Table of contents:

Rules For Growing Peking And Chinese Cabbage
Rules For Growing Peking And Chinese Cabbage

Video: Rules For Growing Peking And Chinese Cabbage

Video: Rules For Growing Peking And Chinese Cabbage
Video: How to Grow Chinese Cabbage - Napa Cabbage - TIPS Growing Cabbage From Seeds 2024, March
Anonim

Cabbage from the Middle Kingdom. Part 1

Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage

What do all gardeners dream of in early spring? Of course, about the first greens. In Russia, it is somehow accepted that ordinary lettuce acts as this first greenery. In principle, this culture is really early enough, but there are plants that are also good for salad (and not only for salad), but growing at the same time much faster.

In the spring, when every day counts, and you and I yearned for ordinary green salads, this fact becomes of paramount importance. You probably already guessed that I mean cabbage crops that are quite new to us: Peking cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. Pekinensis Rupr.) And Chinese cabbage.

Gardener's guide

Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

In fact, they have nothing to do with salads, although in spring they are sold in our stores under the guise of a salad. These are plants of the cruciferous family, but at the same time, young leaves of both cabbages will perfectly replace lettuce in the early spring period. And if you like it, then during the entire growing season.

Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage

Among the various types of cabbage grown in our summer cottages, Chinese and Peking cabbage are rare. It's a pity … These are one of the oldest vegetable plants were known in China as early as 5 thousand years BC, and to this day they are among the most revered vegetable crops in the countries of Southeast Asia. With proper agricultural technology, cabbages grow well on our Ural land.

And we must give them their due, they belong to very profitable crops: they grow quickly (the harvest can be started in early spring, when the seedlings of ordinary white cabbage have not yet been planted in the ground), are rather unpretentious, have high taste and are very useful (however, like all other cabbages). By the way, in the near future, according to the plans of the scientists of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Peking cabbage will be grown in space as well. And it was chosen precisely for its extraordinary early maturity and resistance to growing in conditions of a lack of light and oxygen.

Peking cabbage and Chinese cabbage are quite close. The Chinese one differs from the Peking one by the presence of a coarser petiole (sometimes petioles occupy 2/3 of the plant mass). Peking cabbage has more tender and juicy leaves than Chinese cabbage. In addition, the Peking cabbage eventually forms a loose head of cabbage, while the Chinese does not form such a head of cabbage, only a rosette of large and juicy leaves.

In Peking, young leaves, and petioles, and, of course, the head of cabbage itself are eaten. In Chinese cabbage, large and fleshy petioles are valued, although at a young age its leaves are well suited for salad. Both plants look quite impressive (provided, of course, if they are not "gnawed" by the ubiquitous flea). Chinese cabbage can be white petioled and green petioled. And the color of Peking cabbage leaves can vary from yellow to bright green.

Notice board

Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage

Young leaves of both types of cabbage are great for making salads and green sandwiches. And as the heads of cabbage form, they can be used for cabbage soup, stew for a side dish, cook stuffed cabbage (by the way, large and tender leaves of these cabbage rolls well without breaking; they do not need to be blanched, like the leaves of ordinary white cabbage), add to vegetable stews and okroshka etc.

National Chinese dumplings with Chinese cabbage are very tasty, juicy and economical (for this, finely chopped petioles are added to ordinary minced meat). Well, both cabbages are in harmony with pork.

It should be recognized that in the countries of Southeast Asia, Peking and Chinese cabbage is credited with special healing properties and is considered a source of vigor and longevity, and is consumed all year round. Very often, not only fresh, but also fermented (this exotic dish is called kimchi).

Solid advantages and not a single disadvantage!

So why are oriental cabbage valuable? First of all, as I mentioned above, they are extremely early ripening: the first harvest can be obtained 3-4 weeks after sowing the seeds. And in 40-60 days the heads of cabbage will ripen.

Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage

It is also quite important that the common cabbages in our area, primarily white and cauliflower, have green leaves that are practically not eaten raw. Although you can, of course, cook green cabbage soup in spring, for example, from leftover or rejected seedlings. But young leaves of Peking and Chinese cabbage completely replace lettuce leaves, and even surpass them in vitamin content. The leaves of both cabbage contain a lot of vitamins and minerals that we need so much, especially in early spring.

In addition, both cabbages are extraordinarily productive. From each square meter of area, you can get up to 4-5 kg of vitamin products.

It is also convenient that both cabbages for salad can be grown as seals in greenhouses and hotbeds. For example, for early summer use, I plant part of the plants along the outer side of the greenhouse, and cabbage does not interfere with cucumbers, tomatoes, or other greenhouse crops at all, if, of course, it is vigilantly monitored. And Peking cabbage is generally very friendly with cucumbers, exerting a beneficial effect on them, apparently, with its own phytoncides.

