Growing good early cabbage seedlings at home is very difficult. The thing is that cabbage seedlings should be grown at low temperatures. But if you still decide to grow such seedlings yourself, then let’s talk about everything in order.
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It is most convenient to grow early cabbage in a greenhouse |
What should the soil be like?
Cabbage does not like acidic, heavy soils. To prepare the soil mixture, take peat, sand and forest soil in approximately equal quantities. Add ash there, mix everything well and leave it somewhere in a cold room for the whole winter.
The ground should freeze well, and with it all the harmful microorganisms that were there. You should do the same with ready-made purchased soil. Buy it early and put it on the balcony, let it freeze.
How to prepare seeds
Seeds must be calibrated before sowing. The easiest way is to sift them through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 1.5 mm. If there is no sieve, you will have to sort it by hand. Small, clumsy seeds will grow into equally small and frail plants that no one needs. So don't be lazy.
It is advisable to warm up the calibrated seeds for 15 - 20 minutes in hot +50 water, and then put them in the refrigerator for several hours. After this procedure, the shoots will sprout quickly.
When to start sowing
Everything is simple here. Early cabbage seedlings are ready for planting in the ground about a month and a half after sowing. If in your area seedlings can be planted in open ground on May 15, then the seeds should be sown on April 1.
Sowing seeds
There are two ways to grow cabbage seedlings:
- No picking.
- With subsequent picking of seedlings.
To do without picking, you need to immediately put the seeds either in cups or in boxes, leaving a distance between the seeds of 7 - 8 cm. In this case, the soil should be poured no more than 2/3 of the volume of the cups. So that you can add more if the seedlings suddenly stretch out.
On the one hand, this method is simpler, but initially it requires a lot of space to place cups and drawers. And this is not always convenient.
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With such frequent sowing of seeds, the seedlings will have to be picked |
If cabbage seedlings you will dive, then the seeds should be placed much more often, every 1 - 2 cm. You can make grooves 1 cm deep and arrange them in furrows, or simply scatter them evenly and sprinkle with a 1 cm layer of soil. In all cases, the crops should be watered generously with a pink solution of potassium permanganate and covered with film .
Temperature (very important factor)
Depending on the pre-planting preparation, the seeds will germinate in 2 - 7 days. All this time, the boxes with soil can be kept at room temperature (but not more than +25).
But as soon as the white hooks appear (here it is important that they appear together), the seedling box must be placed in a place where the temperature does not exceed 6 - 10 degrees and there is enough light.
The plants must be kept at this temperature for about a week. Then it should be increased to 15 - 17 during the day and 12 - 14 at night.
This is the main problem when growing early cabbage at home. In a residential building or apartment it is very difficult to find a room with such a temperature, and even well-lit.
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Photo 2 Stretched cabbage seedlings |
On photo 2. you see how elongated and practically non-viable seedlings are obtained when grown indoors and with a lack of light.
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Photo 3 This cabbage was kept in light and in a cool room |
And on photo 3. seedlings grown under temperature and light conditions.
Picking seedlings
As soon as the first true leaf appears, you must immediately begin picking.
The sooner you do it, the less the root system of the seedlings will be damaged. Young shoots must be buried down to the cotyledon leaves. If they are very elongated, twist them into a spiral or plant them lying down.
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Picked seedlings |
On photo 4. plants that have just been picked are shown. Immediately after picking, the temperature can be slightly increased, but only for a few days.
How to water
It is necessary to water abundantly, but not often. The earth must dry out. Water only with warm water. Seedlings already grow in the cold, if they are wet all the time, and even in the shade, then the result will be like photo 5. This is a black leg.
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Photo 5. Plants affected by blackleg |
Immediately remove plants affected by this disease and cover the soil in the box with ash. But the most important thing is to avoid dampness and keep the seedlings in the sun.
What to feed
So that early cabbage seedlings turn out not only early, but also good (photo 6.) it must be fed.
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Photo 6. Healthy, strong seedlings |
Cabbage loves nitrogen fertilizers. The first feeding can be done 10 days after picking. Before planting in the beds, they usually have time to do three feedings. It's better if they are different.
- Liquid mullein (1:10)
- Urea (1 tablespoon per bucket of water)
- Complex soluble min. fertilizer
Hardening of seedlings
As soon as the weather permits, cabbage should be taken out of the room immediately. And it doesn’t matter if it’s an apartment or a greenhouse. Cabbage seedlings feel best outdoors. But on clear sunny days it must be shaded.
Before planting in the beds, keep the boxes with seedlings in the open air for several days. Let the young plants get used to the changed conditions. Of course, at night they need to be covered with film or even a canopy.
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Photo 7. It’s time to plant this cabbage in the beds. |
On photo 7. shows what cabbage seedlings should look like before planting in the ground. This is the result we should strive for.
The best varieties of white cabbage
On the eve of the new season, gardeners are thinking about what varieties of vegetable crops to choose for growing. Everyone has their own requirements: for some, the most important thing is high yield, for others, plant resistance to disease and low susceptibility to pests.
The offered hybrids are highly resistant to cracking of heads of cabbage and resistant to many diseases!
