Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground, caring for plants, sowing seeds for seedlings

Description of the plant

Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. subsp. Pekinensis), also called lettuce or petsai, is a subspecies of the Brassica family. Gardeners and summer residents love to grow it because of its high dietary value and taste. The vegetable contains many vitamins (especially large amounts of C) and mineral salts.

Cabbage can be consumed in any form - raw, boiled, pickled, fried or stewed. Cultivation is characterized by high yields, a short growing season (about 2-3 months) and the possibility of relatively long storage. The vegetable forms an oval-shaped head, the leaves are wide, wrinkled, veined, wavy from the edge.

This is a plant with a short growing season, so it can be grown in the fall as a second harvest after harvesting the early vegetables. Best growing conditions:

• correct temperature
• short day.

The late cabbage harvest is suitable for long-term storage.

Planting care

Chinese cabbage is a low-maintenance vegetable, so it is often recommended even for novice gardeners. It will be necessary to regularly thin out the seedlings, as well as provide the plants with proper watering. The Pekinka loves water, and if there is a lack of moisture, it forms small-sized heads of cabbage with hard greens.

Peking cabbage will need feeding twice during the growing season. Experienced gardeners use light mullein solutions or slurry. You should not use any mineral fertilizers, since nitrates and nitrites accumulate in lush greenery. The gardener also needs to regularly weed the weeds, performing shallow loosening of the soil, which provides the root system with life-giving oxygen.

Selection of varieties

The technology for growing Chinese cabbage includes the correct selection of varieties - productive and adapted to specific weather conditions, which differ in individual regions. The market offers a long list of varieties and hybrids that differ in yield, taste, nutritional value, resistance to pathogens and physiological disorders, storage stability, morphological features - height and shape of the heads and their internal coloring.

The most important signs of a good variety of early Chinese (Chinese) cabbage:

• ripening period,
• productivity,
• low sensitivity to adverse external conditions (mainly temperature),
• low susceptibility to premature germination of peduncles,
• formation of slender and even heads,
• good head color
• soft, sweet taste;
• no tendency to create too loose heads.

Early hybrids characterized by good resistance:

• Chinchin F1 Chinchin,
• Kasumi F1 Kasumi,
• Mirako F1 Mirako,
• Optiko F1 Optiko,
• Orient Surprise F1 Orient Surprise,
• Sprinkin F1 Sprinkin,
• Starko F1 Starko,
• Vitimo F1 Vitimo.

Cabbage varieties for autumn harvest and long-term storage should be characterized by the following qualities:

• safety of heads during transportation and storage;
• high density - tight fit of leaves;
• closed head tip;
• uniform coloring of outer leaves;
• resistance to diseases during cultivation (including clubroot, powdery mildew, black spot or Alternaria);
• low susceptibility to storage diseases (including wet rot);
• resistance to autumn frosts;
• aligned head shape;
• high yield.

Resistant cabbage hybrids for long-term storage:

• Bilko F1 Bilko,
• Parkin F1 Parkin,
• Storkin F1 Storkin,
• Storido F1 Storido,
• Yuki F1 Yuki.

Breeders have developed hybrids and varieties with varying degrees of disease resistance, including those that are slightly susceptible to certain diseases, for example:

Other popular varieties

Advice from gardeners

Red cabbage - growing and care in open ground

How to grow Chinese cabbage healthy:

• In acidic soil, cabbage is affected by clubroot. To prevent this from happening, the soil must be limed.
• To prevent diseases such as downy mildew and leaf spot, you need to warm the seeds in warm water, as indicated above.
• To combat powdery mildew, sulfur-containing preparations help.
• If the plants show signs of wet bacterial rot, you need to spray them with Binoram.

Wet bacterial rot

Soil and climate requirements

Chinese cabbage can be grown successfully in many regions, but it requires optimal conditions, especially in terms of:

• temperature,
• humidity,
• soil quality,
• mineral content in the soil.

Soil requirements

The optimal soil pH value is 6.5-7.0. If the pH is too low, the risk of clubroot infection increases, especially if crop rotation is inadequate.

Due to its poorly developed root system, pekinka grows better in fertile and humus soils. Peat soils with a pH level of 6.5-6.8 are suitable. For successful cultivation on light soils, fertilization with a large amount of manure is required.

