Even the most unpretentious plant requires an elementary knowledge of agricultural technology. And such a vegetable as cabbage, planting and care in the open ground, which does not need much effort, deserves attention. Timely planting in compliance with all the rules, painstaking care - this is the key to successful cultivation of white cabbage in the garden. Let's consider in detail how to get a decent harvest.
Planting cabbage
There are some factors that need to be considered. How to plant cabbage in the open ground:
- White cabbage like moist soil, a place to grow should be chosen somewhere in the lowland.
- Cabbage needs light, the landing site must be sunny.
- She has a huge number of pests, so you can not reap cabbage on the same bed in a couple of years.
Before landing, it is worthwhile to prepare the soil properly. In September, the land should be thoroughly digged, leaving the ground to the maximum uneven, to ensure the cabbage more moisture. In the spring, the dried up earth is carefully leveled with the help of rakes. Then cabbage, planting and care in the open ground are planted behind which is described in detail below.
How to plant cabbage in the open ground seedlings?
Seedlings suitable for planting are considered only when it has 5-7 leaves, and its height is 12-20 cm for the earliest varieties of white cabbage, 4-6 leaves and 15-20 cm for maturing in the medium and late periods. Cabbage planting in the open ground is done to a depth up to the first leaf, and you need to pay attention that the growth point when planting is not covered by soil. Planting seedlings of cabbage is necessary in the evening, or in cloudy weather, so that the bright rays of the sun do not damage the seedling.
Distance between cabbage seedlings in open ground
Thinking about how to plant cabbage in the open ground with seedlings, the first thing to consider is the size of the vegetable. If you know roughly what size the harvest will be, it's very easy to calculate the scheme - it's better to keep the distance between bushes in two supposed head diameters. The most common schemes, as cabbage sits, so that planting and care in the open ground turned out to be convenient, is 50х50 cm, 40х40 cm, 50х40 cm, 70х30 cm.
The temperature of seedling cabbage seedlings in the open ground
The result of growing white cabbage still depends on the time of planting seedlings. For each band, they will be different, the only factor that is important to take into account is the ambient temperature. Planting cabbage in the open ground seedlings should be made if the daytime air temperature reached at least 12-14 degrees.
How to plant cabbage in the open ground with seeds?
If you do not want to get ready seedlings for a number of reasons, you can grow cabbage in the open ground from seeds. In this case, the seeds sit directly in the ground. An important rule how to plant cabbage in the open ground is a small depth of the holes, 1.5-3 cm. After emergence, cabbage must be decoupled, leaving the distance between the bushes 40 cm. Cabbage itself, planting and care in the open ground it does not further differ from growing a vegetable in a seedling manner.
Terms of planting cabbage
The time when cabbages can be planted in the open ground with seeds must be early, otherwise it will rise in the heat of the season, and the hot sun, most likely, will not allow the cabbage to grow in moisture. Approximate dates for planting cabbage seeds - the first of April, possible spring frosts for it are not fatal.
Growing white cabbage in the open ground
If you are an inexperienced summer resident, and embarrasses the question of how to grow cabbage in the open ground, do not despair - caring for her is not a painstaking task, even a novice can easily cope with such a task. But there are some important rules, firm adherence to which will provide you with an excellent result of your efforts.
Soil for cabbage in the open ground
It is necessary that the soil under the cabbage in the open ground is soft, loose and homogeneous, so it is worth choosing for her a site in the country without stones, sand and other. Another very important point of care - loosening the soil for planting cabbage. No matter how ideal the soil is, at least once every ten days it is necessary to loosen it around the bush, filling it with oxygen.
Care for cabbage in the open field
Care of the plant is mainly a constant loosening of the soil, quality fertilization of it, proper timely irrigation, and necessarily weeding - the weeds must be cleaned immediately. The rest of the important aspects of how to care for cabbage in the open ground, we consider in more detail.
How to water cabbage in the open ground?
Soft and moist soil is an obligatory nursing rule for successful growing, and watering of cabbage in the open ground must be carried out daily, it is better to use devices that allow the water to spray evenly. Even with a shortage of liquid and moisture, cabbage can become stiff and stop growing, and often further good watering can not improve the situation.
But at the stage when the seedlings are only planted in the open ground, there are other rules - for the accustomed bushes abundant watering is disastrous and will lead to their decay and death. Therefore, the first time of planting the land should be moderately moist, and with time, when the cabbage begins to grow actively, it must provide water daily.
Top dressing of cabbage in the open ground
To get a plentiful harvest without good nutrition, it is difficult to manage, and white cabbage is not something special. During the rapid growth of green mass, it is important to provide the plant with the right amount of nitrogen, and when cabbage is formed, white cabbage is particularly in need of phosphorus and potassium.
