How to Fertilize Cabbage? A Detailed Guide to the Correct Method
Cabbage is actually what is called bao cai or head cabbage, also known as football cabbage or olive cabbage. For cabbage to have high yield and good quality, the head must be well formed. At the same time, the growth of cabbage is inseparably linked to 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 us take a look at the content below about cabbage fertilization techniques.
1. Base fertilizer
Base fertilizer is generally applied together with land preparation. It mainly serves to improve soil structure, raise 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 fifteen days before planting. For each 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; these are turned into the soil together and mixed evenly.
2. Seedling fertilizer
Seedling fertilizer is applied while cabbage is still at the seedling stage. It mainly serves to promote the growth of the seedlings and improve their resistance, so as to increase the survival rate of cabbage seedlings after transplanting and setting. Fertilization at the seedling stage is generally done by irrigating with manure and urine water, or by watering with an appropriate amount of urea dissolved in water, but note that the concentration of seedling-stage fertilizer should not be too high. It should mainly be thin 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 important. Generally, growing-period fertilizer is applied in multiple rounds, following the principle of frequent application of thin fertilizer. Growing-period fertilizer is mainly nitrogen fertilizer, to promote the growth of the cabbage plant, help it enter the rosette stage as quickly as possible, form heads as early as possible, shorten the cabbage growth cycle, and increase the conversion rate of nutrients. However, during the cabbage growing period, we also need to appropriately apply about 15 jin of phosphate fertilizer, which is very helpful for improving the resistance of cabbage.
4. Topdressing at the rosette stage
After cabbage enters the rosette stage, we need to ensure the quality of the rosette and promote its expansion, which is greatly beneficial to the later head formation of cabbage. Topdressing at the rosette stage is mainly urea, with about 20 jin per mu. But at this stage, we need to appropriately apply about 10 jin of potassium fertilizer, which can promote flower bud differentiation and the formation of flower buds and heads.
5. Topdressing for head formation
Topdressing during the cabbage head-forming period 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, each mu generally needs about 30 jin of urea, 12 to 18 jin of potassium fertilizer, and about 5 jin of phosphate fertilizer. This can promote the rapid expansion of the head 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 the yield and quality of the head. At the mid-to-late stage of cabbage, generally only an appropriate amount of foliar fertilizer needs to be applied.
In the process of growing cabbage, 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.