks, new heads of cabbage will begin to form from the axillary buds.
One stalk can form 5-6 or more heads of cabbage. You need to leave one or two of the largest ones and remove the rest. Otherwise, the heads will be very small or will not have time to form at all before the cold weather sets in.
The fewer ovaries you leave, the larger the heads of cabbage will grow.
How to Care for Cabbage at the End of the Season
In order for the cabbage to please with a second harvest, it must be regularly watered and fed. Immediately after cutting the first head of cabbage, you can add a complex organomineral fertilizer that contains a full set of macro- and microelements: OMU Universal, Fasco Bio Vegetables, Fasco Cabbage, Fertika Universal-2, etc.
Cabbage is very responsive to the introduction of organic fertilizers. During the growing season, it is advisable to use liquid fertilizers:
- Infusion of weeds: dandelion, nettle, horsetail, clover, quinoa, etc. The fermented infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the cabbage is watered at the root approximately once a week.
- Infusion of rotten grass. The mown grass is left in a pile in the sun for several days until it begins to “burn”, heating up to a temperature of 60-70°C. Then the armful of hot darkened grass is poured with 10 liters of water, infused for several hours and the plants are watered (1-2 liters per bush).
- Infusion of vermicompost or compost. The fertilizer is poured with water (1 kg per 10 l of water), infused for 6-10 hours and the cabbage is watered at the root on damp soil.
- Bird droppings infusion. 2 kg of manure are poured with 10 liters of water and infused for 3-5 days. After the solution darkens, it is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the fertilizer is applied between the rows after rain or watering.
In autumn, cabbage needs more potassium and phosphorus to form full heads. Therefore, at the end of the growing season, cabbage can be fed with an ash infusion (200 g per 10 water), a solution of potassium nitrate, a mixture of potassium sulfate and superphosphate, or another complex mineral fertilizer (Kristalon Orange, Agricola for cabbage, AgroMaster 3.11.38+4, etc.).
To prevent young heads of cabbage from becoming prey to pests (slugs, caterpillars, cruciferous flea beetles), dust the cabbage plantings with ash or a mixture of ash, tobacco dust and mustard powder. Spraying with an infusion of crushed garlic (150 g per 10 l of water) or onion peel (200 g per 10 l of water) will also help protect the crop from diseases and pests.
In the southern regions, you can get a second harvest of not only early white cabbage, but also mid-season cabbage, if you cut it in the summer. But the champion in terms of fruiting duration is still broccoli: inflorescences from lateral buds are formed until the frosts. Although frosts are not terrible for this cabbage. So it makes sense to grow different types of cabbage in the garden and not rush to harvest the stalks.
