The Latest Cabbage Planting Methods and Planting Times

Cabbage is called yuancai in many places, and baocai in many others. Strictly speaking, however, both yuancai and baocai are just one variety of the cabbage family of vegetables. Cabbage is rich in nutrients and very affordable, and now four-season cabbage has appeared, meaning cabbage can be planted all year round. Below is what Qinnong Web wants to share with you today about the best time to plant cabbage, as well as the correct methods for growing cabbage, and we hope it will be helpful to everyone.

Planting Time

The planting time for cabbage is actually not fixed, because different climates in different regions have a big impact on the growth of cabbage, which is why spring cabbage, summer cabbage, autumn cabbage and winter cabbage appear on the market. In general, the best time to plant cabbage is in April in spring and September in autumn. The most suitable temperature for cabbage growth is 20 to 28 degrees, so cabbage planted during these periods has high yield and good quality.

Planting Methods

1. Seed selection

There are quite a few varieties of cabbage, such as flat-head cabbage, round-head cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, red cabbage and so on. Each type of cabbage adapts to a different environment, so you can choose the most suitable variety according to the region you are in. For example, the Hunan area is more suitable for planting round-head cabbage, the Yangtze River basin is more suitable for planting flat-head cabbage, and in areas with a relatively dry climate you can choose Brussels sprouts. The specific seed selection needs to be made according to the specific situation.

2. Land preparation

Cabbage has a strong ability to adapt to the environment, so it does not need a specific soil or soil type, but when choosing land you must be careful not to choose land that has been continuously cropped, as it is very prone to wilt disease. So we should also pay attention during land preparation. First we need to clear the debris from the field completely, and only then start plowing. When plowing, turn the soil as deep as possible, then after exposing it to the sun for a few days, we go to the field and dig a drainage ditch every one to two meters, preparing for drainage in advance. Finally, spread an average of one thousand jin of farmyard manure and fifty jin of plant ash per mu, and wait for sowing.

3. Sowing

There are two ways to plant cabbage. The lazy way is to sow the seeds at a certain spacing, then cover them with soil and wait for the seedlings to emerge. The other way is to first raise seedlings in a seedbed and then transplant them. When sowing and raising seedlings, we first need to wet the seedbed, then evenly scatter the seeds on the seedbed, cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil, and when necessary cover them with a layer of dry grass or plastic film to keep the soil temperature. When the seedlings grow to six to eight cm, they can be transplanted. When planting, plant with a row spacing of 40 cm and a plant spacing of 35 cm.

4. Management

The first thing to do after transplanting is to water, once every three to five days. After about ten days, some of the transplanted plants in the field will not have survived, so within five to ten days the seedlings must be filled in. Then, after the seedlings have officially survived, in order to make the field look neat, the first fertilization should be carried out along with intertillage and weeding. This can reduce unnecessary nutrient consumption and at the same time enhance the soil's permeability and nutrient storage. An average of one hundred jin of urea is needed per mu. The second fertilization is when the cabbage begins to slowly curl its leaves. This is when it needs the most nutrients, and an average of one thousand jin of farmyard manure, fifty jin of potassium fertilizer, fifty jin of compound fertilizer and thirty jin of phosphate fertilizer are needed per mu, along with sufficient watering. If the rainy season is very wet, go to the field to clear the drainage ditches and drain out the excess water. Finally, because some cabbages form loose heads for various reasons, we can tie them up a little with straw.

5. Disease prevention

Common cabbage diseases include downy mildew and black root disease. Downy mildew affects the growth of cabbage leaves, generally showing as spots appearing on the leaf surface that gradually increase, as if moldy, and in severe cases the plant will wither. The control method is to spray with chlorothalonil once every five or six days, and after two to three times it will recover. Black root disease mainly harms the roots, and the way to prevent it is generally to do a good job before planting: during land preparation, disinfect the soil with quicklime before planting, or spray with chlorothalonil.