How to grow large cabbages
To grow large, strong cabbages, you need to know a few simple secrets. Our consultant Aleksey Rybin, an agronomist and a candidate of agricultural sciences, shares useful advice.
8 2016 June
Cabbage is most comfortable at a temperature of + 22 ° C. When it warms up to + 28 ° C, its growth slows down, and if at the same time the soil dries up, then the growth process will stop completely. This vegetable loves water, so if there is no possibility of frequent watering, then in hot weather try to shade the garden bed. Make a simple canopy with sticks and burlap so the cabbage won’t wither under the sun and will lose less moisture.
It is necessary to loosen it once every 10-12 days, at least. Do not forget about hilling, thanks to which the plant becomes more resistant. The early and middle varieties are spud twice a season, and the late ones – three times. It is better to do this after heavy rain or watering so that the earth sticks to the stalk of the plant.
Heads of cabbage crack at working summer residents – plants do without watering all week, and their growth and development slows down. On weekends, gardeners come, try to catch up and flood the beds heavily. The growth of the fork resumes at an accelerated pace. The inner leaves begin to grow rapidly, while the outer leaves do not withstand the onslaught from the inside and are torn. Therefore, shade the plants, mulch the soil. If it rains after dry, sultry weather, cut the cabbage root system with a shovel on one side. Moisture access will decrease, and the growth of the heads will be less rapid.
Protect yourself from pests
You cannot do without processing the beds in the Moscow region, otherwise the gluttonous insects will be left without a crop. There are a number of drugs on the market that will remove pests quickly and effectively. Naphthalene repels pests – you need to scatter the powder along the cabbage beds (for 10 square meters – 50 g of the substance). You can use the old method – sprinkle the beds with makhorka mixed with ash in a 1: 2 ratio. For 2 sq. m you will need a matchbox of the mixture. Pollination is done 2-3 times every week. The plants are pre-wetted so that the mixture sticks.
After planting in the ground, cabbage of early varieties is fed twice during the season, and mid-season and late varieties are fed 3-4 times from the moment of planting until harvesting. It is necessary to pour one liter of top dressing into each well (0,5 l of mullein, 30 g of azofoska + 15 g of “Solution” or “Kemira” diluted in 10 liters of water).