How to properly plant cabbage in open ground

Every gardener knows how to plant cabbage. At first glance, growing a vegetable crop is not difficult. But in order to obtain a stable high yield, it is important to properly plant the cabbage for seedlings, and then transfer to a permanent place. Observance of the intricacies of care is most relevant for the northern regions, where weather conditions are unstable.

How to plant seedlings correctly

A good harvest allows you to get only strong and resistant to the negative effects of external factors seedlings. For this reason, sowing should be given special attention. It is important not only to choose high-quality seeds, but also to follow the rules for caring for young sprouts.

1. The choice of the variety. There are many varieties of seeds on the market. They differ in taste and maturity. There are early, medium and late varieties. terms Late-ripening are distinguished by high keeping quality. Early and mid-season are for salads and seasonal dishes. Which one to choose depends on the conditions on the site and the purpose of the crop.
2. Soil preparation. The soil for cabbage is prepared in autumn. The optimal mixture is considered to be prepared independently on the basis of turf, humus, ash and soil from the site. If there is no opportunity to prepare the soil on your own, then it is used already purchased. It is important that it is fertile and breathable. The finished soil should be treated with an antiseptic to prevent diseases in seedlings.
3. Seed preparation. The seed must be sorted out in advance for germination. Put suitable seeds in an antiseptic solution for 10 minutes, and then quench. It consists in placing the seeds in warm water and then in cold water. Increase germination and accelerate seedling germination, allows the use of growth stimulants.
4. Sowing seeds. When planting cabbage, the scheme is followed - no more than 2 seeds per 1 centimeter. You can also use peat tablets. There are 2 seedlings for one. Before planting, the soil is watered with water. The seed is buried 1 centimeter. Seedling containers are covered with foil. When the seeds are planted, they are harvested on a warm windowsill.
5. Temperature conditions. The first days the seedlings are kept at a temperature of 20 degrees.

The first shoots hatch in 4-5 days. As soon as the first shoots hatch, the film should be opened. In the future, you should adhere to the rules for caring for seedlings.

How to plant cabbage: seedling care

The appearance of the first shoots requires a change in the rules of care.

1. Temperature conditions. After the emergence of sprouts and until the formation of one true leaf, the seedlings should be kept at a temperature of 6-8 degrees.This helps to harden the plants and prevent over-stretching. After leaf formation, the temperature is raised to 16 degrees in the daytime. At night, the optimal conditions are considered to be 8-10 degrees. The seedlings feel best on cool loggias.
2. Light mode. Seedling containers are kept on light windowsills. In the morning and evening hours, the sprouts need additional lighting. Daylight hours should be at least 12 hours.
3. Watering and loosening. Seedlings of cabbage require regular watering. Stagnation of moisture provokes the development of blackleg and rot. Therefore, the top layer of soil is loosened. Loosening knocks down the resulting crust and provides oxygen access to the root system.
4. Antiseptic treatment. A week after germination, the soil is treated with a solution of manganese or copper sulfate.
5. Seedling picking. If the seeds were planted in one container, then the plants require a pick. It avoids thickening and provides plants with the right amount of nutrition. When picking, the seedlings are placed at a distance of 5-6 centimeters from each other.

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When the time comes for planting seedlings in open ground, preparatory work should be carried out. The preparation of seedlings consists in changing the irrigation regime, hardening and applying fertilizers.

1. Before planting cabbage in the ground, watering of the plants is stopped for 7 days. The last time water is brought in 2 hours before disembarkation.
2. Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is carried out 2 weeks before planting cabbage seedlings.
3. Hardening is carried out at least 2 weeks before planting the cabbage. It consists in bringing plants to the open air. Duration starts from 20 minutes and reaches several hours by the end of hardening.

Planting cabbage in open ground: features of timing

The timing of planting seedlings directly depends on the selected variety. All cabbage varieties are divided into early, medium and late. They differ in terms of the onset of the technical maturity of the crop.

1. Early maturing varieties. They have a short aging period. Technical maturity occurs within 2-3 months after emergence.
2. Mid-season varieties. Have a longer ripening period. On average, it is up to 5 months from the moment the first shoots appear.
3. Late-ripening varieties. The harvest ripens only 7 months after the germination of the cabbage seeds.

