Growing and caring for Chinese cabbage in open ground in the garden. Chinese cabbage Characteristics of the main features of the vegetable

Growing Chinese cabbage has its own characteristics compared to ordinary white cabbage. Let's look at how to grow Chinese cabbage in your garden.

Chinese cabbage has delicate and thin petals, so it requires special care.

These ancient cultures of China are actively conquering the vast expanses of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and other CIS countries. And this is not surprising, since the technology of growing Chinese and Chinese cabbage quite simple. Even when grown without seedlings in northern regions you can get a good harvest. What can we say about warmer regions? So how to grow Chinese cabbage?

First, let us recall how these two types differ. Quite often they are combined common name- Chinese cabbage, but from a botanical point of view this is completely incorrect. Chinese cabbage (salad, or petsai) and Chinese cabbage (mustard, or pak choi) are close relatives. Both species are native to China, but they differ appearance and certain features.

Chinese cabbage has very tender, sessile, whole leaves with a swollen, wrinkled leaf blade, height - 15-35 cm. There are varieties in which the leaves form a head or rosette of different densities and shapes. Chinese cabbage forms a rosette of erect leaves with succulent petioles, the height of which reaches 30 cm.

There are 2 subspecies grown, which differ in the color of the petioles and leaves.

Features of growing Chinese cabbage:

The most optimal temperature for sprouting cabbage is 15-22°C

1. Chinese cabbage is an early ripening crop. Ripening time early varieties(from germination to ripeness) - 40-55 days, late - 60-80, medium - 55-60. This makes it possible to get 2 or even 3 harvests in one season.
2. They are grown year-round when certain conditions are created.
3. Moderate temperatures (below 13°C) and long daylight hours cause flowering and bolting.
4. The best temperature for germination is 15-22°C.

To prevent flowering and bolting, you must:

• do not thicken the crops;
• choose varieties that are resistant to flowering;
• grow in short daylight hours (sow in April, cover late sowings from light in the evening and open in the morning).

Technology for growing Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage can be grown without seedling method, and with the help of seedlings.

Seedless growing method

Chinese cabbage seeds are sown in open ground:

• from the first ten days of May (or the end of April) to June 15, intervals between sowings are made of 10-15 days;
• from July 20 to August 10.

The distance between plants should be 15-25 cm. This can be achieved by sowing seeds on narrow garden bed in these ways:

1. Linear tape method with thinning of plants. To do this, sowing seeds is carried out with ribbons (three- or two-line). The distance between ribbons is 50-60 cm, between lines – 20-30 cm.
2. Plant seeds in the holes in groups of 3-4 pieces, the distance between the holes is about 30-35 cm. Thinning will be necessary.

Try both sowing methods and choose the one that seems more effective and convenient.

Sowing depth of seeds when grown in open ground– 1-2 cm. The bed with crops is covered with plastic film, especially if it is still cool outside. Seedlings do not like frost, unlike adult plants.

The first shoots appear approximately on the 3-10th day, depending on the temperature.

To protect plants from cruciferous flea beetle, sprinkle the soil with ash before germination. This pest is one of the reasons why Chinese cabbage cannot be grown after mustard, radishes and other cruciferous crops. By the way, keep this in mind when choosing green manure for the garden bed where you intend to plant any species.

With the strip-line sowing method, 2 thinnings are carried out during cultivation. With the appearance of one true leaf, thin out for the first time, leaving plants every 8-10 cm. When the leaves of neighboring plants close together, a second thinning is done, leaving plants every 20-25 cm.

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Seedling method

Growing by seedling method should be carried out, taking into account their “capriciousness” to damage the roots and replanting. They cannot be grown using picking. Chinese cabbage is more capricious, so its seedlings must be grown in peat pots and planted together with the pots in a greenhouse or open ground.

The advantage of growing through seedlings is the reduction in ripening time. By using seedlings, you can get the first harvest 20-35 days after planting the seedlings in the garden bed.

The time for sowing seeds for seedlings depends on the type of soil. When grown in:

• open ground - late March-April;
• protected ground - late January-early February.

