Recommendations For Growing Chinese Cabbage

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Brassica pekinensis is not a salad

In recent years, there has been a crop on the market, sold by some traders under the name "Chinese salad". In reality, this plant is Peking cabbage. I think that passing cabbage for a salad is as stupid as a catnip for lemon balm.

Apparently, they decided to call this culture a salad because of some similarity in the shape and nature of the arrangement of the leaves with a real salad. Although the leaves of real lettuce are smoother. But after all, a real salad is not a close relative of cabbage, as it belongs to the Asteraceae (Compositae) family, while Peking and Chinese cabbage are East Asian species of the cabbage genus - a cruciferous culture, especially since even the family has recently been called "cabbage" …

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Best for worst

The main absurdity of selling cabbage as a salad is that Peking cabbage is more valuable in terms of nutritional, and for some, taste, properties. For example, in terms of vitamin C content, Chinese cabbage is twice as great as lettuce. In addition, it has dietary and medicinal properties. In addition, it is considered more nutritious than the white cabbage we are used to. That is, a more useful plant is sold, passing off as a less valuable one, here it turns out to some extent anti-advertising.

Tips for those wishing to grow Peking

less demanding on the fertility of the soil in comparison with head and color. This type of cabbage is very early ripening - as a leaf crop, it is ready in 30-40 days, and usually 50-60 days are enough for the formation of heads. Because of this, there are early spring and late summer sowing dates for her. Sowing time in early spring depends on what kind of soil you are sowing. For spring sowing in a greenhouse - this is the beginning and middle of April, in open ground - from late April to early May.

Late in the spring sowing date often leads to shooting. After July 15, daylight hours become relatively short, this allows those who are engaged in the cultivation of this crop to get at least a leafy variety or hybrid in the fall. Therefore, for gardeners, the best growing method is considered to be seedling, which is desirable for leafy forms, and obligatory for head plants.

Seeds should be sown in furrows, the distance between which is 5-10 (preferably 7-8) cm to a depth of 0.5 to 1.5 cm. In the phase of formation of the first true leaf of the plant, it is recommended to thin out, so that there are 3- 4 cm. In the phase of 2-3 true leaves, seedlings can be planted on prepared beds. By the way, it is enough to introduce organic matter under the predecessor of cabbage, for example, a culture from the pumpkin family.

Moreover, if the soil is acidic, then lime should be added along with organic matter. Row spacing is best done with a width of 40-50 cm, and the distance between plants depends on the form in which you want to eat it. If as a salad culture (obtaining leaves), then 15 cm is enough, for growing heads of cabbage - 30-40 cm. If this or that scheme does not suit you, choose it for yourself, taking into account the fertility of the soil: the lower the fertility, the larger the area should be power supply and vice versa.

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Sowing in the ground

If it is necessary to sow seeds directly into the ground, experts recommend a square-nested sowing: 4-5 seeds need to be planted in each nest, leaving 35-40 cm inside and between the rows. When the seeds sprout, the seedlings will need to be thinned out, leaving at first two, and then one of the most developed plants.

Cabbage care

12-15 days after planting in the garden, it is advisable to feed the plants with manure infusion or nitrogen and potassium (10 g / 10 l of potassium sulfate) mineral fertilizers, but nitrogen should still prevail. They usually feed several times. Some amateur vegetable growers recommend increasing the dose of nitrogen fertilizer by 10 g (in terms of ammonium nitrate) with each feeding, bringing it to 50 g. In fact, such high doses of fertilizer containing nitrate nitrogen are ecologically dangerous.

Firstly, a concentration of nitrates that is unacceptable for humans is created in plants, and secondly, against the background of increased nitrogen nutrition, the susceptibility of plants to diseases increases, thirdly, humus is destroyed, useful microflora is suppressed, and a chemical burn of the roots is possible. Therefore, the amount and type of fertilization should depend on the initial level of soil fertility and weather conditions.

For example, a relatively high dose of nitrogen may be required after heavy or prolonged rains and on slightly humid soils. In these cases, it is better to use urea for application as a mild and at the same time concentrated fertilizer. One tablespoon for 8-10 liters is enough. This volume is best distributed over about 2.5 square meters. In the case of prolonged rainy weather, it is more expedient to take ammonium sulfate as a nitrogen fertilizer, since its ions are bound by the soil and, to a lesser extent, are washed out from the root layer of the soil.

In order to prolong the consumption of Peking cabbage in the fall, experts recommend digging up the plants with the roots, transferring them to a greenhouse or basement and, laying them tightly to each other, cover the roots with moist soil, then water it.

This type of cabbage is not stored for a long time, but it can be used for cooking cabbage soup and cabbage rolls, moreover, it can be stewed, salted, fermented and pickled.