How to Grow Cabbage? Detailed Planting Methods and Management Techniques

Cabbage is one of the important vegetables in China, containing high-quality protein, cellulose, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. At present, it is cultivated in many regions of China, so how do you grow cabbage?

1. Choosing a variety

Choose early-maturing varieties with a short growth period, with a single head weighing about 1 kg and about 45 days from transplanting to harvest, which better suits consumers' habits and does not affect the sowing period of the next crop of overwintering vegetables, such as the Dutch variety Swiss Multi and others.

2. Sowing at the right time

Cabbage seedlings are not strict about temperature, but the head-forming stage is very strict about temperature and should be around 17°C, which is favorable for the formation and growth of the leaf head. Therefore, the summer sowing time is around late July.

3. Growing strong seedlings

(1) Making the seedbed: The seedbed should be chosen in a pollution-free plot with good ventilation, higher terrain, convenient drainage and irrigation, where no vegetables of the same family have been grown, and relatively close to the transplanting field. The seedbed soil formula is 6 parts field soil and 4 parts decomposed organic fertilizer; add 1 kg of ternary compound fertilizer, 80 g of carbendazim, and 100 g of phoxim granules per cubic meter of nutrient soil, mix well and make beds, with a bed width of 1.2 m and unlimited length.

(2) Sowing and seedling separation: In late July, irrigate the prepared seedbed with enough bottom water, spread the seeds evenly, cover with about 1 cm of fine soil, cover with film to retain moisture, insert arches, and cover with a shade net. When more than 70% of the seedlings have emerged, remove the plastic film promptly to prevent burning the seedlings. When the seedlings grow to 2 leaves and 1 heart (about 10 days after sowing), carry out seedling separation once; doing it in the evening or on a cloudy day helps survival. The seedling separation water should be applied in the dark furrow and thoroughly.

(3) Seedbed management: Cabbage seedlings have strong stress resistance, but pest and weed control must be done well to avoid seedlings being consumed by insects and weeds. The main pests include aphids, diamondback moths, and cabbage caterpillars, and phoxim and 1.8% abamectin can be used alternately. Because the seedling stage is short, depending on the insect situation, generally 2 applications are enough.

4. Land preparation and transplanting

It is advisable to choose a plot whose previous crop was beans or melons rather than cruciferous crops. Apply 3000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and 30 kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ternary compound fertilizer per mu, plow the land and make beds, with a bed width of 1.2 m, plant 2 rows, with a plant spacing of 40 cm, and keep 2500-3000 seedlings per mu. Transplant when the seedlings grow to 5-6 leaves. Spray once before transplanting, that is, when the seedlings are gathered in the seedbed, spray heavily once with 600 times chlorothalonil plus 3000 times phoxim. With proper management after transplanting, generally no pesticide is needed, and basically no disease occurs throughout the growth period. The transplanting water should be timely to help the seedlings recover, and the seedlings must not be left to dry in the sun.

5. Fertilizer and water management

After transplanting, carry out intertillage and seedling hardening with little fertilizer and water to promote underground growth. After the seedlings recover, keep the soil alternately dry and wet to expand the leaf assimilation area, and apply 1 kg of urea per mu; when entering the head-forming stage, to meet growth needs, provide sufficient fertilizer and water, apply more nitrogen fertilizer, appropriately increase phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, and apply 2 kg of diammonium phosphate per mu to promote rapid expansion of the leaf head in a short time.

6. Harvesting

When the top of the cabbage head becomes flat and the head is firm, it can be harvested. Early-maturing varieties generally have a single trimmed head weight of 1-1.5 kg.

If cabbage is grown on a base for sale, also note that during harvest, 2 to 3 outer leaves should be kept at the lower part of the head to protect it, prevent squeezing and mechanical damage during transport, and improve the marketability of the head.