Containers and cassettes for seedlings.

The soil for growing Chinese cabbage seedlings should be loose. It is good to use coconut substrate; it meets all the requirements for seedling soil and makes it possible to obtain healthy and strong seedlings.

For uniform sowing, seeds are mixed with sand and sown to a depth of approximately 0.5-1 cm. Seedlings are ready for planting at the age of 25-30 days. By this time, the seedlings should have 4-5 true leaves.

Planting seedlings in a garden bed.

For these types of cabbage, the most preferable soils are light, organic-rich, well-drained soils with a neutral environment.

Predecessors can be crops that are also acceptable for other brassicas.

The area allocated for Chinese cabbage must be illuminated.

Chinese cabbage must be grown separately from Chinese cabbage, since cross-pollination can occur between these species.

Seedlings are planted according to the following scheme:

• in open ground 30×25 cm;
• in protected ground – 10×10 cm (leaf forms) and 20×20 cm (head forms).

In Russia, its popularity has already equaled its distant relative - white cabbage, and according to some indicators it became a leader. So, it is not necessary to plant it as seedlings; you can get by with seeds, which makes it much easier in open ground. The second important advantage is that it forms heads much faster, that is, you do not need to wait until autumn to harvest. The third wonderful quality of this vegetable is that it can be used for salads, hot dishes, and pickles, which has already been appreciated by thousands of chefs. Usually Chinese cabbage is not capricious, but for some gardeners, instead of forming heads of cabbage, it only throws out inflorescences that no one needs. What's the matter? What secrets do you need to know to get good harvest?

Beijing or Chinese?

Growing Chinese cabbage in compliance with several simple conditions even beginners in gardening can do it. Some difficulties may arise only in reality. initial stage- buying seeds, because sometimes you can see on the bags sold in all specialized stores different names And the same picture vegetable.

Everyone knows that Beijing is the capital of China. Therefore, it is logical that Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage are the same thing, but there are two varieties of this vegetable. One is salad cabbage, or bok choy, the other is head-forming cabbage, or pet sai. Bok choy does not produce heads, only leaves that form in a rosette around the main bud. It is cultivated for the sake of these leaves, which are extremely useful from a medical point of view. In Russia, it is bok choy that is most often called Chinese cabbage, and pet sai - Peking cabbage. It is also good for health. So, it contains a lot of vitamins A, C, B, PP, carotene, lemon and ascorbic acid, proteins important for the human body.

Biological description

So that growing Chinese cabbage in open ground does not bring unexpected surprises, let’s get acquainted with the appearance of this vegetable. If all sowing and care standards are followed, the harvest consists of loose oblong heads up to 35 cm long. At the base, each leaf has a large fleshy central vein, whitish in color. Its shape is most often triangular, and its dimensions are such that it makes up approximately 20% of the leaf or more. The rest of it is quite tender, pale light green, less often green or deep green, slightly convex, with uneven edges. In cross-section, the head of cabbage has small seeds, similar to tiny balls. This vegetable loves moisture, light and warmth, but can withstand frosts in soil down to -4 degrees Celsius. This does not apply to young shoots of Chinese cabbage, which need to be provided with above-zero temperatures.

Features of cultivation

Beijing cabbage has many features. One of them is very fast germination. Therefore, growing Chinese cabbage in open ground from seeds is considered the most convenient way to cultivate it. The main condition that must be met is temperature regime. The fact is that Chinese cabbage produces full-sized heads only in the air temperature range from +13 to +22 degrees Celsius. In cooler weather, this foreign vegetable actively forms arrows, in higher weather it does not set good heads and also throws out flower stalks. Planting dates in each region should be based on climatic conditions taking into account that seeds germinate no longer than a week at temperatures environment up to +5 degrees and about 4 days at a temperature of +13 degrees. On average, in spring cabbage is sown in open ground from mid-April to mid-June, but experienced gardeners It is recommended to sow at intervals of approximately 2 weeks in order to have a harvest for a long time.

How to sow seeds correctly

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground in spring is the most convenient way get high yield. For the beds, select a well-lit place with light neutral soil.

The seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of no more than 2 cm, and preferably from 1 to 1.5 cm. Peking cabbage grows very large before the heads begin to form. lower leaves, which subsequently die off, but in the process of growth greatly interfere with each other. Based on this, the distance between future cabbages should be at least 30 cm. It is almost impossible to maintain it by sowing small seeds, so in the future the seedlings must be thinned out. In order for the seedlings to appear faster, as well as to protect them from possible frosts, it is advisable to cover the crops with film.

Further care

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground rarely causes difficulties. After the emergence of seedlings and their thinning, the first place in importance comes proper watering. Peking cabbage loves moisture and, if it is lacking, does not form good heads of cabbage. However, if there is an excess of water, it begins to rot. You need to water it abundantly, but so that the water does not stagnate, and on especially hot days, irrigate your plants using the rain method. Weeding, as well as shallow loosening of the soil, is also important for cabbage. This vegetable is fed 2 times per season with a solution of slurry or mullein.

Growing seedlings

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground at home is practiced not only with seeds, but also with seedlings. This is done for more early maturation harvest or to obtain several harvests per season. They begin to plant Chinese cabbage seedlings in the second half of April. This plant does not like transplanting and picking, so each seed is immediately placed in a separate cassette or in peat pot(tablet). You can also sow 2-3 seeds, so that after germination you leave the strongest seedling and remove the rest. As soon as the seedlings hatch, the containers with the seedlings are transferred to a well-lit, but not hot place (ambient temperature - up to +18 degrees) so that the sprouts do not stretch too much. Otherwise, planting them will be problematic. The seedlings are planted in the garden bed with a clod of earth without damaging the root system.

The holes are made 25-30 cm apart from each other. Half a glass of ash and a pinch (up to a teaspoon) of complex fertilizers are added to each. The sprouts are ready to move into open ground when 5-6 leaves appear on each. In the first days after planting, young plants need to be covered with film at night to protect them from sudden temperature changes. The harvest can be harvested in just 3 weeks.

Growing in summer

Since Chinese cabbage ripens very quickly, it can be harvested twice per season, sowing the seeds again from late July to mid-August. It is not sown in June, which is due to the length of daylight hours, which for the formation of heads of cabbage should be no more than 12-13 hours. Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground in July is not much different from the process in spring.

The only thing that gardeners should do additionally is to artificially shorten the length of daylight hours for their cabbage by covering the plants with lutrasil. You also need to ensure sufficient watering and prevent the soil from drying out. To obtain seeds, cabbage is planted in months when the sun shines for more than 13 hours. It doesn't matter how high the air temperature is.

Shooting Chinese cabbage

Almost all gardeners plant Chinese cabbage to produce heads of cabbage. But sometimes, instead of forming heads, plants begin to throw out flower arrows, and there is no harvest. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to comply with all standards when growing Chinese cabbage in open ground. The photo below shows what the rows should look like before the final thinning. With this method of planting, excess plants are not thrown away, but used for cooking.

Arrows may appear:

When the daylight hours are too long;

Density of plantings;

Lack of nutrients in the soil;

Insufficient watering in hot weather.

Sometimes cabbage becomes capricious when transplanting it. This happens when gardeners, thinning out plantings, try to save excess plants by transplanting them to another place.

Pests and diseases

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground in the country or personal plot usually goes without any problems. Important: it is not advisable to plant this crop after other cruciferous crops (radish, radish, mustard), which reduces the risk of diseases characteristic of these crops. Among the pests, cabbage is most often attacked by flea beetles, which can completely destroy the seedlings. To combat insects, the bed should be sprinkled with ash. Slugs also like to feast on cabbage leaves. If they are spotted on the site, special traps are set for them. Another pest is cabbage weeds, which lay eggs on back side leaves. If such masonry is found, they are destroyed manually.

Cabbage is a vegetable that can be used to make a lot of excellent salads. However, it is not only famous for its amazing taste, but also provides the body with useful substances and vitamins. Today there are a huge number of different varieties of vegetables, all of them are simply rich in vitamins and differ from each other in appearance. One of the most beneficial for the body is Chinese cabbage, which last years is becoming more and more popular among chefs all over the world.

