Key Techniques and Management Methods for Overwintering Cabbage Cultivation

Cabbage has very good prospects for development, which is why it is also one of the preferred crops for vegetable growers. So, are you all familiar with the cultivation techniques for overwintering cabbage?

1. Overwintering cabbage cultivation techniques

1. Sowing and seedling raising

For winter cultivation, cold-tolerant and cold-resistant varieties should be used, such as Hanguang, Hanguang No. 1, Haifeng No. 1, etc. From late July to early August, sow seeds in a shade-and-rain shelter for seedling raising. Sowing too late ensures that the plants form fewer dense leaf heads before overwintering. If sowing is too late, frost damage is severe. To ensure sufficiently strong seedlings, attention should be paid to measures such as irrigation, drainage, shading, topdressing and pest control, so as to ensure full seedling vigor during the high-temperature rainy season or the high-temperature dry season. Using sparse sowing and thinning is a method of raising seedlings in one step.

When sowing density is too high, seedlings can be divided at the 3-4 leaf stage, with a seedling spacing of 10-12cm. Seedlings are transplanted when they have 6-8 leaves, at a seedling age of 30~40 days.

2. Planting and management

The suitable planting period for winter cabbage is from late August to early September. Before field planting, the soil should be filled with organic fertilizer and superphosphate. After plowing, the soil should be divided into east-west rows at a row spacing of 40~45cm×50~60cm. Cabbage can be intercropped with winter wheat. After transplanting, soil moisture should be maintained to promote the cabbage to recover from transplanting as quickly as possible. At this time, water once to promote seedling development, then cultivate to conserve soil moisture.

When the climate is suitable from late September to early October, cabbage grows vigorously and its fertilizer and water requirements increase. Topdressing should be applied, with a urea rate of 225kg/ha. After that, keep the soil half-dry and half-moist to promote the growth of the leaf rosette and root system. By mid-to-late October, overwintering cabbage has entered the heading stage, and the supply of fertilizer and water needs to be increased, applying 300kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per hectare and keeping the soil half-dry. Properly control leaf growth, promote the accumulation of leaf dry matter, and improve cold resistance. In mid-November, the temperature drops, and the cabbage enters a slow overwintering period.

At this point, the plants have already headed 60-70%. To improve the plants' frost resistance, they should be watered once with overwintering water. On this basis, use cultivation to maintain soil moisture, lift the outer leaves of the plants, and earth up around the roots with fine soil, burying up to the base of the leaf petioles or slightly higher. Before the soil freezes, cover the plants with plastic film (0.01 mm thick), press the edges firmly with soil, or build small arch sheds to protect them through the winter. The soil should thaw in mid-February of the following year, and when the ground temperature rises and the cabbage begins to turn green, the soil temperature should be raised in a timely manner.

In early March, the soil should be irrigated on a sunny morning, with urea at 225kg/ha. On this basis, use more cultivation methods to maintain soil moisture and raise soil temperature. 3. Harvest. From late February to early April, overwintering cabbage can be harvested according to market conditions, picking dense-headed cabbage in batches and peeling off frost-damaged leaves layer by layer before selling. Each hectare can produce 37,500 kilograms of cabbage heads, making it a vegetable with market demand and high yield.