Growing white cabbage

Cabbages were cultivated by the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans back in the IV century BC. From the Romans, she got to Byzantium, and from there to the southern Slavs - Bulgarians, Serbs, Czechs.

In the 11th century, cabbage appeared on the territory of Ancient Rus. Since then, she has not left our table. According to statistics, every resident of Russia eats at least 40 kg of cabbage a year, mostly white-headed.

How to grow white cabbage?

In the central part of Russia cabbage is grown throughseedlings. Already ready for planting seedlings can be purchased in the markets or in the shops of the city, and you can grow it yourself in a greenhouse or even in an ordinary apartment on the windowsill. Seeds of cabbage at a temperature of 18-20 ° C will germinate in 3-4 days.

Cabbage must be planted in a fertile,air and water-permeable soil, on solar plots, as cabbage is very photophilic. Cabbage sprouts need to be watered sparingly, however, as the leaves grow, watering should be increased.

White cabbage is usually divided into three groups on the basis of maturation. Varieties ripening in already in June-July, called early or early maturing. These include such varieties as Hermes, Kazachok, Kraft, Start, Express, Gribovsky 147, June, Skorospelaya.

In the ground under the film seedlings of early cabbageplanted in the period from April 20 to May 5. The film is removed when the night air temperature does not drop below 7 ° C. The harvest of early cabbage is removed for 100-120 days after sowing the seeds.

Seedling medium-ripening cabbage (medium) cabbage is planted in the soil at the endMay, the harvest can be collected already in late August-mid-September. Good grades of medium-ripening cabbage are Krautman, Ramada, Belorusskaya, Nadezhda, Slava 1305 and others.

Most often, medium-ripe cabbage is fermented, but it is also tasty in various salads, borsch, schach. Fresh heads of medium-sprouted cabbage persist for 2-3 months.

Late grades cabbage such as Amager, Kharkov,Yaroslavna, Golden Autumn and others, harvest at the end of September - in October, before the arrival of stable frosts. Cabbage cabbage can be kept fresh for up to 5-7 months. Late cabbage is also used for souring, but its taste is slightly worse than that of medium-sprouted cabbage.

Ready-to-plant seedlings must be strong, squat, have 5-6these leaves. Planting seedlings is necessary in well-illuminated areas throughout the day. Cabbage should not be blocked from the sun by trees or other tall plants. It is recommended to change the place for growing cabbage every 2-3 years.

In spring, the soil under the cabbage is fertilized. Under the digging, you need to replant manure, compost (humus), at the rate of 1/3 buckets for early-sprouts, 1/2 bucket - for medium-sized and full bucket for late varieties per each m².

Seedlings are planted in holeslocated from each other at a distance of 30-35cm for early varieties and 45-50 cm for medium and late. The distance between the rows is 60 cm. When planting in each well, a mixture of a handful of humus, one tablespoon of ash and half a teaspoon of superphosphate is poured. In the hole should be poured 1 liter of water or a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate and planted cabbage seedlings, deepening it into the soil to the real leaves.

Basic care for cabbage is to timely watering and looseningsoils in the aisles. During the first couple of weeks after planting the seedlings in the ground, cabbage should be watered daily, in dry weather - at least 2 liters for each plant. After watering is carried out weekly.

The most abundant should be watered cabbage in the period of active growth - when the head starts to form. However, if the cabbage does not receive moisture for a long time, it can not be watered abundantly, otherwise the head may burst.

Soil should be loosened neatly, at a distance of 5-6 centimeters from the stalk of cabbageand to a depth of no more than 4-5 cm, so as not to hurt the root system. To create additional roots and improve nutrition, cabbage is recommended to be hilled 2-3 times: on the 20th day after planting and 10-15 days after the previous each subsequent time.

To increase the yield it is recommended to feed cabbage: early - 1-3 times, medium - 3 times and late - 4 times. The nutrient solution is poured into a well made around the plant.

Rot, keel, black leg, cabbage whiskey (cabbage), cabbage scoop and aphids, slugs - these diseases and pests can harm future crop of cabbage, so they need to be combated.

FROM cabbage whortle struggle so. Prepare the infusion of chicken manure, at a rate of 2 kg per bucket of water. The infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5 and watered with the solution obtained with cabbage.

Against cabbage aphid Effective decoction of leaves and stemstomatoes. 10 kg of tomato tops should be boiled on low heat, and then 2-3 liters of broth diluted with 10 liters of water, adding 20-30 g of grated soap. The resulting solution is sprayed with infected plants, preferably in the evening.