How much is napa cabbage per jin? Store it this way in winter and you can eat it until next spring

Napa cabbage is one of the most common vegetables in our country, grown by almost every household, especially in Northeast China, where people buy it by the ton in winter and even build special cellars to store it. So how much is napa cabbage per jin on the market? How do you store it in winter?

1. Introduction to napa cabbage:

1. Where is napa cabbage grown?

Napa cabbage is widely cultivated throughout our country, with North China and the area south of the Yangtze River as the main producing regions, accounting for 40%-60% of the sown area of autumn, winter and spring vegetables.

2. What types of napa cabbage are there?

Spring cabbage, summer cabbage, autumn-winter cabbage

2. How much is napa cabbage per jin on the market?

Napa cabbage generally costs around one yuan per jin, but its price fluctuates quite a bit, and prices differ from region to region, so if you want to know the specific price of napa cabbage you need to check with your local vegetable market. Recent latest price quotes from markets around the country:

3. How do you store napa cabbage in winter?

1. Narrow-trench burial method

This storage method causes little loss, but digging the trench takes considerable labor. Before harvesting the cabbage, in a spot convenient for access, dig a trench running north-south, 40-50 cm deep, 4-5 cm deeper than the height of the cabbage, and 1 m wide. After harvesting, grade the napa cabbage and remove the outer leaves. When the temperature drops to around 0 degrees C, arrange the cabbages tightly in the trench with the roots pointing down, keeping the heads level, with the last one root-end up. Cover with 2-3 cm of fine soil. When the temperature drops further, before each strong cold front arrives, add another layer of slightly frozen fine soil, with the final layer reaching 30-40 cm thick.

2. Temporary live cellar storage

This method makes storage conditions easy to control and access convenient. The method is to build a live cellar with an above-ground and below-ground depth of 1-1.2 m each, and a height and width of 2.3 m. Cover the top with a cornstalk canopy and 15-20 cm of soil, tamp it firm, leave ventilation holes of about 0.2 sq m every 3 m along the middle of the cellar top, and set a cellar door on the south side. Put the napa cabbage into the cellar in the evening when it is cool. Stack in double rows per pile, 6-7 layers per pile. In the early period after entering the cellar, keep the cellar opening and ventilation holes open all day; after 10-15 days, turn the cabbages once; afterward, as the temperature drops, gradually seal the ventilation holes, opening them only at noon on clear days.

3. Indoor storage

This method is used for storing small quantities, and it is fairly convenient to take from as needed. After harvesting the napa cabbage, dry it in the air for several days to remove moisture; when the temperature drops to around minus 3 degrees C, move the napa cabbage while frozen to a cool spot indoors. For stacking, use double-row upright piles, placing sorghum stalks between every two layers to separate them. During storage, if anything abnormal is found, turn the pile promptly and remove rotten leaves.

4. Why should cabbage be stored with the root down and the head up?

In some places it is placed root-end up, but here we generally place it root down and head up. The reason for and benefit of this arrangement is that it helps the napa cabbage stay fresh: the root end down usually comes into contact with the soil, and experienced growers harvest the napa cabbage just as the heart is about to finish growing. During storage after harvest, when the root touches soil, the cabbage heart continues to grow for a while, similar in principle to root after-ripening, and the growing cabbage stays fresh and will not wilt from water loss during storage.

Root down and head up helps with ventilation and prevents the pile from heating up. This arrangement leaves certain gaps between the cabbages, which maintains ventilation and keeps them from being packed too tightly, which would cause heating and rot. Even though it is good for ventilation, turning the cabbages once a week cannot be skipped, and regular checks are needed to remove diseased and rotten leaves and cabbages to avoid infecting the others.

Root down and head up helps increase the cabbage's cold tolerance and storability. Especially at lower temperatures, with the head down the cabbage leaves are very prone to freezing damage and rot, while the root, which grew in the soil before harvest, is somewhat more cold-resistant. In addition, if the cabbage is placed head down, the leaves are not compact enough and are easily heated and rotted after being pressed underneath for a long time, and it also affects the cabbage's appearance.

So overall, when storing cabbage it is still better to place it root down. However, storage methods differ from place to place, and some places may be used to storing it root up, with good results, so you can try either way.