Early varieties of white cabbage
NOZOMI F1 - early high-quality hybrid of white cabbage (55 days from planting). The head of cabbage is round, dense, weighing up to 2.5 kg, light green, and can remain on the root for a long time. After harvesting, it retains its commercial quality well. Grown by seedlings.
ETMA F1 - an ultra early hybrid, ripens in a record time - 45 days. A head of cabbage the color of fresh greenery, weighing up to 1.5 kg. Tolerates extreme growing conditions very well. Ideal for growing in summer cottages.
BOURBON F1 - one of the best early hybrids of white cabbage (55-60 days). Regular, round shape, smooth head, weighing up to 3 kg, with excellent internal structure and good taste. Productive and flexible hybrid with high resistance to cracking. They are stored on the vine for more than three weeks after ripening. Grown through seedlings.
Mid-season cabbage varieties
BUSONI Fl-medium-late hybrid (110 days) for hot climates. The heads of cabbage are leveled, regularly rounded, dense, weighing 3-5 kg. It has a high leg (15 cm) - it hurts less and cleans better. Can be stored for up to 7 months.
OTORINO F1 - mid-season hybrid (100 days from planting seedlings).The head of cabbage is round in shape, weighing 4-6 kg, with a short inner stump. For fresh consumption, ideal for fermentation. Highly resistant to diseases.
Late varieties
SATI F1 — late hybrid (120-125 days) for universal use: for the fresh produce market, processing and storage for up to 8 months. Depending on the planting density, it can form heads weighing 2-6 kg. Doesn't outgrow. Excellent resistance to thrips. Has high heat resistance. Growing through seedlings.
CORONET Fl-medium-late hybrid (110-120 days) for long-term storage. The heads are large, weighing 3-4 kg. Heads of cabbage set well at elevated temperatures and lack of air moisture. The hybrid is resistant to leaf and root diseases.
GILSON F1- late-ripening hybrid with a growing season of 120 days. Grows well in all types of soil. A dense head of cabbage weighing up to 5 kg, the leaf is thin without coarse veins. Stored until June. Resistant to all leaf diseases.
Continuation of the topic:
- Technology for growing cabbage in open ground
- How to properly grow Chinese cabbage
- Broccoli: growing and care
- How to care for cauliflower
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CUCUMBERS NEVER GET SICK, I'VE BEEN USING ONLY THIS FOR 40 YEARS! I SHARE A SECRET WITH YOU, CUCUMBERS ARE LIKE THE PICTURE!
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Yes, cabbage loves cool weather; it is difficult to grow it in an apartment, but it is possible. I always grow cabbage seedlings on the windowsill, I covered the window with film and it turned out to be a mini-greenhouse in which you can easily maintain the desired temperature. If it's hot, I open the window. If it’s cold, I lift the edges of the film, thus maintaining the desired temperature. Everything can be done if there is a desire.
You are right, Oleg.The main thing is that there is a desire, but anything can be done. I myself grew cabbage seedlings this way. Only this method is more suitable for wooden windows with double frames. Indeed, in most cases, it is enough to open only one window. This trick will not work with plastic windows.
Spring begins with a lot of work in the fields, and in the fall - hot harvesting. It is good that today a great relief in agricultural work is special agricultural machinery, which allows sowing and harvesting of various crops quickly and efficiently.
Yes, I would really like to grow early cabbage seedlings on my own, but for some reason it doesn’t work out as I would like. And so I have to buy from people who do this professionally. But what kind of cabbage grows
Tatiana, don’t despair. Sooner or later you will be able to grow cabbage seedlings, the main thing is not to give up. AND EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT!
Growing a dozen or two cabbage roots for yourself is not so difficult.
This year I decided to try to grow cabbage seedlings myself. I sowed early cabbage seedlings in cups - the traditional “Gribovo cabbage” seedlings. I wanted to take them out onto the veranda for hardening. But the super warm days of mid-March gave way to frost and the unheated veranda was no longer needed. As a result, I have elongated strings with cotyledon leaves.
I decided to try cauliflower using the method suggested on the hacienda website:
I cut a one and a half liter transparent plastic bottle in half and lined it with 7 layers of wet toilet paper. I laid out the seeds. I placed the object in a plastic bag. Tied it up. Placed it on the window. Waiting...How long?
Lyudmila, we grow early cabbage the old fashioned way - in boxes with soil. Of course, I’ve heard about germination in bottles, but I haven’t tried it. After all, after germination of the seeds, the seedlings still need to be immediately transplanted into the ground and grown in the ground.
Now you need to keep an eye on the seeds planted in the bottle; as soon as they germinate, immediately take them out into the cold. It seems to me that in such greenhouse conditions and warmth, cabbage, even though it is cauliflower, will stretch out very quickly. In general, this method of growing seedlings is certainly interesting. If it’s not difficult for you, then write how this experiment goes.
And when picking your “Gribovskaya”, which has stretched out, plant it deeper, cotyledon by cotyledon, it will grow and not go anywhere. Just don’t delay with the pick, otherwise it will fall down.