Based on the timing of the onset of technical maturity, gardeners choose when to plant cabbage seedlings. For early maturing varieties, this period falls on the first ten days of March. Thus, by the end of May, the first days of June, the seedlings will reach the desired size for transfer to a permanent place.

Mid-season varieties are planted from mid-March to mid-April. Late ripening plants are sown in early April. Until the onset of autumn frosts, the crop reaches technical maturity and is suitable for long-term storage.

Cabbage is planted in the ground no earlier than 45 days after germination. Most gardeners agree that a number of signs serve as readiness for transfer to a permanent place.

You can plant cabbage seedlings in the ground if:

• the hardening period has passed;
• there is a formed root system;
• there are no diseases and pests on plants;
• developed from 4 to 8 true leaves;
• the height reaches 20 centimeters.

It is important to consider the weather conditions. After planting cabbage in the ground, the seedlings should not be severely frosty.

Weather conditions must meet the requirements:

• the soil has warmed up to a temperature of at least 10 degrees;
• the air temperature at night does not drop below 8-10 degrees;
• the bird cherry has faded.

For most gardeners, the flowering of bird cherry speaks of the last night frosts. This moment is the mark when you can begin active work on planting seedlings.When planting cabbage in the Urals and in the northern regions, the dates are moved 1-2 weeks later, for the southern regions the planting is done a little earlier.

How to plant cabbage seedlings in open ground

Before planting cabbage in open ground with seedlings, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. It consists in choosing the right place, preparing the ridges.

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1. Choosing a place. It is necessary to plant cabbage in open ground in the correct area. For the ridges, they choose a place in the lowland, without trees and buildings nearby. The site must be lit. Plants are planted on some ridges for no more than 3 years in a row. Best friends for seedlings are onions, carrots, garlic, cucumbers. After them, the heads of cabbage are tied well, the harvest is abundant. Cabbage grows poorly after radish, radish.
2. Soil preparation. Talking about what kind of soil cabbage loves, gardeners prefer loam with humus content. It retains moisture well. The ridges are prepared in advance, in the autumn. In the spring they are dug up, leveled, mineral fertilizers are added. It is not recommended to grow plants on acidified soil. It should first be limestone.
3. Disembarkation. You can plant cabbage in open ground when the last frost has passed. Prepare seedlings in advance. Before planting seedlings, they are hardened and watering is minimized. The time of transfer of plants to a permanent place is not chosen sunny. It can be early morning or evening, ideal conditions are considered to be a cloudy day. Sand, peat and a little wood ash are added to the hole during planting. At what distance to plant cabbage depends on the type of plant. Do not thicken the planting. The minimum layout should be 45 by 25 centimeters. For medium and late-ripening varieties, the distance between plants is increased. The seedlings are buried to the bottom leaves.

In case of planting large volumes of seedlings, a special planter comes to the rescue. In a semi-automatic mode, it allows you to place plants in holes. This method is actively used on large farms. For sowing seeds for seedlings, seeders are used.

How to plant cabbage: rules of agricultural technology

After the cabbage is planted in the ground, it needs to be properly maintained. Plants are unpretentious. The features of agricultural technology are reduced to timely watering, loosening the soil and removing weeds.

Mandatory measures include the treatment of seedlings with solutions from pests and diseases. The cabbage leaf has a waxy coating, for this reason water and other liquid compounds roll off it. To keep the antiseptic solution on the sheet, you can add soap or shampoo to it. No more than 1 teaspoon is used per 10 liter bucket.

After planting cabbage in the open field and during the formation of heads of cabbage, it needs feeding. It provides plants with essential nutrients and minerals.

Top dressing is carried out in 3 stages.

1. 1 time is necessary no later than 2 weeks after the cabbage seedlings were planted in the open field. The optimal formulations are ammonium nitrate solution, mullein, or bird droppings.
2. They are fed 2 times 20 days after 1 fertilization. The best composition for stage 2: a mixture of ammonium nitrate with superphosphate and potassium chloride. The drugs are taken in a 1: 2: 1 ratio. One plant takes at least a liter of solution.
3. 3 feeding is carried out 20 days after the second. Wood ash is used for it. The third stage can be eliminated. It is necessary for poor plant development and poor head formation.

Most gardeners say: “We plant cabbage every year. Observing simple rules of agricultural technology and taking into account the characteristics of the variety, we get an excellent harvest. "Cabbage is an undemanding crop that grows well in any region.