How to grow purple cabbage? Latest cultivation techniques explained

Napa cabbage is a common vegetable in our daily life, but have you ever seen purple napa cabbage? Purple napa cabbage has a very fancy name called “Ziyi”. It first became popular in South Korea, and China only started growing it in the past two years. It is actually a hybrid variety of napa cabbage and cabbage. Because it is relatively new, many people are now starting to grow it, so how should purple napa cabbage be grown? Let's take a look together.

1. Sowing and seedling raising

Purple napa cabbage is grown in the same way as ordinary napa cabbage. Generally, two methods are used: direct sowing and seedling transplanting. However, its seeds are much more expensive than napa cabbage seeds, so when growing it, in order to control costs and increase the seedling emergence rate, the seedling transplanting method is generally chosen. During seedling raising, keep sufficient light. When the seedlings grow 3-4 true leaves, they can be sprayed and watered with a 0.3% urea solution. This helps the seedlings grow faster and cultivates strong seedlings.

2. Transplanting

One day before transplanting, water the seedling bed thoroughly so that the soil is moist. The purpose of this is to avoid damaging the roots when lifting the seedlings for transplanting. Transplanting is generally carried out at noon the next day. During transplanting, in addition to being careful not to damage the root system, each seedling should also be moved with a soil ball 6-8 cm in diameter, so as to avoid damage to the roots and stems. After transplanting, water once again the next day, which helps the seedlings recover and allows them to grow quickly. After that, water once every 5-7 days, but note that watering should be stopped two weeks before transplanting.

3. Field management

After transplanting, when the soil surface is slightly dry, cultivate and turn the soil in time, so as to prevent the soil from compacting and affecting root development. When weeds appear in the plot, carry out hilling and weeding together with watering and fertilizing. This should be done 4-5 times throughout the growth period. Generally, during the growth and development period of purple napa cabbage, fertilizer must be applied 2 times. The first time is 10-15 days after transplanting, applying 15-20 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu together with irrigation. The second time is at the rosette stage, applying 25-30 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu together with hilling and irrigation.

4. Pest and disease control

During the cultivation of purple napa cabbage, viral disease and downy mildew should be prevented, and common pests include aphids, cabbage caterpillars and diamondback moths. Farmers must pay attention when growing it, and once they are found, chemical control should be carried out promptly.

The above is an introduction to how to grow purple napa cabbage. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.