Description of Menza cabbage
Cabbage is classified as a mid-season variety with good resistance to different climatic conditions.
Main characteristics of the Menza variety:
- the shape of the vegetable is round;
- green leaf with a gray tint;
- the head of cabbage is dense;
- minimum weight of one head of cabbage is 3 kg;
- the largest specimens – 9 kg;
- classic taste without bitterness;
- the stalk is small;
- The cut core is white.
The vegetable of this variety has a sweetish taste, the pulp is very juicy. It is universal in use: it makes delicious preserves, fresh salads and other dishes. Cabbage tolerates transportation and storage well without losing its juiciness. The culture is resistant to drought and low temperatures. It is grown by seedlings.
Harvest and storage
The ripe crop is cut with a sharp knife in August - September in clear weather , leaving 3-5 cm of the fruit stem. The cut cabbage is placed in a cool, dry room for several days so that the cuts on the stalks dry out. Heads of cabbage harvested during rain are also dried before storing.
Storage features and keeping quality of the Menza F1 hybrid
For storage, choose undamaged, dense vegetables . It is important that there is no moisture on the surface. This will eliminate the risk of developing a fungal infection. Thanks to its good shelf life, the harvest harvested in the fall is stored until March. At the same time, taste and presentation are not lost.
Attention! Fresh cabbage is stored at a temperature of 0°C and air humidity of 80%.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any crop, Menza cabbage has advantages and disadvantages. Gardeners include the following obvious advantages of the vegetable:
- excellent taste, juiciness, lack of bitterness;
- resistance to drought, frost;
- tolerates transportation well and has a long shelf life;
- does not have a tendency to crack heads;
- developed immunity to diseases;
- ability to develop in different climatic zones;
- shows stable productivity on an industrial scale;
- The outer stalk is very short, which allows the crop to be hilled rarely.
Despite such positive qualities, cabbage requires some care. This can hardly be considered a disadvantage, since any variety during development requires regular watering, timely removal of weeds, and work to protect against pests. No serious deficiencies were identified in the Menza variety.
Attention! Taste qualities depend not only on the variety. Timely, abundant watering during the ripening of the head of cabbage is very important, but excess moisture provokes the development of diseases.
Reviews from experienced gardeners
In reviews of Menza F1 cabbage, gardeners note high taste, unpretentiousness and good keeping quality.
Nadezhda V., Omsk : “I only grow this cabbage. It is large and does not crack. I store it underground for up to six months. Very good taste. I treat pests in advance for prevention. Cabbage can also be grown in a greenhouse.”
Mitsa Ivan, Kiev : “I have been growing Menza for pickling for a long time. I really like its crispy leaves. I store another part of the harvest in a pit. The heads of cabbage lie until March, maintaining their original appearance. I don't do anything special to take care of it. Everything is as usual: watering, hilling, feeding. I'm happy with the harvest."
Planting and caring for Menza cabbage
To achieve high yields, you need to provide cabbage with all the necessary conditions for proper growth and development. First of all, it is necessary to prepare a soil mixture of equal parts of earth and humus. Vegetable ash should also be added. It's better to do this in the fall.
Menza cabbage seedlings require careful and careful handling
In March, you can sow seedlings in wooden boxes or plastic containers. Seeds need to be deepened 1 cm into moist soil. It is necessary to ensure that the room temperature is about 23-24 °C. The first shoots will begin to appear a week after sowing. From this point on, the temperature should not be higher than 17-18 °C, and the seedlings should be moved to a well-lit place. For cloudy days, an additional light source will be required. Watering is necessary as the soil dries out.
Approximately 2 weeks before planting in open ground, you need to start hardening the cabbage: take it out into the fresh air, first for an hour, then gradually increasing the time. It is important to ensure that the seedlings are not exposed to sunlight.
To plant in open ground, you need to choose the right place. It is important to pay attention to the soil - it must have a certain pH. It is advisable to choose a sunny place, because cabbage is light-loving, but at the same time it is better to place corn or sunflowers nearby.
The seedlings are ready for planting if they have 4-5 leaves and the soil temperature has warmed up to 10 °C. The roots should be deepened by 5 cm, and the distance between plants should be at least 50 cm.
For good yield, Menza cabbage should be provided with:
- timely daily watering, and after the cabbage begins to grow, give water up to 2 times every 7 days;
- fertilizing twice a season;
- regular weeding and loosening;
- prevention of diseases and pests.
