Content:
Cabbage is grown in all regions of the Russian Federation. The vegetable is used fresh for the preparation of delicious, vitamin salads, side dishes are prepared from it, and salted for the winter. To grow healthy cabbage heads on time, you need to know the intricacies of agricultural technology and the time of planting a plant on a site. Planting cabbage in open ground with seedlings according to the lunar calendar has its own characteristics.
Information about the culture, varieties
Cabbage grows throughout Russia. The vegetable belongs to the Cruciferous family. Cabbage leaves are wrinkled or smooth, with distinct veins. The root system of the plant is powerful, the roots are branched.
Cabbage has earned its popularity due to the high content of useful trace elements and vitamins of almost all groups. It is considered a low-calorie, but nutritious vegetable; 100 g of cabbage contains 26 kcal. People watching weight can safely enter it into their diet.
Today cabbage is used:
- In cooking;
- In folk medicine;
- In cosmetology.
Eating cabbage contributes to:
- Strengthening the immune system;
- Normalization of the activity of the cardiovascular system;
- Restoration of metabolism;
- Decrease in body weight with excess weight;
- Improving the functioning of the digestive tract, liver, spleen;
- Elimination of excess fluid from the body.
Cabbage varieties:
- Leafy varieties (Peking) - the leaves of an elongated head of cabbage are used;
- Broccoli is early ripening and cold-resistant, demanding watering. It is prepared fresh or frozen for long-term storage;
- Cauliflower is similar to broccoli - a cabbage with very branched flowering shoots that are used to prepare various first and second courses, ideal for freezing or preservation;
- Cabbage (white, red, Savoy) - a vegetable with overgrown apical buds, which are used in cooking;
- Kohlrabi is an early ripening variety, seeds can be sown until July, cabbage with a thickened stem. It is eaten;
- Brussels sprouts - a plant with small heads of cabbage that form on the leaves, suitable for freezing.
To provide yourself with fresh cabbage all year round, it is recommended to grow varieties with different ripening periods:
- Early varieties - planted several times per season, seeds are sown gradually, 2 times a week, you can leave an interval of 4 days;
- Medium late - planting is done once every 2 months;
- Late - landing is done in mid-spring.
Early varieties of cabbage ripen by the end of June. In the third decade of July, you can harvest mid-late varieties, and in the middle of autumn, late varieties are harvested for the winter.
Planting cabbage according to the lunar calendar
Experienced gardeners, when choosing the time for sowing seeds and planting seedlings in open ground, are guided by the lunar calendar. The influence of the moon on the growth and development of plants has been noticed for a very long time. Centuries of experience proves that there is a connection between the moon phase and plants. There are 8 lunar phases, but gardeners use quarters, which are called:
- New moon;
- Waxing Crescent;
- Full moon;
- Waning moon.
The moon, passing from one phase to another, can positively or negatively affect one or another part of the plant (surface part, roots).
Analyzing and systematizing all observations, the lunar calendar was compiled. It is good to plant root crops on the waning moon, and plants on the growing moon, the fruits of which are on the surface of the earth. If you focus on the lunar calendar when planting plants, you can get a rich harvest. The calendar takes into account the phase of the moon, the fertility of the sign and the time of the new moon and full moon.
General rules for when you can plant cabbage according to the lunar calendar in open ground:
- On the growing moon, seeds are sown and planted in open ground - this is a favorable time for land work;
- If the moon is in the sign of Leo or Aquarius, then these days it is not recommended to work with seeds, seedlings, seedlings;
- During eclipses (lunar, solar), it is undesirable to work in the garden.
Fertile zodiac signs are:
- Fishes;
- Cancer;
- Scorpio.
The signs that will provide an average harvest include: Capricorn, Taurus, Sagittarius.
Bad harvest signs are: Aries, Aquarius, Gemini, Leo, Virgo.
