by White cabbage is grown in almost every garden plot. This crop does not require greenhouse conditions and special care, and tolerates cold well. But to get strong, healthy heads of cabbage that can be stored for a long time, you need to know the basic rules of agricultural technology.
If you want to harvest cabbage throughout the season, it is advisable to plant cabbage of different ripening periods. Early cabbage with tender and juicy leaves is suitable for summer salads (Golden hectare, June, Cossack F1), for pickling and storage, mid-late and late cabbage should be used (Aggressor F1, Stone Head, Moscow Late etc.).
Once you have decided on the variety of white cabbage, you need to choose a suitable place for planting, prepare a bed, grow or buy strong seedlings and, of course, properly care for the crop throughout the summer. So, to get a good cabbage harvest, you need to follow 7 basic rules.
1. Prepare the garden bed correctly
Well-lit areas are suitable for planting cabbage – it will not be possible to grow large and dense heads of cabbage in shaded areas. The best predecessors of cabbage are vegetables that have been treated with organic and mineral fertilizers, wood ash. Cabbage of early varieties and hybrids is best grown after cucumbers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and carrots. Late-ripening cabbage can be planted after potatoes, root crops, legumes, cucumbers, squash, and cereal green manure.
Cabbage is returned to its previous location no earlier than after 4-5 years, so that pathogens do not accumulate in the soil, which causes a sharp drop in yield.
Cabbage grows well on fertile loamy soil that retains moisture well. Particular attention should be paid to the acidity of the soil – cabbage prefers neutral or slightly alkaline soil (pH 6,5-7,2). More acidic soil should be limed, otherwise the risk of cabbage being affected by clubroot increases, which most often develops on acidic soils.
If the soil pH is less than 6,5, it is necessary to add some lime fertilizer: chalk (250-350 g per 1 sq.m), dolomite flour (400-500 g per 1 sq.m) or wood ash (200-300 g per 1 sq.m). When adding lime, a long interval should be maintained between soil cultivation and planting – therefore, it is better to apply this fertilizer in the fall.
Cabbage is very responsive to the introduction of organic fertilizers. Therefore, when preparing a bed, add mature compost, biohumus or humus (5-7 kg per 1 sq.m). Organic fertilizers not only provide plants with all the necessary nutrients, but also improve the structure of the soil, increasing its air permeability.
2. Grow strong seedlings
In the middle zone, cabbage is usually sown for seedlings in March-April, depending on the variety. It should be taken into account that cabbage seeds germinate quite quickly: within two to three days. And as soon as the shoots appear, the containers must immediately be transferred to a well-lit, cool place, where the temperature does not rise above 10-12 ° C during the day, and is 6-8 ° C at night, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out and be weak. After a week, the temperature can be increased by 2-3 ° C.
Cabbage seedlings can be grown without picking: sow the seeds at once at a large distance in deep containers, cassettes or even in a greenhouse covered with film. But if the seeds were sown densely, then picking is indispensable – otherwise the seedlings will grow crooked and weak.
Cabbage picking is carried out after the appearance of 1-2 true leaves. Seedlings can be transplanted into separate pots, common boxes or into a bed in a hotbed or greenhouse. and best of all – into a hotbed covered with film. When transplanting, you need to ensure that the main root of the seedling does not bend upward, and deepen the seedling to the cotyledon leaves.
Cabbage seedlings develop quite quickly and require a large amount of nutrients. The first seedling feeding is carried out 7-10 days after picking or at the stage of 2-3 true leaves. For this, you can use an infusion of biohumus or a complex organomineral fertilizer: Krepych, Biofertilizer for seedlings Fasco, Good Power for seedlings, etc.
The second feeding of seedlings should be carried out 10-15 days after the first. For this, you can use complex fertilizers with a high phosphorus content (Kristalon Yellow, AgroMaster 13.40.13) or prepare a solution by mixing 30 g of superphosphate, 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 10 g of potassium sulfate in 10 liters of water. If the soil where the cabbage seedlings are growing contains a large amount of organic matter, two feedings will be enough.
3. Plant cabbage on time
Cabbage seedlings are planted in a permanent place approximately a month after picking, when the plants have 5-6 well-developed leaves. It is important not to delay transplanting, since overgrown seedlings take root worse. In the middle zone, early cabbage is planted in late April – early May, mid-season – throughout May, and late – in late May or even early June.
10-14 days before the expected date of transplanting to a permanent place, cabbage seedlings need to be hardened: take the containers outside or open the greenhouse to accustom the plants to bright sun and temperature changes. Hardening the seedlings makes it possible to obtain strong, stress-resistant plants that can quickly take root after transplanting and will be less susceptible to diseases.
To plant cabbage, make holes at a distance of 40-50 cm, add a handful of ash and a handful of vermiculite to each, then mix thoroughly with the soil and water generously. Plant the seedlings, trying not to disturb the earthen lump surrounding the roots.
