Detailed Explanation of Key Technical Points for Cabbage Seedling Management
Cabbage is what we commonly call bao cai (heading cabbage), 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 raise the seedlings? Below, the editor brings you the cabbage seedling management techniques. Let's take a look together!
1. Site selection and bed preparation
Before raising seedlings, choose soil that is sufficiently fertile and moist, then do a good job of plowing and sun-baking, and rake it fine and level. Apply sufficient base fertilizer according to the planting area. The base fertilizer is mainly decomposed farmyard manure. After it dries, fully mix the soil with the base fertilizer. Make the seedling bed well. The seedling bed is mainly a sun-facing bed (yangqi). The sun-facing bed should contain sufficient moist base fertilizer. After fertilizing, deep plow, then sieve fine soil as the covering soil for sowing. Then cover the sun-facing bed with plastic film to bake the bed. After baking the bed for about 2-3 weeks, when the soil temperature is moderate, you can sow.
2. Timely sowing
Cabbage has certain requirements for sowing time. 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 seed soaking and germination acceleration are 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 retention capacity, and control the temperature at around 21-24 degrees.
3. Seedling management
When sowing in winter, before the overwintering seedlings emerge, control temperature and moisture well. The daytime temperature should be controlled at around 12 degrees, and the nighttime temperature should be maintained at 6-7 degrees. Prevent unsuitable temperatures from causing premature bolting of the seedlings. During overwintering, also pay attention to doing a good job of cold protection and warmth retention. 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 degrees and the nighttime temperature at around 12 degrees. After the seedlings recover, appropriately lower the temperature, but it must not be too low, to prevent the seedlings from undergoing vernalization. Ensure sufficient light, appropriate ventilation, and good moisture control, creating a good growing environment for cabbage growth.
4. Hardening off seedlings and transplanting
About one week before transplanting and setting the seedlings, carry out hardening off of the seedlings. During hardening off, water and cut blocks, mainly using low-temperature hardening. Hardening off is mainly to improve the seedlings' cold resistance, so that the seedlings can adapt as soon as possible to the environment in spring when the temperature has not yet risen. After hardening off, strengthen management, and then when the seedlings grow to 7 true leaves, 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 work of cabbage is very important. A reasonable seedling-raising method can cultivate robust seedlings, enhance the survival rate of seedlings, improve the yield and quality of cabbage, 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.