Favorable days when you can plant cabbage according to folk signs in 2018:
- February - 5, 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22;
- March - 7, 8, 18, 20, 21;
- April - 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 20, 21, 22, 23;
- May - 8, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Unfavorable dates for sowing seeds, diving, transplanting seedlings into open ground in 2018:
- February - 14, 15, 16;
- March - 1, 2, 3, 16, 30;
- April - 15, 16, 17, 29, 30;
- May - 14, 15, 16, 28, 29, 30.
Seed sowing dates according to the lunar calendar
Early sowing dates are suitable for southern areas. If you sow cabbage in February, then in late March - early April, the seedlings will be ready for planting in open ground under a film.
In central Russia, early ripening varieties are sown starting from mid-March, late varieties are sown throughout April. Sowing time for different types of cabbage:
- Broccoli and cauliflower can be sown from mid-March to late May;
- From 20 April, Brussels sprouts are sown;
- Kohlrabi seeds are planted from mid-March to the end of June;
- From 10 to 30 March is the ideal time for planting early varieties of Savoy cabbage, the late variety is sown at the end of March until the second decade of April.
Sowing cabbage seeds for seedlings
Cabbage seeds should be laid out on a white plate and all cracked and damaged should be removed. The second stage of checking the planting material is to sort out the unusable seeds. To do this, add a spoonful of salt to 1 liter of water, stir the water, pour the previously selected seeds into it. An unviable seed will float to the surface of the water, and a good seed will drown. The floating seeds are carefully drained with water, the rest must be transferred to a bag of gauze and rinsed under running water.
A weak solution of potassium permanganate is used to disinfect seeds. They are placed in a pink solution for half an hour, then washed in clean water. After the disinfection procedure, the seeds must be germinated to determine the percentage of germination of the future crop. The seeds are laid out on a damp cloth and kept moist for several days. It is important at this stage to prevent the emergence of too long seedlings, as this will create difficulties when sowing.
For different varieties of cabbage, you need to select separate containers or pots. It is best to use peat cups or "snail" pots for cabbage seedlings, so you will not need to plant seedlings. If a common container or pot was used for planting, then the seedlings will need to dive. Planting soil can be purchased at garden stores or prepared at home.
The soil should be loose and fertile. To independently prepare the soil for cabbage seedlings, you need to take garden soil, humus or compost and peat in a 2: 1: 1 ratio, mix everything well. The soil should be light, breathable and nourishing. As an organic top dressing, you can additionally add wood ash (200 g per 5 kg of soil) to improve the quality of the soil.
The soil for seedlings can be disinfected in several ways:
- Processing with a solution of potassium permanganate;
- Drizzle with boiling water;
- Heat treatment in the oven.
It is recommended to deepen the seeds into the ground by 0.5-1 cm, then water from a spray bottle. The optimum temperature regime for seedlings is + 20-22 degrees. Germinated seeds give their first shoots in 2 days, the appearance of the first seedlings from non-germinated seed should be expected up to 5 days.
After the emergence of seedlings, the temperature is reduced to +15 degrees. Cabbage should be exposed to sunlight or light for at least 14-16 hours a day. If the seedlings are on a shaded balcony, then a fluorescent lamp is used for lighting.
When to plant seedlings in open ground
Cabbage yield depends, first of all, on the quality of the planting material and timely planting on the site. Seedlings are considered ready for planting in open ground if the sprout has a strong trunk 10-15 cm in height and there are at least 3 pairs of true leaves.
Too tall and overgrown seedlings take root more difficult, they often get sick. The seedlings are planted roughly from the end of April to the beginning of May. The exact time of disembarkation depends on the variety and weather conditions.
If the weather is sunny and warm during the day, in the morning there are slight frosts up to -3 degrees, then healthy seedlings under a film cover will not suffer. But in cold spring, long cloudy days, it is recommended to postpone plant transplantation.
Planting cabbage according to the lunar calendar will allow you to grow a good harvest of healthy cabbage heads. Knowing when to sow cabbage according to the folk calendar, favorable and unfavorable days for working with seeds, seedlings, you can avoid many problems when growing a vegetable. The use of the lunar calendar by experienced gardeners in practice proves that the phases of the moon affect the growth and development of plants.