1 dm³ of soil should contain:

Climatic requirements

An important parameter for growing cabbage is temperature. Temperature and day length have a significant impact on the growth and development of the Pekingweed. Although cabbage handles well with periodic frosts down to 4 degrees Celsius below zero after the head has formed, it is necessary to ensure a minimum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius during germination and an optimum temperature of about 21 degrees Celsius during the growing period.

It is necessary to protect the heads of cabbage from the effects of wind. A weak root system and significant and rapid weight gain can create problems. Large heads may fall due to the influence of not only wind, but also heavy precipitation.

It is better for cabbage to choose sunny positions, but it also likes partial shade.

Crop rotation and predecessors

When growing cabbage, you should follow the rules of crop rotation.

1. Cabbage has a high nitrogen requirement, so it should be planted after plants with low nutritional requirements.
2. The vegetable belongs to the Brassica family, so it can be grown after other plants of this family no more often than every 4 years. You should also avoid growing pekinka after beets and spinach due to the possibility of spreading the beet nematode.
3. Pekinka is a leafy plant, so it is better to plant it after root crops.

Good predecessors for Chinese cabbage:

• leguminous plants: peas, beans, beans, vetch, peas;
• potato;
• tomatoes;
• cucumbers, pumpkin, melon;
• celery;
• onions, garlic, leeks;
• chicory, phacelia.

Chinese cabbage is very susceptible to clubroot, so it should not be grown in the same place every year or after other cabbage vegetables.

Growing Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage can be grown either using seedlings or directly sowing in the ground. It is considered a cold-resistant plant, so the seeds germinate at +4-5 degrees of heat, at a temperature of +15...+22 degrees intensive development occurs, but like all cabbages it requires a short daylight hours.

Site selection and soil preparation

For Chinese cabbage, choose a well-lit area. The soil must be prepared in advance:

• In the fall, the site is dug up deeply.
• The soil is limed.
• In spring, apply per 1 sq. meter bucket of humus and dig up and 2.tbsp. spoons of superphosphate.

Transplantation of seedlings is carried out in loose, moisture-, breathable and nutritious soil. Loamy is best. It is well moisturized.

The best predecessors of Chinese cabbage are:

• carrot;
• onion;
• garlic;
• cucumber;
• potato;
• green manure.

Advice! You should not plant the crop after tomatoes and beets, mustard or radishes.

Seedling production

Chinese cabbage is grown through seedlings or by sowing directly into open ground. Planting methods depend on the purpose of the crop. When growing early cabbage, seedlings are used; for a late harvest, you can grow seedlings or sow seeds directly into the ground.

Choosing a container for seedlings

According to gardeners, it is convenient to grow Chinese cabbage seedlings in peat pots or multi-cell trays at home. The best soil for filling pots is a high-peat substrate, which you can make yourself or buy. Peat pots usually measure 4 x 4 x 4 cm.

When growing seedlings in multi-pots, it is convenient to use 96-cell cassettes. For later summer-autumn plantings, you can use trays with a larger number of cells and, thus, a smaller volume of substrate in one chamber. They can be used when you don’t need to wait long to plant seedlings in a permanent place. But in this case, the plants require more careful care, since the substrate is depleted faster, losing nutrients, and dries out more easily.

Another sowing method is also used. Due to the fact that the Peking tree does not tolerate transplantation well, it is better to sow the seedlings 2 seeds each in separate pots. After germination, one, strongest plant is left in the pots.

When to plant?

The growing time for seedlings is about a month, so depending on when planting is planned, the seeds should be sown quite early.

If cabbage is grown in greenhouses or greenhouses, it is sown at the following times:

• early - in mid-January for harvesting in April;
• late - in early August for harvesting in November.

If you plan to grow cabbage in the ground without shelter, seedlings are sown at the end of February for planting in the ground in April.

In the case of sowing directly into the ground - from mid-July to mid-August. Then the harvest can be expected in about 50 days.

Dates of sowing, planting Peking from seedlings

Sowing seeds

Seeds are sown one at a time, to a depth of 0.5-1 cm, and after sowing they are covered with a thin layer of sifted sand or perlite. Shoots usually appear after 3-5 days. The optimal temperature for growing seedlings is as follows:

Temperature conditions and hardening

When grown early in open ground, long-term preservation of low temperatures - below 8-10 ° C - can lead to premature germination of peduncles in some varieties (photo).

Photo. When growing cabbage in the spring, the plants are more likely to produce flower stalks.

Therefore, hardening of seedlings during this period, 7-10 days before planting in the ground, should consist mainly of gradually limiting watering of the plants (preventing them from wilting), often combined with a slight decrease in air temperature.