Chinese cabbage is a biennial plant that is grown as an annual. Depending on the variety, it has leaves of light yellow or bright green color. This plant is a loose head of cabbage with juicy, tender leaves that have a white vein. The edges of the leaves have a beautiful wavy or jagged shape.

The peculiarity of the variety is that it does not have a stalk. The cabbage plant is thrown into soup or pickled, and the leaves are used mainly for making salads. Asia is famous for pickled Chinese cabbage. They call this dish kimchi and many believe that it prolongs life.

How does Chinese cabbage grow?

Features and history of origin of the vegetable

Chinese cabbage appeared in China several thousand years ago, then it came to Korea and Japan, and over time it spread to Asian countries. After some time, this vegetable became popular in Europe, as well as in our country.

Why is Beijing becoming more and more popular? This plant is a source useful substances and vitamins. The main advantage of the variety is that even in winter it does not lose its vitamins and benefits the body.

The most important beneficial substances that are included in its composition include:

• protein;
• mineral salts;
• vitamins C, A, K, PP, as well as a group of vitamins B;
• amino acids;
• organic acids.

In addition, the “Beijing” also has medicinal properties. She helps:

• for cardiovascular diseases;
• stomach ulcer;
• strengthens the immune system;
• prolongs a person's life.

A very interesting fact is that this vegetable contains lysine, which helps cleanse the blood and destroy foreign proteins.

Chinese cabbage kimchi

The right way to plant Chinese cabbage at home

What gardener doesn’t dream of pleasing himself and others with new achievements and growing Chinese cabbage at home. To grow this plant from seeds, you can plant them directly in open ground, or you can first grow seedlings. Planting Chinese cabbage at home, both in Belarus and the Moscow region, as well as in the Urals and Siberia, follows the same pattern.

The only difference is when to start sowing the seeds and the time when the vegetable begins to bloom. If you decide to use the first method, you should make holes in the garden bed at a distance of 30 cm from each other and pour humus into them. Seeds are sown to a depth of no more than 2 cm. They are sprinkled with ash on top and covered with film. In a week you will be able to see the first shoots.

What to do and how to plant seeds in the country house or in the garden to get a good harvest? It is necessary to choose the right sowing time. Time to plant cabbage in the garden:

• in spring from and to April 20;
• in summer from July 19 to August 9.

If you want to receive early harvest, then “Beijing” for seedlings should be sown at the end of March. And if you dream of enjoying the harvest in winter, then seedlings should be planted in the second half of June.

Suitable for this plant loose soil, therefore, for sowing it is best to use a mixture of humus (1 kg) with coconut substrate(2 kg).

The seeds are immersed in the soil no more than 1 cm and placed in a dark and warm room. When the first shoots appear after 3 days, they should be moved to a lighted place.

look after Chinese cabbage you need no more than for ordinary white or colored cabbage.

It is necessary to water the seedlings when the top earthen ball dries out. However, 4 days before transplanting the seedlings, watering is stopped.

In general, the sprouts will be ready for planting in a month, when they have 4 leaves.

Why shouldn't you pick?

This plant does not like picking and takes a long time to take root in a new place. It will not be possible to transplant or transplant seedlings while preserving the roots. Getting accustomed to a new place will take a long time. Therefore, it is not recommended to dive it - it is better to initially sow it in separate containers or peat tablets.

Before planting seedlings in open ground, they must be hardened off. To do this, young shoots are brought to Fresh air, first for a couple of hours, then the time spent on the street is gradually increased. When they are able to spend a day outside, then the seedlings will be ready for planting in a permanent place.

As for the soil for this vegetable, it should be well-drained and loose. Great option there will be loamy soil. In addition, a plant of this variety should not be planted in the place where tomatoes and beets used to grow.

The soil for planting such a wonderful variety begins to be prepared in the fall. To do this, dig up the soil and add lime to it. When the soil is dug up in the spring, then humus is added to it.

