Many friends enjoy eating napa cabbage, and it tastes good however you cook it. As a small farmer, my favorites are hot and sour cabbage and the cabbage cooked in spicy hot pot. Some people like the leaves, and others like the stalks; in short, whatever kind of cabbage it is, someone will enjoy eating it.

In winter, my mother's favorite thing to make is Laba garlic. When pickling Laba garlic, she adds some fresh cabbage, and once pickled it is especially delicious.

After saying so much about ways to eat cabbage, I am getting a bit hungry. Back to the point: when is the best time to plant napa cabbage for the best taste? I used to often hear old people say, "Among a hundred vegetables, only cabbage is the best." Cabbage's reputation as the head of a hundred vegetables did not come out of nowhere. First, never mind how cabbage tastes; just its planting time alone is something other vegetables cannot compare with.

In the past, vegetable growing was seriously limited by the environment, unlike now when there are all kinds of vegetable-growing greenhouses. But cabbage is not limited by these environmental conditions, because cabbage is very cold-tolerant and can be planted all year round. Such a growth habit is naturally something other vegetables cannot match.

When is the best time to plant napa cabbage for the best taste?

Personally, I do not have a very specific answer to this question, because cabbage can be planted all year round, and the specific planting time depends on local conditions.

According to different planting times, cabbage can be divided into spring cabbage, summer cabbage, autumn cabbage and winter cabbage. As for which type tastes better, I personally think cabbage planted in autumn and winter tastes a bit better, because winter cabbage has fewer pests, and in winter many vegetables are out-of-season vegetables with a not-so-good taste, so at that time winter cabbage tastes especially good.

Speaking of cabbage, let me also talk with you here about growing cabbage.

It is now mid-July, and if you hurry, you can still plant summer cabbage, because summer cabbage is generally planted from May to the end of July. If you feel the time is a bit tight, you can wait another month or so and then plant autumn and winter cabbage. Autumn and winter cabbage is generally planted in South China from September to December, in the Huaihai region generally from early August to October, and in North China generally starts around the Beginning of Autumn.

If you are planting summer cabbage now, you must choose a good cabbage variety, one with relatively strong resistance to high temperatures and disease, such as Xiakeng or Xialyu. Before planting, first prepare the land by doing deep plowing, applying enough base fertilizer, and forming ridges.

For sowing, you can directly use the direct-seeding method. Be careful not to bury the seeds too deep, and do not let the water flow over the ridge surface. It is best to sow in the evening when the sun is about to set. After the seedlings emerge, manage the number and timing of thinning well; generally there are three thinnings. Water about once every three days, and be careful that the field does not accumulate water. After the seedlings are established, be careful to apply nitrogen fertilizer in time.

Another thing to note is that summer cabbage is relatively prone to disease, so be careful to spray pesticides and kill insects in time.

The above comes from Science Xingnong.