In summer, when growing seedlings, a problem may arise due to too high temperatures that occur during severe insolation. On very sunny days, it is good to lightly shade the seedlings with a net to prevent burns and protect the seedlings from excessive temperature increases.

Top dressing

At least once during seedling growth, the plants must be supplied with nutrients. For this, soluble fertilizers are used, for example, calcium nitrate (calcium nitrate - Ca(NO₃)₂) (concentration 80-100 g per 10 liters of water). In open ground, fertilizing is carried out in the morning on a cloudy day.

Soil preparation

Before planting seedlings, you need to prepare the soil. If late cabbage is grown as a second harvest after crops that leave the beds in mid-July (potatoes, peas, asparagus, lettuce, spinach), after harvesting the previous harvest, the soil should be dug up and harrowed. Digging of the soil is carried out to a depth of 20 cm. Manure must be applied in the fall.

Transplanting

Seedlings suitable for planting must have 5-7 true leaves (photo), which usually develop 3-4 weeks after sowing.

Photo. Cabbage seedlings ready for planting in multi-cell trays

Plants are planted in a permanent place at a distance of 50-40 × 40-30 cm from the beginning to the end of April, depending on weather conditions. In the spring, after planting plants in open ground, it is necessary to cover them with polypropylene non-woven material, which speeds up the ripening of the crop, increases yield, and improves its quality. The shelter can be kept on plants for a long time. When the plants no longer have enough room to grow vertically and the risk of frost has passed, the cover should be removed.

For the autumn harvest, you can grow cabbage from seedlings prepared in the same way as in spring, or by sowing directly into the ground. In the latter case, the seeds are sown after mid-July; sowing of late varieties should be completed before July 20-25, and early varieties - before the beginning of August. The soil must be carefully prepared and moist.

Sowing is carried out in rows (row spacing 40-45 cm) or in a strip row (40-40-55 cm). After the emergence of seedlings in the 3-4 leaf phase, thinning is done.

Photo. Cabbage seedlings after sowing in open ground and thinning

Facts about Chinese cabbage

1. Chinese cabbage does not have a stalk, but it forms a head. Many varieties of Chinese cabbage have a leafy form.
2. You don’t need to allocate a separate place in the greenhouse for this vegetable: just place it between young tomatoes. While the tomatoes are growing, the cabbage is already being harvested.
3. It can be eaten fresh and in soups, stewed and fried, used for homemade preparations and even dried.
4. This vegetable contains many beneficial substances, including lysine, which can have a positive effect on gastrointestinal diseases. There is even a variety with the telling name Tibetan doctor.

Savoy cabbage: cultivation and care in open ground

Sowing directly into the ground

When sowing directly into the ground, the seeds are sown in trenches marked with pegs, the distance between the rows is 30 cm. 3-4 seeds are placed at a distance of 25 cm from each other. After covering the seeds with soil, the crops are watered generously through a thick sieve. 10 days after the emergence of seedlings, the crops are thinned out, leaving one strong plant per planting place.

If the growing conditions are met and the seeds are of good quality, you can sow one seed at a time, which will help avoid labor-intensive thinning. Sowing in the ground is a cheaper method than growing seedlings, especially over a large area.

Cabbage sown directly into the ground has a number of advantages:

• has a strong root system;
• less sensitive to water shortage in later growth phase;
• gives an earlier harvest than that grown from seedlings (provided that the seeds are sown at the same time).

However, a big problem when sowing in the ground, especially in the initial period, is weeds and massive pest attacks, which seriously damage young plants.

Growing technology and care

Fertilizer

Because of its short growing season and shallow root system, pekin is considered a high-need vegetable, especially for nitrogen and potassium.

Chinese cabbage responds very well to fertilizers with manure, which is applied in the fall at a dose of 40 tons per hectare (400 kg per hundred square meters).

Mineral fertilizers should be applied judiciously, preferably based on a chemical analysis of the soil, so as not to overfertilize the plants. The norms for the content of minerals in the soil are given above in the paragraph “soil requirements”. Beijing is one of the vegetables that can be fed with chloride or sulfate forms of fertilizers, because it is a neutral vegetable with respect to chlorine and sulfur compounds.

Soil deoxidation with lime is carried out during the year preceding cultivation, and only in exceptional cases can it be done in the spring using calcium carbonate CaCO₃. On magnesium-poor soils, the use of calcium carbonate is also recommended.