"Beijing" feels great in a greenhouse. However, for this you must strictly adhere to 2 rules:

1. Maintain a temperature range of 15 to 20 degrees - therefore an unheated greenhouse will not work;
2. Air humidity should be between 70-80%.

If these standards are not followed, a peduncle may form, and the plant will be susceptible to various diseases.

The advantage of growing Chinese cabbage in a greenhouse is that you can independently regulate the length of daylight hours and maintain optimal temperature. A greenhouse will also help protect your crops from frost. And if it is heated, then you can grow this plant even in winter.

This plant loves moisture, coolness and light. Young shoots are especially sensitive to temperature changes and frosts. Therefore, in order to protect them and give them the opportunity to bloom, it is necessary to cover them with non-woven fabric.

In addition, the canvas will also protect the vegetable from direct sun rays on particularly hot days. It also helps remove excess moisture and hide the sprouts from the cruciferous flea beetle, which likes to profit from it. It will also be useful to mulch the soil, which will retain moisture and prevent the appearance of weeds.

To obtain excellent harvest The vegetable must be watered once a week with warm water.

Fertilizing also has a beneficial effect on it. The first feeding is carried out 14 days after planting in open ground.

Infusions made from chicken droppings, grass or mullein are especially useful. A liter of this fertilizer is poured under each plant. If cabbage was planted in the spring, then fertilizing should be done 3 times, and if in the summer, then 2 times.

If you want to get a good ovary, then it costs a liter hot water and drop 2 g into 9 liters of cold water boric acid and treat the “Beijing” with this solution.

In order for the vegetable to lie in the cellar for as long as possible, it is better to give preference to varieties that are harvested in September. And also, the more leaves remain with the head of cabbage, the longer plant will be stored. In addition, it will last longer if it is placed in a room with high air humidity. In this case, each head of cabbage is well wrapped in plastic film. You should also inspect each head of cabbage every 14 days and remove dried or rotten leaves.

Under no circumstances should you store Pekinka next to apples. They secrete a substance that causes the leaves of the plant to wither.

Cabbage can also be stored in the refrigerator or on the balcony. The main thing is that condensation does not form on it, and the temperature does not drop less than 0 degrees.

In general, when storing cabbage on the balcony or refrigerator, you need to follow the same rules as when storing it in the cellar.

You should also know that the vegetable will last in such conditions from 1 to 4 months. If you want it to last longer, you can use the following storage methods:

• sourdough;
• drying;
• freezing.

The first method is sourdough. Is one of the most simple ways storage The recipe for sourdough is very simple: you need to pour 10 kg of shredded cabbage with 600 ml of water and add 100 mg of vinegar, 2 tsp. salt and sugar, as well as 2 cloves of garlic squeezed through a press. Then, under pressure, all this should stand in a room with room temperature about a day, and then 14 days in the cold.

To dry the “Beijing”, cut it into strips and place it in an oven preheated to 100 degrees and open the door slightly. It will be ready in 4 hours, after which the dried vegetable is placed in cotton bags.

To freeze, throw shredded cabbage into salted boiling water for 3 minutes. After this, the vegetable is dried and frozen.

As you can see, Chinese cabbage - wonderful plant, which will look like a decoration on any table. Don’t be afraid to take on growing Pekinka, because it is not picky about care and is very useful. Therefore, every gardener should allocate a place in his summer cottage Chinese cabbage.

For the first time, Chinese cabbage began to be grown in China, from where it came to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Indochina, and then spread to other regions. In Russia, this culture is not yet so popular, but it has already fallen in love with many who acquired it for the first time. The plant's white, fleshy petioles and green foliage are often used to prepare various dishes or eaten raw as a snack.

Chinese cabbage has undergone a long selective development and today has the ability to take root in any country. The plant crop does not require complex care, but to obtain an abundant and high-quality harvest, you need to know the rules of its cultivation.

Description and characteristics

Asian cabbage appeared in Russia only in the 19th century. Over many centuries, the plant has gone through many stages of selection, as a result of which several varieties of this type of crop were formed. Hybrid varieties have gained great popularity, as they are able to take root even in the harsh conditions of temperate latitudes.

