Er cai (child mustard, a type of spore mustard green) is cold-tolerant, not heat-tolerant, and suited to autumn and winter planting. Because it makes use of land left idle in winter, has a short growing cycle, delivers quick results, tastes good, reaches the market during the winter vegetable off-season, is in high demand, and offers high economic returns, its planting area has expanded year by year in recent years, and it has become one of the major winter market vegetables. Because mustard-family vegetables are easily affected by climatic conditions, there are considerable growing risks. To avoid risks and grow er cai well, the <strong>er cai growing techniques</strong> and precautions have been compiled here for growers' reference only.
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<p style="text-indent:2em;"><strong><span style="color:#FF8C00">I. Er cai growing techniques</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;"><span style="color:#008080">1. Seedbed preparation for sowing</span></p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;">Choose a shaded area for the seedbed; loam or sandy loam with deep, fertile, loose soil, convenient drainage and irrigation, and no pests or diseases is best. In early to mid-August, deep-plough the soil to let it weather; scatter 15-25 kg of quicklime per mu to disinfect and adjust soil pH (a neutral to slightly alkaline pH of 6.5-8). If only quicklime is scattered, the soil will harden and become poor; add decomposed human and livestock manure plus superphosphate and plant ash, as well as trace elements such as boron, magnesium and zinc, as a base fertilizer, mix thoroughly with the seedbed soil, level and finely break up the soil, and make beds about 1.7 m wide for later use.</p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;"><span style="color:#008080">2. Sowing and raising seedlings</span></p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;">To grow er cai well, choosing the sowing period is very important and is the key; different sowing periods give completely different results: if the sowing period is too early and the temperature is too high, the plants easily bolt into a club shape, flower, and become leggy; if the sowing period is too late, there are few or small child buds, they take a pineapple shape, do not easily form child buds and become hollow plants, are prone to disease, and yield is low, losing quality and marketability.</p>
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<p style="text-indent:2em;"><strong><span style="color:#FF8C00">II. Er cai growing precautions</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;">1. Mastering the sowing period is the key to growing er cai well; er cai forms child buds in cool climates.</p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;">2. For arranging a suitable sowing period, in low-altitude areas (below 800 m) the sowing period is generally August 25 to September 15, with September 1 to 3 being optimal (southwest China: Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou).</p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;">3. The temperature during the period when er cai child buds form is 8-15°C. In high-altitude areas, please choose the sowing period cautiously on the basis of successful trial plantings, and only then promote cultivation on a large scale. Sowing before August 20 and after September 20 is strictly prohibited, otherwise the plants easily bolt into a club shape and do not grow child buds. If the temperature is too high, child buds cannot form and the plants easily bolt and flower.</p>
<p style="text-indent:2em;">4. Er cai seedlings are generally about 25 days old; transplant in October, with a reference spacing of 45-50 cm between plants and rows, and about 2,000 plants per mu. For fertilizing, note that it should be light first and heavy later; when weeding, be careful not to damage the roots, and cultivate shallowly. If high temperatures occur before Start of Winter and the plants grow too vigorously and become leggy, spray a 500-800 times dilution of paclobutrazol. Throughout the whole growth period, strictly guard against aphids and damping-off. The harvest period is January to March of the following year.</p>
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The er cai (baby mustard greens) belongs to the spore mustard family, is cold-tolerant but not heat-tolerant, and is suitable for planting in autumn and winter. Because it makes use of land left idle in winter, has a short growing cycle, delivers quick results, tastes good, reaches the market during the winter vegetable slack season, is in high demand, and offers high economic returns, its planting area has expanded year by year in recent years, and it has become one of the major vegetables marketed in winter. Since mustard-family vegetables are easily affected by climatic conditions, there is considerable planting risk. To avoid risk and grow er cai well, the cultivation techniques for er cai and points for attention are compiled here for growers' reference only.
I. Cultivation techniques for er cai
1. Preparation of the sowing seedbed
Choose a shady area for the seedbed; loam or sandy loam with deep soil, fertile and loose texture, convenient drainage and irrigation, and free of pests and diseases is best. In early to mid-August, deep-plow and sun-bake the soil; scatter 15-25 kg of quicklime per mu to disinfect and adjust the soil pH (6.5-8, neutral to slightly alkaline). If only quicklime is scattered, the soil will become hard and poor, so add decomposed human and livestock manure plus calcium superphosphate and plant ash, as well as trace elements such as boron, magnesium and zinc, as base fertilizer, mix thoroughly with the seedbed soil, level and finely break up the soil, and open beds about 1.7 m wide for later use.
2. Sowing and raising seedlings
To grow er cai well, the choice of sowing date is very important and is the key; different sowing dates give completely different results: if the sowing date is too early, the temperature is too high, and the plants easily bolt into a club shape, flower, and form tall leggy stems; if the sowing date is too late, there are few or small er (baby heads), they form a pineapple shape, are unlikely to develop baby heads and become hollow plants, are prone to disease, and yield is low, losing quality and marketability.
II. Points for attention in growing er cai
1. Mastering the sowing date is the key to growing er cai well; er cai forms baby buds in a cool climate.
2. For the arrangement of a suitable sowing date, in low-altitude areas (below 800 m) the sowing date is generally August 25 to September 15, with September 1 to 3 being the best (Southwest China: Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou).
3. The temperature during the formation of er cai baby buds is 8-15 degrees C. In high-altitude areas, please choose the sowing date cautiously only after successful trial planting, and then promote cultivation over a large area. It is strictly forbidden to sow before August 20 or after September 20, otherwise the plants easily bolt into a club shape and do not grow baby buds. If the temperature is too high, baby buds cannot form and the plants easily bolt and flower.
4. The seedling age of er cai is generally about 25 days; transplant in October, with a reference spacing of 45-50 cm between plants and rows, planting about 2000 plants per mu. In fertilizing, note that it should be light first and heavy later; when weeding, take care not to damage the roots, and cultivate shallowly. If high temperatures occur before the Start of Winter and the plants grow too vigorously, forming tall leggy stems, spray 500-800 times diluted paclobutrazol solution. Throughout the whole growth period, strictly guard against aphids and damping-off disease. The harvest period is January to March of the following year.