Menza is a mid-season variety, so the full development cycle is 110 days. The harvest is harvested by cutting with a sharp knife, leaving about 5 cm from the fruit stem.
Attention! Cabbage cannot be planted in the place where onions, carrots, peas, and turnips grew last season. This is important for the phytosanitary condition of the soil.
Hybrid properties
Menza cabbage is a high-yielding variety. Experienced gardeners can easily harvest from 80 to 90 tons of high-quality cabbage from 1 hectare of plantings. The vegetable itself is of medium late ripening. The growing season (from the moment the first shoots appear) lasts about 105-115 days.
The period for planting Menza seeds is March. Transplantation of seedlings is carried out at 45-55 days of age. The recommended scheme for planting in exhaust gas is 50-60x40 cm.
Menza is suitable for growing both in open ground and in a greenhouse/greenhouse.
The head of cabbage has a dense structure, flat-round shape. Its outer part is light green, the inner part is white. The “heads” of this variety are characterized by the presence of a very small outer stump, thanks to which it is enough to hill the crop once (instead of twice). The heads of cabbage are quite heavy. With favorable agricultural technology and climatic conditions, you can grow 9 kg of vegetables. On average, the weight of technically mature Menza cabbage is 4-5 kg.
Cabbage is ideal for growing in all regions of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Moldova.
Menza's taste, as well as its product quality, is excellent. The variety is universal and suitable for both fresh consumption (in autumn and winter), and for long-term storage and fermentation.
Among the features of the variety, it is worth noting its high resistance to cracking and good heat resistance. Also, Menza heads stand up well on the vine.
Application
Even after heat treatment, cabbage retains many vitamins and minerals.
Due to its good taste, Menza cabbage can be used to prepare any dishes. Cabbage leaves are suitable for cabbage rolls. It is pickled and fermented. Due to the lack of bitterness, which is inherent in many varieties and hybrids, cabbage is suitable for preparing fresh salads.
Positive qualities and disadvantages of the variety
- Over more than half a century of cultivation history, Menza has gained wide popularity due to the following positive qualities:
- wonderful taste;
- juiciness;
- high sugar content (7%);
- “smoothness” of heads of cabbage;
- versatility in application;
- high productivity;
- resistance to temperature changes;
- excellent shelf life and transportability.
The large-fruited nature of Menza is perceived ambiguously by housewives. On the one hand, large heads of cabbage provide greater yield, on the other hand, they are not as convenient to work with as compact ones. The disadvantages of the hybrid also include low immunity to the fungal disease clubroot.
Did you know? Amateur performances for a narrow circle - “cabbage shows” - got their name due to the fact that they were originally organized during the autumn harvesting of cabbage. The youth went from house to house and combined the preparation of vegetables with fun and treats.
Landing
Seeds for seedlings should be sown from mid-March through April. Cabbage grows great in a nutritious mixture of turf, humus and peat.
Seeds are planted in grooves or holes in increments of 4 cm, depth - up to 2 cm.
The following conditions are created for seedlings:
- temperature within 12-16 degrees;
- picking when cotyledon leaves appear;
- humidification with water at room temperature;
- Seedlings are transplanted into beds if they have 4-6 leaves.
Diseases and pests
The only serious disease that Menza cabbage is susceptible to is clubroot. The leaves wither, turn yellow and dry out. Specimens affected by the disease grow very slowly, heads of cabbage do not form at all or are very small. In principle, you can eat them, but their shelf life is minimal. The most characteristic symptom of the disease is growths of different sizes on the roots, similar to some kind of “hybrid” of a cone and a tumor.
No means have yet been created to get rid of clubroot. For prevention, Menza cabbage seeds are hardened before planting as seedlings by first soaking for half an hour in hot (40-45 °C) water, and then for 8-10 minutes in cold (15-20 °C). During the season, the plants and soil in the garden bed are dusted with colloidal sulfur or watered with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate every 2-3 weeks.
The only way to guarantee protection from clubroot is to plant cabbage varieties and hybrids that are resistant to it.
Clubroot prefers an acidified substrate, so you need to monitor the acid-base balance of the soil. As necessary, deoxidizers are added - dolomite flour, ground eggshells, slaked lime.