Cabbage belongs to herbaceous plants the Cruciferous family, which also includes broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, turnip, radish, daikon, etc. Chinese culture is a biennial plant that is cultivated as an annual. Cabbage leaves are presented as tender and juicy plates with a triangular or flat shape. They are characterized by wavy or jagged edges and pimply inside. The leaves form loose heads or rosettes, ranging in color from light yellow to rich green.

The leaf blades of the plant are added to salads, soups, side dishes, and marinades. East Asia known for her traditional dish kimchi, which contains pickled Chinese cabbage.

Today there are two main types of Asian cabbage:

• Chinese cabbage. This type is very popular outside of Asia. In our country it is often sold under the name “Chinese salad”. White stems with wide pale green leaves curl into loose, elongated heads of cabbage. Chinese cabbage is used for pickling and preparing salads.
• bok choy. This species is smaller in size than its Beijing counterpart. Smooth, dark green leaf blades do not form a head, but are located on thick stems around a central point. It is this variety that is most often grown by Asians. Recently, bok choy has been actively grown and sold in the United States and some European countries.

Despite external differences, both types of plant crops contain a large number of vitamins and other beneficial substances, which makes them suitable products for a healthy diet.

Landing Features

In our latitudes, both varieties of Chinese cabbage are cultivated. Growing and caring for them are practically the same, but planting different varieties, differing in ripening time, should be kept away from each other so that they do not conflict.

Cabbage prefers open, unshaded areas. It will develop well on the east or west side. Although the plant has high degree frost resistance, germination of seeds or seedlings occurs at a temperature not lower than +16 degrees. The soil for cabbage should be light, loose, neutral, but fertile. The culture develops well in drained and moderately wet soil, so a loamy substrate would be ideal for it. Acidic soils should be limed in the fall. In the spring, the site is dug up and a mixture of humus and compost is added to the soil.

The crop is grown without seedlings and using seedlings.

Growing from seeds

Before planting, seed material needs preliminary preparation, after which the seeds have a greater chance of germinating as quickly as possible:

Treated seeds are planted in prepared soil, well heated by the sun. Water the soil thoroughly and then monitor required level humidity and heat.

Typically, planting is done in April, when the temperature is about +14-20 degrees. At higher rates, cabbage may produce flower stalks. If the growing conditions are favorable, then the first harvest after emergence can be expected within a month.

Seedling method

Longer, but a fruitful way is to grow cabbage for seedlings.

The seeds are prepared according to the same procedure as described above. If you grow seedlings in advance, you will reduce the risk of losing the planned harvest. The first fruits appear earlier than when planting seeds immediately in open ground. It is necessary to sow material for seedlings a month before planting on the site. The best time boarding to receive summer harvest It will be the end of March - beginning of April. If you plan to stock up on vegetables for the winter, then the seedlings are planted in late June - early July.

Depending on the variety, seedlings should be located at a distance of 20-40 cm from each other; There should be 0.5 m of free space between the rows.

Caring for cabbage in open ground

To get a high-quality harvest within the planned time frame, you must adhere to certain rules in caring for the crop you grow.

After planting the seedlings Plants in the ground should be covered with cloth for the first time. The material will protect young bushes from spring frosts, direct rays of the hot sun, possible rain and pests. Such shelter promotes better rooting and formation of cabbage.

10-15 days after planting, the soil around the bushes is mulched with straw or peat. From time to time you should loosen and weed the earth, removing weeds and excess grass.

Like any other plant, Chinese cabbage needs watering. Once every 7 days, each bush should be watered generously at the root with warm, settled water. It is necessary to ensure that moisture does not get on the foliage. Asian crops should be watered in the morning or evening to prevent the leaves from getting sunburned.