The basic rules, than to feed cabbage in the open ground:
- Fertilizers introduced into the fossa during planting. The first variant of feeding is a complex mixture, it needs 0.5 kg of humus or compost , 1 teaspoon of superphosphate and 2 tablespoons of ash, this mixture is applied to the wells. The second option is an ornamental mixture, for which you need a large handful of humus or compost and three tablespoons of ash, mix the ingredients with the soil and put them in the holes.
- The first feeding of cabbage. If the holes at the landing have been filled, you can skip it. The first feeding should contain most of the nitrogen-based fertilizers that promote rapid growth.
- The second fertilizing is carried out after two weeks (10-15 days) after the first, fertilizing mixtures based on Mullein or chicken manure are often applied.
For cabbage of later varieties, a third and fourth feeding is done, which includes sulfuric acid potassium and ash - it is not only a nutrient fertilizer, but also contributes well to the control of pests. For top dressing and simultaneous protection, the shrubbery is strewn with ashes. It is better to do this in the morning or at any time of the day after the rain, so that the ash remains on the leaves.
How to form cabbage in the open ground?
Care for cabbage also means helping the bush to form a head, and the key is the right temperature for growing it. To properly form cabbage, planting and care in the open ground should be in a certain temperature regime - 14-16 degrees of heat during the growth of the bush. If the temperature rises to a mark of 25 degrees, the formation of the head may be undermined, which will certainly affect the yield.
Mulching of cabbage in the open ground
Mulching is an excellent alternative to habitual care of plants, greatly facilitating work on the site. The land should be prepared in the autumn - the future cabbage beds are strewn with straw after burrowing, humus can be poured from above, the soil receives fertilizer during the winter, and in spring the shelter will not allow the weeds to germinate.
As soon as the time is suitable for planting, the cabbage is planted with seedlings, further cultivation and nursing is done in soft, moist soil. Planting seedlings in the mulched soil is very simple - you only need to spread the straw, make a small hole and fill the bush by all the rules with soil and straw. In the process of growth, the seedlings do not differ from those planted in the usual way, except for important points - the soil retains moisture much longer, which allows watering the seedlings at times less often, and the problem of weeds completely disappears - the straw does not allow them to germinate.
Mulching does not exclude the need for fertilizing plants. As a mulch, freshly mown grass, weeds, sawdust, and leaves of the trees are often used. Whichever option you choose, the cabbage that loves moisture, planting and nursing in the open ground after which has already been greatly simplified, will yield the expected yield.
Cabbage diseases in the open ground
Like other cultivated plants, white cabbage can sometimes be sick, in these cases it requires special care, and sometimes serious measures. Cabbage diseases are capable of completely killing the crop, every summer resident should know about the most famous of them.
- Kila. This disease by right can be called the most dangerous for cabbage. At the roots of seedlings, growths are formed, and as a result, the entire root system rotates. It is very easy to overcome a keel - if you find sluggish plants that are lagging behind in growth or dead, immediately remove them from the soil, and sprinkle with lime.
- Fertile dew of cabbage. The disease affects young plants more often, it can be recognized by the leaves, which turn gray or yellow with a touch on the underside. Treatment is performed with boric acid (a solution of 500 ml per 10 liters of water).
- Fusarium. The most common disease of cabbage seedlings, which is easy to recognize by the spots of yellow between the veins of leaves, gradually the whole leaf becomes yellow and dries up. On the basis of the basis of the injured cabbage, brown spots can be discerned, and the head is often too small and takes on an irregular shape. Get rid of the disease is possible only by removing the affected leaves.
Separate attention also deserves pests of cabbage in the open ground, which can spoil the whole harvest.
- Aphid. Small insects of white-silver color are localized at the bottom of the leaf and drink the juice of the plant, destroying the bush. It is easy to recognize the pest on leaves that gradually lose their true color, curl and wither. In order to cope with aphids on cabbage, such insecticides are used - for example, Carbofos, Iskra, fumigation with tobacco can help, watering with infusion of onion husk or garlic.
- Cabbage fly. The appearance of this pest is extremely difficult to distinguish from the usual housefly, so it can be very difficult to recognize it. At the end of spring, the fly lays eggs in the ground, and after 7-8 days, larvae eat up the root system. Recognize the pest easily by withering bushes, the lower leaves acquire a dark gray color. For effective control of the fly, a 30% solution of Thiophos is used - the preparation is diluted with water, the concentration of the substance is 0.03%, and one bush is 250 grams.