Detailed Explanation of the Latest Cabbage Seedling Management Techniques and Methods
Cabbage is what we commonly call bao cai, a plant of the cruciferous family. Cabbage is one of the main vegetables in northern China except in winter. It has strong cold resistance and disease resistance, and can quickly adapt to various environments, with very good yield and quality. So when growing cabbage, how should you first go about raising seedlings? Below, the editor brings you the seedling management techniques for cabbage. Let's take a look!
1. Choosing the site and making beds
Before raising seedlings, choose soil that is fertile and moist, then do the plowing and sun-baking work, and harrow it fine and level. Apply sufficient base fertilizer according to the planting area, with the base fertilizer mainly being decomposed farmyard manure. After it dries, thoroughly mix the soil with the base fertilizer. Make the seedling bed, which should mainly be a sunny bed. The sunny bed should contain sufficient moist base fertilizer; after fertilizing, deep plow, then sift fine soil to use as the covering soil for sowing. Then cover the sunny bed with plastic film to bake the bed. After baking the bed for about 2-3 weeks, sowing can be done when the soil temperature is moderate.
2. Sowing at the right time
Cabbage has certain requirements for sowing time, and we should determine it according to the cabbage's winter habit, the weather at the planting site, and the seedling raising method. For example, late-maturing varieties are generally sown during the transition between autumn and winter, while hotbed and early-maturing varieties are generally sown in January. Cabbage seeds have strong germination ability, so soaking seeds to promote germination is not necessary when sowing. Before sowing, first water the bed thoroughly, and after the water infiltrates into the soil, evenly broadcast the seeds on the soil. After sowing, cover with fine soil and plastic film. Improve the seedbed's heat preservation capacity, and control the temperature at around 21-24°C.
3. Seedling management
When sowing in winter, before the overwintering seedlings emerge, control temperature and moisture well. Control the daytime temperature at around 12°C, while the nighttime temperature should be maintained at 6-7°C. Prevent unsuitable temperatures from causing premature bolting in the seedlings. During overwintering, also pay attention to cold protection and warmth preservation. Then in the spring of the following year, when the seedlings grow to 3 leaves, carry out seedling separation on a sunny day. After seedling separation, control the daytime temperature at 20°C and the nighttime temperature at around 12°C. After the seedlings recover, appropriately lower the temperature, but it must not be too low, to prevent the seedlings from passing through vernalization. Ensure sufficient light, ventilate appropriately, and control moisture well, creating a good growing environment for cabbage growth.
4. Hardening off seedlings and transplanting
About one week before transplanting and establishing the seedlings, carry out hardening off work on the seedlings. During hardening off, water and cut blocks, mainly using low-temperature hardening. Hardening off is mainly to improve the seedlings' cold resistance and help the seedlings quickly adapt to the environment in spring before the temperature has risen. After hardening off, strengthen management. Then when the seedlings grow to 7 true leaves and the hypocotyl and leaf organs are dark in color and the stems are thick and strong, they can be appropriately transplanted. When transplanting, be careful not to damage the seedling roots, to prevent affecting the seedlings' nutrient absorption and causing hindered seedling growth.
The above is a brief introduction to cabbage seedling management techniques. The seedling raising work for cabbage is very important. Reasonable seedling raising methods can cultivate robust seedlings, enhance the seedling survival rate, improve cabbage yield and quality, and help expand the economic benefits of planting. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting.