Cabbage is one of the most popular vegetable crops in our garden. Cabbage is grown in almost every country in the world and is used both fresh and in a variety of processed products.
Cabbage is always successful of producing abundant harvests, but in some years, the yield may below. Fluctuations in cabbage yields may depend on the characteristics of the current growing season and the incompetence of gardeners with this crop.
We’ll talk today about how to properly cabbage plant care and what to do in what months.
CABBAGE PLANT CARE IN MAY
Preparing seedlings for sowing
Cabbage seedlings should be prepared before planting in the open ground by regulating watering, feeding, and hardening activities.
Watering of seedlings should be completely stopped 6-8 days before planting into the ground, but before planting (3 hours before planting), the seedlings should be watered as much as possible so that the earth is completely moist.
Before that, about 15 days before transplanting into the ground, the sprouts should be fertilized with urea and potassium sulfate, for which 15 g of each of these fertilizers should be dissolved in 10 liters of water, and a solution of 150 g per plant should be used.
Three weeks before planting seedlings in the ground must be hardened, and for this purpose, the seedlings should be hardened in the garden or on the outdoor terrace, first for 20 minutes, then for one hour, so that a few hours are added each day to reach the seedlings that stay in the open air for a day.
Age of seedlings available for planting
Seedlings can be planted on the plot when she forms two pairs of true leaves, reaches a height of 4inch (10 cm), reaches an age of 42-44 days, and the temperature outside the window rises to -57°F (14-16°C) and stabilizes.
Seedling planting time
Typically, cabbage seedlings are planted in May. This should be done in the afternoon, preferably not in dry and hot weather, but in cool and cloudy weather.
Preparing the soil
Before planting, the plot should be dug to the full snag of the shovel, all weeds removed and a bucket of humus and a tablespoon of urea, calcium superphosphate, and wood ash (for the same area) introduced per square meter under the dug-out soil.
As for the best soil, loamy soils are suitable for cabbage growth and necessarily have a neutral reaction of acidity.
Fertilize the soil
If you do not have enough organic fertilizers, you can save them by applying them directly into the planting holes. To do this, you need to make them 20% more than the volume of the roots and add 200 grams of humus and 150 grams of wood ash to them.
Planting the seedlings
In this well, the seedlings should be planted with the soil of the root ball after pre-watering. The planting plan for early varieties of cabbage should be 14-16.5inch (36-42 cm) between rows and 10-12inch (26-29 cm) between plants in the row.
Late varieties should be planted more sparsely in a row, leaving 17-19inch (45-48 cm) between plants.
Sun protection
The seedlings should be shaded from the sun for a week after planting.
Watering
After planting, cabbage plants should be watered every three days, or two liters of water under each plant if there is no rain.
Loosening
The day after watering and after rain, gently loosen the soil around the sprouts to avoid crusting. Loosening the soil will help to normalize the exchange of air and water, in addition to reducing the risk of crusting.
Mulch
After watering, it is best to cover the soil completely with hummus. This can be placed as a 0.4inch (1cm) layer. Mulch conserves irrigation water in the soil, slows the formation of crusts on the soil surface, and minimizes weed growth.
Weed control
Don’t forget to control weeds. It is the best time to be done by hand after rain or after heavy watering. Weeds are easier to pull out of moist soil.
CABBAGE PLANT CARE IN JUNE
Fertilization
The first feeding in June should be done around the end of the first decade of the month. At this time, the plants should be provided with nitro phosphate dissolved in water. Add one tablespoon of triphosphate for every 10 liters of water. This amount of solution should be enough for 10 cabbage plants.
It is possible to use an infusion of cow manure, diluted 10 times with water, or poultry manure, diluted 12 times with water. The consumption rate is half a liter per cabbage plant down.
It is necessary to make a second feeding 10 days after the first feeding. Ammonium nitrate (20 grams per square meter), superphosphate (15 grams per square meter), and potassium sulfate (18 grams per square meter) are ideal.
Slug control
In June, slugs and snails appear on cabbages. Spread a 2-3 mm layer of wood ash around the cabbage to get r