When to plant cabbage for seedlings: the best time

Terms of sowing

First, we note that when choosing the timing of sowing cabbage, you need to check with the lunar calendar for 2022. It is necessary to plant cabbage for seedlings on a growing moon, and in no case on a full moon and a new moon.

The time when to sow cabbage for seedlings also depends on the variety: early white cabbage is usually planted in March, and cauliflower a week later. Having correlated with the lunar calendar for 2022, consider what days you can start planting different varieties of cabbage:

• March 15, 26, 30 – planting early varieties of cabbage (Golden hectare, Zora, Yaroslavna, Nakhodka);
• 2, 7-10, 19, 22 April – sowing of mid-season and late varieties (Gift, Slava, Stolichnaya, Belorusskaya 455);
• May 4, 9, 10, 13, 27, 29 – late varieties (Kamenka, Turquoise plus, Khalif, Sugarloaf).

And remember, when choosing a month when to sow cabbage for seedlings, you must take into account the climatic conditions of your region. It is also important how fruitful the year will be. Since the winter of 2022 turned out to be quite cold, the summer, most likely, should be hot, and most importantly, sunny. Light is a good condition for plant growth, but heat can be harmful. Experienced gardeners keep a weather diary, which makes it possible to make plans for planting seedlings. You can start journaling for 2022 today.

Cooking seeds

For any cabbage planting technology and for any variety, the seed preparation technology remains the same. To begin with, we will disinfect: lay the seeds on gauze and place them in water at a temperature of up to 50 degrees for 15-20 minutes. After we cool the seeds and leave them in the room (temperature 18 degrees) for a day. The next day, we place the seeds in refrigerators for a day, this is necessary for hardening, take out and dry.

It is important that the seeds remain moist in a warm space; for this, wet gauze, folded in one layer, can be placed on top of them. Please note that not all seeds can be wetted with water. In order not to be mistaken, familiarize yourself with the features of seed treatment, either it will already be written on the package, or the seller will advise you.

Video “Growing seedlings”

How to grow seedlings

In such a case as cabbage seedlings, one important detail must be taken into account – in an apartment, the result of the harvest will not be able to please you with its fertility. The reason is that cabbage requires light, coolness and fairly high humidity. The best option is to sow cabbage in a greenhouse, where the conditions are favorable. Considering that 2022 turned out to be quite cold and the soil moves away from frost longer than usual, wrap the seedling box with ordinary film.

First, let’s prepare the ground for the box. Universal recipe: prepare a mixture of peat (1 bucket), sand (half a bucket), ash (1 liter jar). Ash is an important ingredient for quality, fertile soil. It is an antiseptic and does not allow the development of diseases such as black leg. The mixture is thoroughly mixed, transferred to a box and poured abundantly with water. The next step is to sow the seeds. You can prepare a soil mixture based on turf land. An important guarantor of soil quality is its air permeability. Remember that every year you need to prepare new soil, otherwise the seeds will not take root.

So, where to plant the seeds is your personal choice: in a box at least 7 cm deep or directly into the greenhouse soil. We make grooves 2 cm deep, place the seeds at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. Since the seeds are large enough, this will not be difficult, and thanks to the space, the fruit will be easier to grow. Under no circumstances should the soil be flooded with water. It is enough to water the seedlings every 2-3 days. And so that the soil does not lose moisture, cover the seedlings with a film. Due to the balance of moisture and heat, crops will soon appear, then the film can be removed. Loosen the soil, then the water balance will be normal.

Watch the reaction of the soil, this is the most important thing in this period. The reaction must be neutral. Another important point is to make sure that the hypocotyl knee does not stretch too much. Otherwise, the lower part of the stem may dry out at the seedlings, and this is fraught with such a disease as a black leg. The reason for the mechanism of the disease is the fact that the seedlings become crowded, it stretches out and the lower part of the stem dries up. If you see that the crops have thickened, do not be afraid to remove some of the plants. Then in the future there will be much less trouble and less plant disease.

Planting and growing algorithm

To begin with, we note that seedling transplantation must be done in the afternoon. Also note that if the temperature outside is above normal, it is better to wait with a transplant until cooler weather.

Before transplanting plants in the garden, it must be prepared. We irrigate the soil with a 3% solution of copper sulfate (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water). This procedure is performed approximately one week before landing. The next step will be deoxidation of the soil already during planting. In each recess with the plant we add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of calcium nitrate. Then we transplant the plant with the earth into a hole previously filled with water.

When making a hole, remember that it must be deep enough. It will be necessary to fill in the cotyledon leaves completely, real sheets – half and after 2 days remove the soil from them. With this scheme of action with seedlings, all its leaves will remain. And by this time there should be 4-5. But in the event that there are more sheets, it will be right to get rid of the extra ones, since they still do not play a major role. A sign that the seedlings have nevertheless taken root will be new sheets.

Remember that every year has its own climate. Watch for changes in the weather, if it is not possible to grow seedlings in 2022, conduct a detailed analysis of the climatic conditions of your region. If all the recommendations for caring for cabbage seedlings are taken into account, then this year you will be able to enjoy juicy cabbage. 

Video “Cabbage seeds for seedlings”

To correctly perform this operation, you should know about all the intricacies of the process. They will be discussed in this video.