On the other hand, acidification of the soil at a pH above 8 can be done before sowing using organic fertilizers - acidic peat, composted pine bark or mineral preparations, for example, ammonium sulfate, which in addition to acidification will also enrich the soil with nitrogen.

Approximate norms for adding nutrients to Chinese cabbage

Nitrogen fertilizers are applied before sowing or planting in an amount of approximately 2/3 of the recommended dose, and the rest is given as top dressing 2-2.5 weeks after sowing the seeds or planting.

Agrofibre cover

When growing cabbage for early spring harvest, you can use agrofibre weighing from 17 to 30 g/m². It will protect the cabbage from wind and low temperatures, especially during the first stage of growth, when the seedlings are most sensitive. This will speed up the ripening of plants by several days and increase their yield. Agrotextiles practically eliminate the infection of Pekin flowers by pests and largely prevent the knocking out of inflorescences.

Agrofibre is removed from plants 1-2 weeks before harvesting. Removing cover speeds up the growth of weeds, so they should be removed systematically.

Watering

During drought, cabbage needs irrigation (single dose of 5-10 mm - 500-1000 liters per hundred square meters), watering is carried out every 3-4 days. The weak root system of Peking cabbage is the reason that cabbage requires a stable, relatively constant level of moisture.

Consequences of improper irrigation:

• Too little water will lead to premature development of flower stalks, and in extreme cases, simply drying out of the plants.
• Lack of water can cause not only growth inhibition, but also a decrease in yield and deterioration in the quality of the crop, and the death of the leaf border.
• Excessive watering can lead to weaker cabbage growth and the development of diseases.

It is better to water the cabbage as needed, but in smaller doses and more often than in larger doses and less often. Too large portions can cause rapid weed development and, in extreme cases (especially when the soil is poorly permeable), unfavorable anaerobic conditions.

Weeding, plant protection

Excessive weed development and lack of light can lead to a significant reduction in yield and deterioration in the quality of the heads. Weeds are especially dangerous during periods of drought. Therefore, an important procedure is weeding (manual or mechanical, without the use of herbicides).

It is important to consider that Peking cabbage has a shallow root system, so care should be taken not to disturb the roots and not to knock down cabbage heads when weeding.

Because this plant has a particularly short growing season, chemical weed control using herbicides is not recommended. For the same reasons, plant protection products must be used with caution, choosing products with a short waiting period.

Mulching

It is advisable to mulch, creating stable moisture conditions for good growth. Inorganic materials – agrotextiles – can be used. In this case, it is best to grow cabbage from seedlings. Agrotextiles are spread before planting, and then cabbage seedlings are planted in the appropriate holes. Organic materials (straw, bark) are also good.

Mulching is also beneficial for cabbage because it is susceptible to weed growth. This technique will reduce the spread of weeds and save a lot of time in eliminating them, increasing yield.

Collection and storage

Cabbage is usually harvested gradually. Pekinka is ready for harvesting after the heads ripen. If grown in spring, cabbage should be harvested at the right time before the flower stalks begin to develop, preferably even before the heads have fully curled. For fall harvests, you can wait until the heads are fully formed. Heads of cabbage are cut low above the ground.

Cabbage harvested in spring is intended for immediate consumption; autumn varieties are intended for storage from 2 to 6 months. The shelf life of Beijing depends on:

• varieties,
• growing conditions,
• degree of maturity of the heads at harvest,
• conditions in the refrigerator compartment.

Optimal conditions in refrigerators:

• temperature – 0-3 °C,
• relative air humidity – 95-98%.

Storage temperature depends on the planned storage duration and variety. It is worth remembering that at 0°C some varieties are more susceptible to cold damage.

Tips from experienced gardeners

In order for the crop not to bolt, to be healthy and juicy, it is necessary to follow certain rules:

• give preference to flowering-resistant varieties. Breeders have developed the most universal types of crops, such as “Russian Size”, “Victoria”, “Cha-Cha”, “Hydra F1”, “Marfa” and “Pomegranate”;
• for planting, use fertile soil with a sufficient pH level (at least 7);
• apply mineral and organic fertilizers in a timely manner;
• provide good lighting. In this case, the length of daylight hours should not exceed 8 hours per day. For planting, choose areas that receive shadow in the evening;
• maintain temperature conditions from +15 to +20°C. At high temperatures, the plant may shoot;
• strictly observe the planting dates - petsai is a short-day plant, so the optimal planting period will be mid-spring, or July - early August. There is no need to sow at the end of April: the plant has a 75% chance of sprouting