Important! If the cabbage in the garden was infected with clubroot, you can plant the Menza F1 hybrid (or any other that does not have immunity) on it only after 7-8 years. This period is reduced by 2-3 years by planting onions, garlic, beets, and spinach, which contribute to the “healthiness” of the soil.
Pests typical of cabbage (slugs, cruciferous flea beetles, white moth and cutworm caterpillars, aphids) do not show much interest in the Menza hybrid. To prevent their attacks, it is enough to spray the beds and plantings with folk remedies (infusions of herbs with a pungent odor, onion or garlic arrows, citrus peels) or broad-spectrum insecticides.
The best productive varieties of cabbage for open ground
Not all cabbage varieties produce a rich harvest, even with good care. So that your energy is not wasted, and the cabbage delights you with its excellent taste, it is important to choose seeds that meet the purpose of planting.
Experienced summer residents advise a beginner to answer 3 simple questions:
- How early should the harvest ripen?
- What type of cabbage do household members prefer?
- Will the heads of cabbage be used in preparations and pickles?
Based on these requirements, you can determine the best variety of cabbage for open ground from the rating of the most common seeds.
Characteristics of the variety
The f1 category white cabbage variety Menza was bred in Holland. In 1960 it was included in the State Register of the Russian Federation. Suitable for cultivation in all regions of the country. The description indicates that the growing season of the variety is about 90 days from the moment of transplantation to a permanent place.
Description of cabbage:
- the leaves are presented in a gray-green shade: they are completely covered with a dense layer of waxy coating, which simplifies the harvesting process and protects the fruits from cracking;
- The leaf rosette is compact, its diameter is 40 cm;
- the head of cabbage is round, dense;
- a white color is observed on the cut;
- the weight of an individual fetus is 3 kg;
- Yield indicators are high: from 1 hectare you can collect about 600 kg of high quality products.
Heads of cabbage have a pleasant sweet taste. The pulp of the fruit is juicy. The amount of dry matter reaches 10%. The sugar level in the fruit is 7%. The composition contains carotene and ascorbic acid.
This variety is characterized by its versatility in use: it is used for preparing main dishes or fresh spring salads. Can be consumed fresh. Ideal for sale and transportation over long distances.
Care
Caring for cabbage is not difficult
Caring for this variety is standard and consists of weeding the area, fertilizing and proper watering.
The plant should be watered once every 3-4 days and only with warm water. It is better to carry out irrigation work in the morning or evening so that the sun does not evaporate moisture from the soil. At least 3 liters of water should be poured under each bush. After watering, you should loosen the soil, removing the top crust and weed the area to remove weeds.
Feeding is carried out in several stages. The first application of fertilizers is carried out 20 days after planting the seedlings in a permanent place. To do this, prepare a solution of organic fertilizers (2 kg of humus or mullein per 10 liters of water). About 1.5 liters of solution is poured under each seedling. The second feeding using superphosphate (40 mg per 10 l of water) and potassium nitrate (20 mg per 10 l of water). The amount of fertilizer for each bush is 2 liters.
Immunity
The hybrid has fairly good immunity. Menza F1 is resistant to diseases such as:
- Powdery mildew.
- Bacteriosis.
- Mosaic.
At the same time, it is not protected from the real cabbage plague - clubroot.
As for insects, the most dangerous pests for this variety are aphids and cabbage flea beetles.
To get rid of aphids, you can spray the plant with special insecticides. To combat fleas, colloidal salt is often used.
History of selection
Mensa F1 is a hybrid of white cabbage, bred in the Netherlands in the 50s of the twentieth century. Its original name is translated from Dutch as “dining room”.
The new hybrid was quickly appreciated by professional agronomists. Like many other countries, the USSR, after testing by the relevant State Commission in 1960, included it in the State Register, officially recommending it for landing in the vast majority of regions (Menza is not suitable only for the subarctic climate).
The hybrid is not included in the Russian State Register, but this does not prevent gardeners from actively growing it. Menza is popular not only in Russia, but also in the republics of the former USSR. Now domestic breeders are actively using it to develop new varieties and hybrids intended for cultivation in the Far East.
In Russia, seeds of the Menza F1 variety are produced by different agricultural companies
Important! Menza F1 is a hybrid, not a variety of white cabbage. Its propagation by seeds collected from independently grown specimens is impossible.
