How to grow flowering Chinese cabbage seedlings? Latest technique method tutorial

Flowering Chinese cabbage, also known as choy sum, is eaten for its tender stalks and is a variety of bok choy. It is one of the vegetables most commonly eaten by the people of our country. When growing flowering Chinese cabbage, the seedling-raising and transplanting method is mostly used, which helps increase yield and quality. So how should flowering Chinese cabbage be raised as seedlings? Let us learn about it together.

1. Seedling preparation

First is the choice of soil. Flowering Chinese cabbage has a short main root, well-developed fibrous roots, and a shallow root system, and its root regeneration ability is strong. It is not strict about soil depth, but it has higher requirements for soil quality, with well-drained, organic-rich sandy loam being best. In terms of variety selection, different types of flowering Chinese cabbage have strict requirements for sowing time, so varieties should be chosen for sowing in different seasons. Early-maturing varieties are sown from May to September, mid-maturing varieties from September to October or April to May, and late-maturing varieties from November to March of the following year. If sowing is too early, it will lead to flowering Chinese cabbage plants being too small, leaves being tiny, stalks being slender, poor quality, and low yield; while if sowing is too late, there will be no bolting or very slow bolting, leaves will grow too lushly, and commodity value will be reduced.

2. Sowing methods

Direct seeding cultivation sows the seeds directly in the field without transplanting seedlings, only thinning 1-2 times and filling gaps once, maintaining a certain density until harvest. This method saves time and labor and allows earlier harvest, but the quality is lower, land utilization is low, and the amount of seed used is large. Seedling-raising and transplanting, on the other hand, means raising seedlings on a seedbed for 20-25 days, then transplanting to the field when the seedlings have developed large and small leaves. This method occupies the land for a short time, can improve land utilization, and the seedlings grow uniformly and bolt uniformly, with a concentrated harvest period and good stalk quality. It can also save the amount of seed used, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive and has high technical requirements.

3. Spraying herbicide for weed control

Weeds are quite harmful to flowering Chinese cabbage. Herbicides can be used to eliminate weeds, save costs, and increase the yield of flowering Chinese cabbage. Spraying can be done after the bed surface is leveled and sowing is completed or before transplanting. First wet the bed surface, then spray. After spraying, the surface soil should not be loosened, so as to avoid the herbicide layer becoming ineffective. Before sowing, a germination rate test should be carried out. First select large, fresh seeds, which have a high germination rate and good germination vigor, and the seedlings grown are also more robust. After confirming the seed germination rate, sowing and seedling raising can be carried out.

4. Sowing and seedling raising

Before sowing, water first to make the soil moist, then evenly broadcast the seeds on the bed surface. After sowing, cover with rice straw, plant ash, burnt soil, or similar, then water again, so that the seeds and soil are in close contact. Sowing during high-temperature periods easily causes excessive elongation, so sowing can be appropriately sparse, while in autumn and winter it can be appropriately dense. Generally, sprouts emerge 1-2 days after sowing. In winter, when temperatures are low, sprouting takes longer, so seeds can be pre-germinated before sowing to shorten the seedling period. After emergence, the soil should often be kept moist. During drought, water once each in the morning, midday, and evening. When watering, pay attention to the amount of water, and the water stream should be fine, so as not to wash away the seedlings. After 10-15 days from sprouting, cake fertilizer can be applied, and afterward fertilize once every 5 days. During the seedling stage, fertilizer is applied about 3 times in total. When the seedlings grow 1-2 true leaves, carry out the first thinning, removing overly dense seedlings, diseased seedlings, and leggy seedlings. When 3-4 true leaves have grown, carry out the second thinning and combine it with gap filling, so that the plants grow uniformly.

The above is an introduction to flowering Chinese cabbage seedling-raising techniques. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please follow us.