• avoid hardening of seedlings - Chinese cabbage can withstand temperatures down to -4°C during the formation of heads of cabbage, but in this case there is a high probability of bolting. Sudden temperature changes in autumn are also a negative factor;
• when planting in open ground, try not to damage the roots of the plant;
• do not thicken the crops. Optimal density is 73-75 thousand/ha. If the specified sowing density decreases, barrel-shaped heads of cabbage may form, which have an unmarketable appearance;
• follow the rules of proximity to other crops - you cannot plant petsai in areas where cruciferous plants previously grew - any types of cabbage, incl. cabbage, radish and radish.

Diseases and pests

The most serious diseases that pose a constant threat to the quality of cabbage:

• wet bacterial rot,
• black leg of cabbage,
• gray mold,
• Alternaria blight,
• marginal apical burn,
• peronosporosis,
• powdery mildew.

The pathogens that cause them can develop on cabbage even after harvest. Providing proper plant growth conditions during cultivation allows you to obtain the proper quality of the head. Plant health at the final stage of the growing season and the physiological maturity of vegetables at harvest are of particular importance for the shelf life of cabbage.

The most dangerous diseases of Chinese cabbage are bacterioses, because there are no effective means to combat these pathogens. Prevention is the main measure.

Wet bacterial rot

A disease caused by the bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. Carotovorum (Erwinia carotovora ssp. Carotovora) appears during the growing season. The pathogen attacks damaged outer leaves of cabbage, quickly causing rotting of the infected tissue. Heads left in the field turn into a shapeless mass. Unfortunately, the disease is transferred to storage areas with asymptomatically infected heads or soil in which bacteria are present.

At low temperatures, the development of the pest slows down, but after placing the cabbage in a warm room, rotting from the outer leaves moves to the head and accelerates.

The absence of etiological signs in the form of contamination with mycelium and mycelial spores at high humidity in the field, as well as in the storage room, allows us to conclude that the culprits of the disease are bacteria, not fungi.

The following measures will help reduce the risk of bacteriosis:

• careful selection of cabbage heads intended for storage;
• avoiding damage to vegetables during harvesting and transportation;
• thorough cleaning of soil residues;
• decontamination of storage chambers and boxes with a 3% sodium hypochlorite solution or other disinfectant.

Vascular bacteriosis of cabbage

Black cabbage rot is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. Rainfall is of great importance in the spread of the disease, especially in the past growing season. An additional factor contributing to infection is high temperature (above 25 ºC).

During the growing season, the first symptoms of the disease can be observed on the edges of the leaves in the form of yellow spots. The leaf veins within the spots gradually darken and become moist. The edges of the leaves dry out. The disease is noticeable after cutting the head, the blackening takes the form of a black ring. Weeds from the cabbage family play an important role in the spread of this disease - bacteria can overwinter on them.

Crop rotation is of great importance for prevention. Pests also become carriers of the disease. Infected crop residues should be collected and buried as quickly as possible.

Gray mold

At the end of the growing season and during storage of cabbage, symptoms of gray mold may develop. The pathogen develops in a wide range of temperatures, primarily when stored for a long time. The pathogen causes rapid aging of cabbage because it stimulates the secretion of ethylene.

Fungal spore infections contribute to mechanical damage to leaves. Typically, the first signs on the outer leaves appear as watery spots. Rapidly progressive rot of the infected tissues may then develop, with a gray coating appearing in high humidity conditions. This etiological sign of the pathogen determines the name of the disease - gray mold.

The source of infection may be plant debris in the soil or storage and contaminated seeds. The development of Botrytis cinerea at low temperatures in the storage room is slow, but high humidity stimulates the spread of the disease to neighboring plants. Prevention measures:

• careful selection of cabbage before storage;
• disinfected containers and chambers.

To protect cabbage heads, you can spray them 2-3 times, every 7-10 days, with one of the deep or systemic fungicides:

• Amistar 250 SK (strobilurin) at a dose of 0.8 l/ha (8 ml per hundred square meters);
• Rovral Flo 255 SC (dicarboximide) 1.5 l/ha (15 ml per hundred square meters) – waiting period 14 days;
• Teldor 500 SC (hydroxyanilide) 1.5 l/ha – waiting period 3 days.

The last treatment should be carried out immediately before harvesting cabbage for storage, taking into account the waiting period for each preparation.