Description of cabbage variety Wintering, features of cultivation and care
Breeders are constantly breeding new varieties and hybrids of cabbage... Those who are engaged in culture have to take into account many aspects when growing: the duration of ripening, storage conditions, taste characteristics. One of the varieties of white-headed vegetables in demand among gardeners is Zimovka cabbage.
Description of the variety
The semi-sprawling head of cabbage is of medium to large size with a diameter of over 70 centimeters. Rounded sheets of gray-green color have a pronounced waxy bloom, not rigid veins and wavy edges.
These characteristics of the vegetable allow for long-term storage. The average length of a leaf plate is 40–50 cm, width is 32–45 cm. The leaves adhere very tightly to each other and there are minimal gaps between them, despite the thin internal structure. A mature head of cabbage for wintering weighs in the range from 2 to 3.5 kilograms, but with proper care it can reach a greater mass without loss of taste.
Growing
Vegetable seedlings can grow and retain useful properties only when they are in greenhouse conditions. The final quality of the heads of cabbage will depend on the sowing fund, therefore, when choosing seeds, it is important to think over the goals of growing the crop. In most cases, wintering is sown in early April, after which it takes up to 50 days to form seedlings.
It is best to leave the seedlings in a ventilated room at a temperature of about 10 degrees. In the dark, an additional source of lighting should be arranged. The soil should be moderately moist, drying out of the earth is not allowed. The first shoots begin to appear 5 days after planting. A week after germination, it is recommended to treat the soil with a weakly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate.
It is important to choose the right place for the garden bed where Wintering will be planted, the description of which assumes warm climatic conditions.
The culture needs a lot of natural light, and in the shade, the shoots begin to quickly stretch and bloom, without forming a head of cabbage. Even if the head of cabbage ripens in a dark place, it can turn out to be rotten and loose.
Care features
The Zimovka variety is quite unpretentious in care and even under the condition of poor soil fertility, gardeners can achieve a good harvest. To do this, you need to adhere to several rules of care:
- When the seedlings of the culture rise and grow stronger, they can be dived, which will increase the space for nutrition.
- When removing seedlings, you need to water the soil well so that a soil lump remains on them.
- When transplanting plants into another container or on a bed, the root is shortened by a third.
- The plant should be watered no more than 1-2 times a week, taking into account atmospheric conditions. With excess moisture, cracks and rot may appear on the surface of the heads of cabbage. Damaged fruits cannot be stored.
For correct and stable growth of the crop, suitable feeding is needed throughout the entire ripening. The first portion of fertilizer is added to the soil even before sowing seeds. Wood ash, sawdust and rotted mullein are laid in the sowing holes.
At the stage of forming the third leaf, the time for the next feeding is coming. Two weeks before this moment, you need to soak the bird droppings in water, wait for the fermentation process to stop, add water and gently water each seedling with a solution. First, the beds should be watered abundantly with plain water. After the forks are formed, the bushes are watered with a solution of 10 liters of water with 30 grams of superphosphate.
A number of other standard soil fertilizers can be used as needed, depending on the maturation stages and the presence of diseases in the plants.
Advantages and disadvantages
The great demand for winter cabbage among summer residents and gardeners is explained by the presence of a number of comparative advantages. These include:
- Yield stability. Up to 7 kilograms of mature heads of cabbage can be harvested from one square meter of planting.
- Frost resistance. The fruits are able to undergo slight frosts within -5 degrees at any stage of ripening, without loss of useful characteristics.
- Variability of use. Cabbage variety Zimovka has a universal purpose and can be used for pickling, pickling or long-term winter storage.
- Marketable condition. Heads of cabbage do not fade and do not exfoliate in the beds under the influence of the sun and various precipitations, as well as during long storage.
- Transportability. When transporting crops, the heads of cabbage do not crack or rot if standard conditions are observed.
- Good immunity. The white-headed vegetable is famous for its resistance to gray rot and point necrosis, which has a positive effect on its safety.
- Vitamin composition. Wintering contains a large amount of minerals and vitamins, including ascorbic acid and sugar.
The negative quality can be attributed only to a slight bitterness of the vegetable immediately after harvest and during the first 2-3 months of storage. It is recommended to eat wintering cabbages after this period, when the flavoring properties have improved and fully developed. From the second half of winter, it is best to use cabbage for salads, soups, and also fresh.
Pests and diseases
Unlike modern hybrid varieties, Zimovka most often receives diseases such as various forms of bacteriosis, downy mildew and black leg. To prevent the spread of these diseases, the culture should be sprayed with Fitosporin before setting the forks.
If the heads of cabbage are planted in a dark or very damp place, they may be affected by a cruciferous flea. The insect leaves holes on the leaves of the plant, which spoils the appearance of the crop and negatively affects its taste characteristics. To combat the flea, you can periodically sprinkle the plants with an admixture of wood ash with red pepper powder.
White butterflies, which lay the larvae in the leaves of the emerging head of cabbage, also cause colossal harm to cabbage. The hatching caterpillars begin to actively eat the fruit from the inside. To eliminate pests, you can use soapy water or special pesticides.
If slugs and grape snails are found in the beds, pests can be removed by hand. Also, gardeners often use bait in the form of cut cucumbers or zucchini to scare away insects.
Harvesting and storage
Wintering, as the description of the variety says, is subject to long-term storage and fermentation. The vegetable should be removed from the garden in mid-October, subject to dry weather. If you want to leave the head of cabbage for winter storage, you do not need to remove the outer stump, as the vegetable is suspended from it.
The optimum temperature in the storage of white-headed culture is 0-2 degrees. Under these conditions, you can leave the cabbage on shelves or in special boxes.
For better preservation, the forks can be sprinkled with crushed chalk. This will not only preserve the taste of the vegetable, but also have a beneficial effect on its presentation.
Gardeners reviews
Alena, Stavropol: “I have been growing this variety for the third year. Every time I have a stable harvest and practically do not encounter pests. The preservation is very good and there is always fresh cabbage in the cellar. It is ideal for various pickles and tastes much better when fresh than other varieties. "
Maria, Belgorod: “I planted Zimovka for the first time and, surprisingly, it is a very productive variety. Gathered more than 100 kg, left most of it stored for the winter. Over time, the taste only unfolds and becomes much better. "
This variety has many advantages; it can be grown not only in greenhouse conditions, but also outdoors. I use a bioactivator every year BioGrow, happy with the harvest.