Deepen the cabbage to the cotyledon leaves and press lightly in the root growth zone so that the bushes “sit” tightly in the ground. Try to plant cabbage in cloudy weather, because the seedlings do not react well to bright sun after transplantation.
For the first 3-4 days after planting the seedlings, protect the cabbage from bright sun and strong wind. To do this, you can cover the bed with agrotextile, leaving open ends for ventilation.
4. Water regularly
Cabbage is a moisture-loving crop, so it is necessary to ensure that the soil in the root zone is always moderately moist. In hot weather, water the cabbage every 2-3 days, and in cool weather – once every 5-7 days on light sandy soil and once every 10-12 days on heavier loamy or clay soil. To moisten the soil to a depth of 20-30 cm, one adult plant will need an average of 5 liters of water.
Do not allow the soil in the bed where the cabbage grows to dry out. Uneven soil moisture often leads to cracking of the heads of cabbage. To conserve moisture, water and weed less often, mulch the bed with hay, straw or rotted sawdust. Under a layer of mulch, the soil becomes loose and airy, beneficial microorganisms actively multiply in it, increasing soil fertility.
5. Make timely fertilization
If you want to get a good harvest of cabbage, do not forget to regularly feed the plants. In the first half of the growing season, you can use complex fertilizers that contain a large amount of nitrogen: Kristalon Special, Novofert Universal, Fertika Universal Spring-summer, AgroMaster 18:18:18, Agricola for cabbage, etc.
One of the most “favorite” summer fertilizers for cabbage is calcium nitrate. It contains about 15% nitrogen, 20-27% calcium, dissolves well in water and has an alkaline reaction. Calcium and nitrogen from the fertilizer are quickly absorbed by the root system, which allows cabbage to quickly develop and grow dense heads of cabbage.
During the season, root feeding of cabbage is carried out every 2-3 weeks, combining them with watering. It is advisable to apply both mineral and organic fertilizers. As organic fertilizer, you can use an infusion of nettle and other weeds, an infusion of rotted grass (fermented tea), an infusion of biohumus (vermichai). In the second half of the growing season, fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus are used: Kristalon Orange, AgroMaster 3:11:38+4, Fertika Lux, potassium monophosphate.
Ash is also great for fertilizing cabbage throughout the season. To fertilize, prepare an ash infusion: add 3 cups to 10 liters of warm water and leave for 1 hours. Water the cabbage with the ash infusion at the root, using liter for each plant.
After watering and fertilizing the cabbage, it is advisable to loosen the soil in the bed and hill it up. This will help the plants form a more powerful root system and prevent the head of cabbage from falling to the side, which can lead to rotting of the leaves. Cabbage varieties with a short stalk need to be hilled up once, and those with a higher stalk need to be hilled up 2-3 times.
6. Protect from diseases and pests
Cabbage often rots in the garden and suffers from bacterial diseases, gray and white rot. Therefore, during the entire growing season, use biofungicides based on hay bacillus, trichoderma (Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B, Gamair, Sporobacterin, etc.) to treat plants. For preventive treatment of cabbage throughout the summer, you can use the drug Albit, as well as folk remedies: infusion of garlic, onion peel, decoction of wormwood, yarrow.
Cabbage plantings should be inspected periodically to avoid the appearance of pests: cruciferous fleas, aphids, slugs, caterpillars. During the formation of heads and inflorescences, the use of chemicals is undesirable, so it is better to use bioinsecticides (BioKill, Fitoverm, Actofit). It is very useful to periodically dust the plants with wood ash and tobacco dust, as well as Tabazol or Tabagor. It is advisable to do this immediately after rain or dew.
To create additional protection against diseases and pests, plant plants that release phytoncides next to cabbage: garlic, calendula, nasturtium, marigolds, caraway, coriander.
7. Harvest on time
Early ripening cabbage is harvested selectively, as the heads form. It is advisable to cut mid-season cabbage before the long autumn rains, so that the heads do not crack. Late-ripening cabbage should be cut before constant frosts, when the air temperature drops to 5°C, and the lower integumentary leaves begin to turn yellow. If you harvest late-ripening cabbage too early, the heads will be unripe, loose and will not store well.
It is advisable to harvest cabbage in dry weather. The day before, you can remove yellowed and damaged lower leaves. It is better to cut off the heads of cabbage, leaving 3-4 cm of the stalk and several covering leaves. Heads of cabbage with damage and signs of disease are not suitable for storage, they should be processed in the near future.
It is recommended to dry dense and healthy heads of cabbage in a well-ventilated place for 1 hours after harvesting, and then store them in a cellar or other room where the temperature can be maintained at about °C during the cold season. Then the cabbage will be stored perfectly.
