Where Are Chinese Cabbage Growing Regions? The Best Time to Plant and Harvest
Chinese cabbage, also known as “heading cabbage”, “hearting cabbage”, “yellow sprout white”, “jiao cabbage”, etc., is grown over a large area. So what are its growing regions and distribution? When is the best time to plant? When is it harvested? It is understood that Chinese cabbage is widely cultivated throughout our country, with North China and the area south of the Yangtze River as the main producing regions, where the planting area accounts for 40%-60% of the sown area for autumn, winter, and spring vegetables.
When is the best time to plant Chinese cabbage?
Early-maturing varieties are generally sown in early to mid-August, and some are sown as early as late July. Mid-maturing varieties can be sown from late August to early September. Late-maturing varieties are best sown in late August.
Growth habits:
1. The growth and development process of Chinese cabbage is divided into two stages: vegetative growth and reproductive growth. The vegetative growth stage can be further divided into the following periods:
2. Germination period: from seed sprouting and germination to emergence and the appearance of true leaves. Under suitable temperature and soil moisture conditions, it takes about 3-5 days.
3. Seedling period: from the appearance of true leaves to the unfolding of 5-8 leaves, forming the first leaf ring. Early-maturing varieties produce 5 leaves during the seedling period, taking about 12-15 days. Late-maturing varieties produce 8 leaves during the seedling period, taking about 17-18 days.
4. Rosette period: after the seedling period ends, two more leaf rings form the rosette. The young heart leaves developing in the center of the plant begin to fold inward, which marks the end of the rosette period. This period lasts about 20-21 days for early-maturing varieties and about 27-28 days for late-maturing varieties.
5. Heading period: from the heart leaves beginning to fold inward to the formation of the head. Early-maturing varieties take about 25-30 days, and late-maturing varieties take about 50 days.
6. Dormancy period: the head is forced into dormancy as the weather turns cold.
When is Chinese cabbage harvested?
Chinese cabbage varieties differ, and regions differ, so the planting and harvest times are not the same either.
The more growing days mid- to late-maturing varieties have, the more fully mature the head becomes and the higher the yield, so harvesting is often delayed as much as possible to let the head fill out. Chinese cabbage tolerates light frost, but frost damage occurs when it encounters low-temperature frost below -2°C.
The suitable harvest period for Chinese cabbage is generally around Minor Snow. However, in a specific year, one should start from the climate changes of that year and, based on the low-temperature limit of -2°C that Chinese cabbage can endure, pay close attention to weather forecasts and prepare for emergency harvesting. If a cold wave strikes, it should be harvested urgently, piled in place for storage, and covered with weeds and vegetable leaves for temporary frost protection.