How to Fertilize Cabbage? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Fertilization Methods
Cabbage is actually common cabbage, head cabbage, also known as baseball cabbage or olive cabbage. For cabbage to have high yield and good quality, the head must be well formed. At the same time, cabbage growth is inseparable from fertilization, so do you know how to fertilize cabbage? Do you know how to fertilize cabbage so it grows better? If you are interested, let's take a look at the following introduction on cabbage fertilization techniques.
1. Base fertilizer
Base fertilizer is generally applied together with land preparation. It is mainly meant to improve soil structure, increase soil fertility, help the planted crop adapt more quickly to the growing environment, and plays an important role in increasing the survival rate of planting. Cabbage base fertilizer is generally applied about 15 days before planting. Per mu, 2,000 kg of manure and urine water, 25 kg of phosphate fertilizer, and about 100 kg of plant ash or farmyard manure are needed. Till them into the soil together and mix evenly.
2. Seedling fertilizer
Seedling fertilizer is applied while cabbage is still at the seedling stage. It is mainly used to promote seedling growth and improve seedling resistance, so as to increase the survival rate of cabbage seedlings after transplanting and setting out. Fertilization at the seedling stage is generally done by watering with manure and urine water, or by mixing an appropriate amount of urea with water and applying it as a liquid feed. However, note that the concentration of seedling fertilizer should not be too high. It should mainly be dilute fertilizer to avoid burning the seedlings.
3. Topdressing during the growing period
After cabbage survives transplanting, it enters the growing period, and fertilization during the growing period is also very critical. Generally, growing-period fertilizer should be applied in multiple rounds, following the principle of frequent application of light fertilizer. Growing-period fertilizer is mainly nitrogen fertilizer, to promote cabbage plant growth, help it enter the rosette stage as soon as possible, form heads as early as possible, shorten the cabbage growth cycle, and improve nutrient conversion efficiency. However, during the cabbage growing period, we also need to appropriately topdress with about 15 jin of phosphate fertilizer, which is very helpful for improving cabbage resistance.
4. Topdressing at the rosette stage
After cabbage enters the rosette stage, we must ensure the quality of the rosette and promote its expansion, which is also very beneficial for head formation in the later stage. Topdressing at the rosette stage is mainly urea, with about 20 jin per mu. But at this stage, we need to appropriately topdress with about 10 jin of potassium fertilizer, which can promote flower bud differentiation as well as the formation of flower buds and heads.
5. Topdressing for head formation
Topdressing during cabbage head formation generally needs to be divided into three stages: early head formation, mid head formation, and mid-to-late head formation. At the early stage of cabbage head formation, per mu generally about 30 jin of urea, 12 to 18 jin of potassium fertilizer, and about 5 jin of phosphate fertilizer are needed. This can promote rapid head expansion and prevent gaps in the head. At the mid stage of cabbage head formation, the topdressing amount is 20 jin of nitrogen fertilizer, 10 jin of potassium fertilizer, and 3 jin of phosphate fertilizer, which can improve head yield and quality. At the mid-to-late stage of cabbage, generally only an appropriate amount of foliar fertilizer needs to be topdressed.
In cabbage cultivation, fertilization is generally divided into these five stages, and the fertilization requirements at each stage are different, so we need to follow the correct fertilization principles. Otherwise, no matter how much fertilizer is applied, it will have no effect.