Savoy cabbage: how to grow a good crop

Savoy cabbage is still rare in gardens. And very in vain. Because it has a lot of useful qualities. Firstly, it is beautiful – a head of cabbage is formed from delicate green corrugated bubble leaves. Secondly, it will appeal to those who do not like the specific smell of white cabbage. And the housewives appreciated the delicate taste of Savoy dishes, especially pie fillings and cabbage rolls.

There is an opinion that Savoy cabbage is suitable only for fresh consumption and cannot be stored for a long time. However, this is not so: late varieties, despite the fact that the heads of cabbage are loose, lie in cellars and cellars until April. But what is true is true – this type of cabbage is not even worth trying to ferment.

Savoy cabbage is considered one of the healthiest varieties. But many are afraid to grow it, they are afraid of difficulties in care. However, growing this cabbage is no more difficult than white cabbage.

Growing Savoy Cabbage

Savoy cabbage has 4 advantages: it is drought-resistant, frost-resistant, unpretentious and disease-resistant.

But she also has disadvantages: the plant occupies a rather large area, and heads of cabbage are prone to cracking.

Loose fertile soils, moisture-intensive, neutral or slightly acidic, are suitable for Savoy cabbage. Clay soils require the addition of sand and peat. The landing site should be well lit and protected from strong winds. Since autumn, the soil has been filled with humus and wood ash.

The optimum temperature for growing this Savoy cabbage is 18-22°C. Although Savoy cabbage is drought tolerant, regular abundant watering and sprinkling increase the yield and quality of heads.

Planting Savoy cabbage

Savoy cabbage is best grown through seedlings. Depending on the variety, its cabbage is sown at different times:

• early varieties – in early March;
• mid-season – in the last decade of March;
• late – in the second decade of April.

Seeds are pre-calibrated, treated and hardened.

Hardening is carried out in 2 stages: first, they are placed next to the battery for 2 days, then they are wrapped in a damp cloth and a plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 days.

Swollen or even germinated seeds are sown at a distance of 1,5 – 2 cm from each other in loose soil to a depth of 1 cm. For good seedling growth, it is important to provide an abundance of light, cool conditions, abundant watering and high air humidity. Water for irrigation and spraying should be the same temperature as the soil. Every 15 days it is useful to feed Savoy cabbage with infusion of biohumus with the addition of wood ash.

The optimal age of seedlings is 35-45 days, by which time it should have 4-5 true leaves. 1,5 – 2 weeks before planting in the ground, seedlings begin to harden and reduce watering (1).

Seedlings are planted on the beds from the end of April according to the scheme 40×40 cm or 50×50 cm. The soil is preliminarily shed with a solution of a biological fungicide and covered with a film to preserve moisture. 1 handful of humus and wood ash are brought into the planting hole, 1 liter of water is poured. After planting, the soil is compacted, watered and mulched with organic matter – peat, humus, compost. In sunny weather, plantings are shaded for 1 to 2 days.

Outdoor Savoy Cabbage Care

Watering. Frequent watering provokes the reproduction of slugs and disease outbreaks. Therefore, it is important to water Savoy cabbage when the soil dries to a depth of 2-3 cm, but abundantly to the entire depth of the root system.

In hot, dry weather, cabbage can be watered by sprinkling. But when a head is formed, sprinkling is stopped so that the water does not provoke the development of bacteriosis.

Feeding. On fertile soils filled with organic matter and ash, it is enough to carry out only 2 top dressings:

• 2 weeks after planting seedlings – 1 liter of mullein with the addition of potassium humate per 10 liters of water;
• at the beginning of tying a head of cabbage – 1 teaspoon of potassium monophosphate per 10 liters of water (this solution should be poured over the cabbage) and 1 glass of ash (it is scattered around the plants).

If Savoy cabbage leaves turn yellow, foliar top dressing should be carried out – 10 ml of ammonia per 10 liters of water.

Hilling. This technique is important so that the plant does not collapse under the weight of the head of cabbage. Hilling is carried out 2 – 3 times per season as the head grows.

Loosening and weeding. These two actions are easily combined. Loosening is important to carry out every time after watering or heavy rain. However, it is possible to reduce the time for these works if the plantings are mulched with humus or dried grass with a layer of at least 7 cm.

Protection against pests. Bioinsecticides Lepidocid and Bitoxibacillin are used to protect Savoy cabbage from cruciferous flea, cabbage aphid and caterpillars of white butterfly (2). Both chemicals and folk remedies are used against slugs – mulching with materials with a prickly structure and spraying with a solution of ammonia (10 ml per 10 l of water + 10 g of laundry soap).

Harvesting savoy cabbage

The formation of heads of early cabbage must be monitored to prevent cracking and decay. As soon as it reaches a weight of 400 – 800 g, it can be cut.

Late varieties intended for storage are cut before autumn frosts below -5 ° C, leaving 3 – 4 cover green leaves. As a rule, these are already large heads of cabbage weighing up to 3 kg. Cleaning must be done in dry weather. Before harvesting, the plants are not watered for 2-3 days.

How to store savoy cabbage

For storage, late-ripening varieties of cabbage are grown. Immediately after cutting the heads of cabbage, they are transferred to a dry, ventilated, cool place. The outer leaves are not removed – when they dry, a protective coating will be obtained. Before transferring the heads of cabbage to the basement or cellar, they must be powdered with crushed chalk.

In the place of storage, the cabbage is laid out on dry shelves with the stalk up at a distance from each other. You can also hang heads of cabbage by the stump.

The optimum storage temperature for Savoy cabbage is from -3 to 3 ° C, air humidity is 90 – 95%.

Popular questions and answers

We asked about Savoy cabbage agronomist Oleg Ispolatova – he answered the most popular questions of summer residents.

Sources of

1. Lebedeva A.T. 150 vegetable crops in your garden // M.: Eterna, 2006
2. State catalog of pesticides and agrochemicals permitted for use on the territory of the Federation as of July 6, 2021 // Ministry of Agriculture of the Federation