The first fertilizing is applied 15 days after planting the seedlings in the soil. For this they use organic fertilizers, of which mullein infusion or chicken droppings. But you should be careful with organic matter, since a high nitrogen content in the soil can lead to plant diseases. IN spring period fertilizing is applied 3 times, in summer - 2 times. The formation of heads of cabbage is positively influenced by foliar feeding in the form of a solution of boric acid. Treating leaves with this substance should be done in the evenings.

Collection and storage

For winter storage Chinese cabbage is grown from June and harvested in October. The heads of cabbage are wrapped in film and placed in wooden boxes. Containers with vegetables are stored in a basement or other dry room at a temperature of +1-3 degrees. Twice a month it is necessary to inspect the heads of cabbage heads for deformations. The spoiled parts are removed and the vegetables are wrapped in new material.

The harvested crop can be stored in glassed balcony. If the room temperature drops below 0 degrees, then the boxes will need to be covered with a blanket or other warm material. Healthy and dense specimens can be placed in the refrigerator. Shredded cabbage can be fermented or stored in the freezer.

Diseases and pests

Caring for Chinese cabbage also involves regularly inspecting its leaves. The following insects can occupy the plant:

• Harmful centipedes,
• Cabbage flies
• bedbugs,
• Cruciferous flea beetles,
• Medvedki,
• Fires,
• wireworms,
• Turnip whites,
• Secretive proboscis,
• Slugs,
• Dark nutcrackers,
• flower beetles,
• Petiole mosquitoes.

Unfavorable conditions can provoke the appearance of diseases in cabbage:

In the first stages of fungal diseases, the affected parts are removed, and the remaining leaves are treated with fungicides. For preventive purposes, seeds and seedlings should be treated with the necessary preparations in order to increase the plant’s immunity to various diseases and pests. Do not forget about the conditions of maintenance and care of the culture.

Caring for Asian crops does not require much effort and time, but only if you follow the rules of planting and growing can you achieve high-quality and delicious harvest juicy vegetables.

Chinese cabbage belongs to the category and is characterized by the formation of an erect rosette of leaves. This homeland vegetable crop is China. In recent years, growing Chinese cabbage has been gaining popularity and recognition among gardeners in our country.

Varieties of Chinese cabbage are also represented by the Beijing version of pe-tsai, which has not only a leaf form, but also a head. An annual and fairly cold-resistant plant, it is characterized by early ripening and shows excellent results when grown in all regions of our country.

Plant characteristics

Chinese cabbage is relatively unpretentious to cultivation conditions, however, a consistently high yield is usually obtained when cultivating this useful plant in greenhouse protected soil conditions. To grow a high-quality crop, you should adhere to standard agrotechnical practices and take into account biological features this plant.

Cabbage from the Middle Kingdom is quite demanding in terms of humidity. The leaves of such a plant are collected in a fairly dense rosette, the diameter of which can reach fifty centimeters. This parameter depends not only on the variety of Chinese cabbage, but also on the growing conditions.

The main advantage of Chinese cabbage is the ability to grow in any weather conditions, as well as in shaded areas. Maximum yield is recorded in warm climates and with short days. Chinese cabbage is very responsive to high-quality soil composition, and bountiful harvest large leaf rosettes is formed when grown on well-cultivated, moist and fertile soil.

Beneficial features

Central Asian cuisine widely uses the plant in the preparation of a significant number of different dishes, which is due not only to the excellent taste of Chinese cabbage, but also to the quality indicators of this green crop. The leaves of the plant contain about seventy percent vitamin C. In addition, the plant is rich in vitamins A and B, as well as iron and big amount microelements.

Chinese cabbage is especially revered for the following beneficial properties:

• lowering blood sugar levels, which makes it very valuable food product for people with diabetes;
• strengthening the cardiovascular system and improving calcium metabolism;
• cabbage juice is effective means to reduce pain in diseases of the digestive tract;
• cabbage has proven itself as an excellent preventive remedy for colitis, gastritis and duodenitis.

According to some reports, regular use of this plant can significantly reduce the risk of cancer.

Landing rules

It is possible to grow a healthy and well-bearing plant if you follow cultivation technology. Chinese cabbage can be grown not only through seedlings, but also without seedlings.