Planting both cabbages, if you do not plan to grow them to the stage of ripe heads of cabbage, can be very thick, and then pull out as needed through one plant. And it is best, of course, to sow oriental cabbage in several stages, thus providing yourself with fresh vitamin greens for a long time. If you decide to grow heads of cabbage, then open ground is preferable for this, and not a greenhouse or a greenhouse, because in a greenhouse, as a rule, heads of cabbage are formed looser, and there is usually no excess space there. Naturally, seedlings are planted in open ground, like other cabbages, and not seeds.

Green source of vitality and longevity

Korean scientists have found that in kimchi, sauerkraut (most often) or Chinese cabbage, the content of vitamins B1, B2, B12, PP does not decrease, but even increases in comparison with fresh products. In addition, the composition of the juice released during fermentation contains many different biologically active components. Due to the presence of lysine (an amino acid capable of dissolving foreign proteins that enter the bloodstream), oriental cabbage is considered a source of longevity. In addition, it increases the body's resistance to various diseases. So it is probably not for nothing that the old people in Korea, China and Japan are so vigorous and hardy.

In addition to the above vitamins, this exotic cabbage for us contains a lot of carotene, vitamin C (2 times more than in lettuce) and folic acid, as well as salts of potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and cobalt. A lot of protein, by the way, is 2 times more than in ordinary white cabbage. Therefore, both Peking and Chinese cabbage are useful for heart disease and stomach ulcers.

The presence of easily digestible fiber improves the motor function of the intestines, favorably affects the vital activity of the beneficial intestinal microflora and helps to eliminate cholesterol from the body.

Features of the cultivation of Peking and Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage

Although Peking and Chinese cabbage, in general, belong to very unpretentious crops, you still need to know about some of the features of their cultivation. Otherwise, instead of tasty and healthy cabbage, you can quickly provide yourself with a solid lot of cabbage peduncles. Therefore, I will dwell on some fundamental points.

1. This culture is very cold-resistant, it can withstand temperatures down to -5 ° C. Moreover, Chinese cabbage is considered more resistant to low temperatures, while Peking cabbage is more susceptible to the influence of cold. At the same time, the most favorable temperature for their development is 15 … 22 ° C. Higher temperatures have a negative effect on both the development of plants and their taste. Therefore, I only prefer early spring crops.

2. Very hygrophilous. Therefore, regular watering and mulching of the soil are required. The slightest drying out of the soil affects the quality and quantity of the crop - the leaves become less tasty and coarser. At the same time, cabbage does not tolerate waterlogging in principle and, as a rule, gets sick with a "black leg"

3. Both cabbages are short-day plants, and with a long day (15-17 hours) they immediately begin to bloom. In other words, the longer the night, the higher the yield. Therefore, in spring, in our conditions, it must have time to grow until the end of May, or later artificially regulate the length of the day. In order for the plants to receive less light, they are recommended to be covered with a light covering material. As a matter of fact, this is what you have to do in any case, because in early spring it is still very cold in greenhouses.

In the summer, it is also normal not to grow this cabbage without covering material because of the cruciferous flea, which prefers Beijing cabbage to all other cabbage varieties. As for the light, I have noticed more than once that in early spring, under two layers of covering material, the salad sometimes stretches out (it feels like it lacks light). Nothing of the sort happens with Peking cabbage and Chinese cabbage. They feel great.

Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage

4. Prefers neutral soils, although when grown on lettuce, it can also be planted on acidic soils. In the case of acidic soil, the cabbage will have time to gain a significant green mass even before being hit by the keel. But here you need to be vigilant. Diseased plants first become lethargic and then die. Naturally, the taste spoils instantly. Therefore, when planting on acidic soils, you need to have time to harvest before the mass defeat of the disease. This is quite possible if your goal is just to provide yourself with early spring greens.

5. Prefers fertile soils. Of course, in this regard, Peking and Chinese cabbage are not as "capricious" as cauliflower or Brussels sprouts, but poor soils are still undesirable for them. The tendency of these types of cabbage to flowering on poor organic soils increases significantly.

6. Requires increased doses of nitrogen fertilizers.

7. Plants are resistant to shading (unlike all other cabbage), however, for the normal formation of heads of cabbage, a sufficient amount of light is still required. At the same time, plants used for salad may well be content with partial shade.

Read the second part: Varieties of Peking, Chinese and Japanese cabbage →

Recommended: