There are secrets to growing cabbage seedlings and planting them. A modern table is unthinkable without it. If you want to grow cabbage seedlings yourself at home, then first of all you need to think about seeds, about those varieties that will provide you with the result that will satisfy your wishes. But on the one hand, many gardeners have problems with seedlings of cabbage. On the other hand, there is nothing special and difficult. How to plant cabbage for seedlings?
The choice of variety for growing cabbage seedlings
The varieties of this vegetable are innumerable. There is super-early cabbage, which is already ripening by the end of June, forming tight, juicy heads of cabbage, there are varieties ripening in the middle of summer, and there are varieties that are harvested only at the end of October - they are intended for late storage.
In addition to white cabbage, there is cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Peking, red cabbage, Savoy, broccoli, kohlrabi, and decorative. The choice of variety and species depends on your needs.
First of all, answer very important questions before buying seeds:
- you want to use cabbage only in the summer, make vitamin salads from it, for example;
- you want to ferment it;
- or maybe you have a basement or other storage where you want to keep it until the new crop.
Sowing cabbage seeds for seedlings
The technology for growing cabbage seedlings is the same for any species. Its seeds resemble radish seeds, yet they belong to the same cruciferous family, but a little smaller.
Cabbage is grown mainly through seedlings. This is an extremely cold-loving, photophilous plant. Often asked about growing cabbage seedlings at home.
And now - the most important thing. You can sow seeds at home, but, you know, the home microclimate for her is absolute nonsense. She simply will not be able to live in such a microclimate. The maximum that she can do at home is to climb, but she will immediately creep in, the color will turn pale green, then yellow, and then it will disappear. Therefore, cabbage seedlings cannot be grown at home. But, if you have a cold veranda, a glazed balcony without heating, then something will happen. For her, cold and light are important.
Therefore, cabbage seedlings need to be grown, roughly speaking, almost on the street. It is necessary to make the so-called cold nursery. How to make it? Very simple.
You take an ordinary box, you can even use a balcony for flowers.
Fill it with soil. Soak, warm cabbage seeds do not need. You can sow them in rows, but you can scatter. This is not so important. It is important that after sowing, lightly sprinkle the seeds with earth, trample lightly and be sure to water abundantly from above. Cabbage is a water-loving plant, so there will be no harm from abundant watering.
This box with sown seeds cannot be left at home. It is necessary to bring it to the country or take it to the garden.If you still have snow, then scoop it up, put a box with sown seeds on cold ground. The place should be open, warmed by the sun. Install arcs from above, pull the film. This is how your nursery will stand until emergence. Shoots will appear in ten to twelve days.
If you have already installed a greenhouse, then bring the nursery inside, additional arcs with a film will no longer be needed. An additional greenhouse will need to be done only for seedlings of cauliflower, as it is afraid of frost. But white-headed, Brussels, Savoy, and others do not need additional shelter; they tolerate frosts down to -5 ° С.
If you have a stationary greenhouse, for example, glass, then the seeds can be sown simply in the soil of the greenhouse without any nursery, since the earth there is very well warmed up by the sun in early spring.
So, a cold nursery is the main secret of obtaining a good harvest of cabbage.
How to care for cabbage seedlings
After a while (10-12 days) in your cold nursery you will see such a picture - a forest of seedlings.
Cabbage has very few seeds do not have germination. Do not be afraid that your seeds have sprouted so often. This is normal. It tolerates thickening to a certain stage - until the appearance of the 3-4th sheet. Up to this point, you do not need to do anything with seedlings - just make sure that the earth does not dry out, periodically water it. Remember that if the street is + 5 ° C, then in the greenhouse it can be + 20 ° C, and this can cause overdrying of the soil.
Of course, at this stage you can already notice that some plants are stronger, taller, stronger. Most likely, these are those that will be planted in the garden. But so far they are all in equal conditions.You can leave everything as it is and wait for the 3-4th leaf to appear. Or you can carefully transplant part of the plants from the nursery together with a lump of earth into a separate pot. If the seedlings are 1-2 real leaves, then you can transplant several plants at once into a separate pot. And if more, then immediately plant in a separate cup.
Cabbage loves top dressing with organic fertilizers, but it is better not to use fertilizers before planting.
This plant has a very interesting feature - it is better to transplant it into the soil earlier, with the full presence of 1-2 real leaves, when the 3-4th leaves just appear. Well, as a last resort, when the 3-4th leaves have already grown, but not later. Since at the same time you can’t get large, beautiful heads of cabbage, let them ripen later. This pattern has long been noticed, but why it turns out is a mystery. Apparently, this is due to the energy of the environment.
Usually cabbage seedlings are planted in open ground 30 days after emergence.
That's about the size of the plants should be before planting.
I do not thin out the sprouts of cabbage in the nursery. Let it grow densely. When planting in the ground, you discard weak seedlings, choose strong, strong, beautiful.
When you take cabbage seedlings from a pot or nursery, you will plant it in the right way - at certain distances. Plants of varying degrees of development will quickly level out and catch up with each other. Even if some plants were oppressed, they will recover quickly. For cabbage, the earliest period of development is not the main one, for it is important what will happen in the garden after planting.
Observing these simple recommendations for growing cabbage seedlings, the harvest will always be great!