Detailed Explanation of Cabbage Planting Techniques and Management Methods

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.): an annual or biennial herbaceous plant of the Brassicaceae family and Brassica genus, biennial herb, covered with a powdery bloom. The annual stem is short and sturdy, fleshy, unbranched, green or grayish-green. The basal leaves are thick and tightly wrapped layer upon layer into a spherical head, flat-spherical, milky white or pale green; the biennial stem is branched and bears stem leaves. The basal leaves have a rounded apex and a base that abruptly narrows into a very short, broadly winged petiole, with wavy, inconspicuous serrations along the margin; the upper stem leaves are ovate or oblong-ovate, with a stem-clasping base; the uppermost leaves are oblong, about 4.5 cm long and about 1 cm wide, stem-clasping. Racemes are terminal and axillary; flowers are pale yellow, 2-2.5 cm in diameter; pedicels are 7-15 mm long; sepals are erect, linear-oblong; petals are broadly elliptic-obovate or nearly round, with a slightly notched apex and a base that abruptly narrows into a claw, the claw 5-7 mm long. The silique is cylindrical, slightly flattened on both sides, with a prominent midvein and a conical beak; the fruit stalk is thick, erect and spreading. Seeds are spherical, brown. Flowering period is April, fruiting period is May.

Propagation Methods

1. Seed treatment: To prevent the seeds from carrying pathogens, soak the seeds in carbendazim for 24 hours before sowing.
2. Seedbed disinfection: 20 days before sowing, pour 50 ml of formalin mixed with 3 kg of water onto the nutrient soil, then cover with film and pile it up for 5 days. You can also mix 50% carbendazim wettable powder into the nutrient soil to disinfect and sterilize the soil.
3. Cultivating strong seedlings: Starting in mid-December, use the small arch shed method with seedling trays to raise seedlings. Avoid raising seedlings too early, as a long seedling age easily leads to bolting.

4. Seedbed management: Generally, seedlings emerge 5 days after sowing. Check the seedbed every day. When the temperature is high, pay attention to ventilation to prevent seedling scorching; when the temperature is low, cover the film well to prevent the seedlings from freezing; replenish water about once a week depending on soil moisture; when the seedlings grow to 2 leaves and 1 heart, thin them to prevent leggy growth and ensure uniform seedling size; when the seedling stem diameter reaches more than 0.5 cm, try to keep the temperature above 15°C to avoid passing through the vernalization stage; ventilate to harden the seedlings 7 days before transplanting. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 true leaves, transplanting can be carried out.