When growing a plant without seedlings, the following rules must be observed:

• sowing seed material for greenhouse ridges it is carried out from the end of April at intervals of two weeks;
• spring sowing should be done leaf varieties, and in summer sowing preference should be given to head-forming varieties;
• the standard step between plants should not be less than fifteen centimeters, and the depth is about two centimeters;
• It is allowed to use a strip-line sowing method with subsequent thinning of plants or a group sowing method, in which several seeds are planted in one hole and then the weakest shoots are removed.

To grow Chinese cabbage in seedlings, you should use the following technology:

• the plant is very difficult to transplant, so it is advisable to grow seedlings in separate tablets or peat pots;
• uniform sowing is achieved by mixing the seed with sand;
• the sowing depth should be about one centimeter;
• planting seedlings on greenhouse beds should be done extremely carefully, when five true leaves appear on the plants;
• for plants leaf type the planting pattern for seedlings is 10×10 centimeters;
• for cabbage-type plants, the planting pattern for seedlings is 20×20 centimeters.

Useful properties of Chinese cabbage (video)

Features of care and feeding

Leaf and head types of Chinese cabbage are cold-resistant crops, as well as light and moisture-loving. Adult plants tolerate cold temperatures down to minus six degrees, but when temperatures rise above twenty-five degrees Celsius, Chinese cabbage can get leaf burns.

Caring for this type of cabbage is not difficult and involves regular and abundant watering, shallow and careful loosening of the soil, and timely control of weeds and pests. Good result provides high-quality mulching of greenhouse soil. Chinese cabbage is very responsive to sprinkling. When well prepared in the fall, fertile soil During the entire growing season, only two fertilizings with organic fertilizers are required.

Diseases and pests

Weakened plants, which are cared for with gross violations, are most often attacked by diseases and pests. Most often, Chinese cabbage is affected by the following pests.

Garden cruciferous flea beetles

The pest damages the leaf blades. If there are a significant number of pests, the plant may die. Small pest overwinters in plant debris left in the greenhouse.

The fight against fleas consists of sprinkling cabbage leaves tobacco dust or wood ash, as well as timely destruction of garden plant debris. An effective measure is the use of smoke or pollination of plants with sodium silicon fluoride, as well as the placement of special traps in the greenhouse - flea traps.

Cabbage white

The pest butterfly begins its flight in midsummer. Particularly harmful are cutworms and white moths at the caterpillar stage. A massive infestation of the pest in a greenhouse threatens not only crop loss, but also the death of plants.

The fight against butterflies and caterpillars involves pollinating plants with a product such as sodium silicon fluoride and manually collecting pests from cabbage leaves. Effective drugs are "Lepidots" And "Xibatsilin".

Cabbage fly

An effective method of plant protection is high-quality moistening of the soil around the plants, as well as pollination of the soil with naphthalene or tobacco dust mixed with sand.

The most dangerous diseases of Chinese cabbage include the following types:

• white and gray rot cabbage;
• a kilo of cabbage;
• false powdery mildew;
• cabbage;
• cabbage mosaic.

To prevent the development of these formidable diseases, you should follow the rules of crop rotation, carry out proper preparation greenhouse structure to winter period, promptly weed the beds with cabbage and immediately remove all plant debris.

Plant health is of no small importance. Strong Chinese cabbage is rarely affected by diseases, so it is advisable to use only zoned and disease-resistant varieties for sowing, and the seed material should be subjected to high-quality pre-sowing treatment.

Chinese cabbage can be eaten raw and for cooking at the age of one and a half months. At this stage, grown in accordance with cultivation technology, hothouse plant has several juicy and large leaves.

How to grow Chinese cabbage (video)

The main process of harvesting Chinese cabbage occurs when the heads close. Despite the fact that the plant belongs to the category of very cold-resistant, it is advisable to harvest the entire crop before the onset of stable frosts. Otherwise, the heads of cabbage will be poorly stored and will significantly reduce their taste. In a beautiful way storage involves digging up a plant with a root system and then burying it in moistened sand. Containers with sand should be stored in a cool room with good ventilation.