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How to grow cabbage seedlings. The technology of growing seedlings of cabbage at home. Video: growing cabbage seedlings of different varieties by season

Some dishes are simply impossible to imagine without cabbage. Thanks to this vitamin vegetable, food is nutritious and tasty. Therefore, almost every gardener actively plants his fruits in his beds.

AT home environment you can grow good and strong seedlings of cabbage

What is seedling method

Growing cabbage seedlings at home helps to get a rich and high-quality harvest. Thus, ready-made young plants are planted on the garden bed, which have developed roots and are able to grow in the future.

When purchasing them on the market, there is a risk of getting fruits of a not quite desirable variety, so many gardeners are accustomed to sowing cabbage for seedlings on their own.

Not every gardener has a greenhouse that provides full-fledged care for sowing, so vegetables are often grown at home, on balconies and window sills. To get healthy and strong seedlings, it is necessary to observe some conditions for planting and caring for it:

you need to choose the right sowing time for each variety;
prepare the ground for seeds, pots and cassettes;
it is important to maintain temperature and light conditions;
disinfect seeds and soil.

It is convenient to grow seedlings in cassettes

Variety selection and sowing time

Depending on the growing season, cabbage varieties are:

Early ripe. Maturing terms from 40 to 50 days.
Mid-season. Approximately 30 days before landing.
Late ripe. Ripens in 45 days.

Early varieties are sown in late February or early March. They are suitable for fresh consumption, possibly for salads. The other two varieties of seeds are suitable for salting and storage for the winter. They are usually planted at the end of March.

Planting seeds of late cabbage is carried out at the end of March

The main varieties and their features

Peculiarities different types cabbage:

Cauliflower consists of a white head and dense inflorescences that have yellow flowers at the ends. Cauliflower seedlings are planted in mid-March and until the end of April. You can grow it in the same ways as late and mid-ripening white cabbage. Regarding top dressing, cauliflower prefers chicken manure. This fertilizer will allow you to get juicy and large heads of cabbage. There are several subspecies of cauliflower: Amethyst, Purple ball, Snowball, Snowdrift and others.
Broccoli feels great in the middle lane. The sowing date is mid-March. Unlike cauliflower, broccoli is fertilized immediately after transplanting into the ground to increase the possibility of engraftment. The harvest is taken in several stages.
White, red. Sowing seeds begins at the end of March. It is necessary to choose a specific variety of such cabbage in accordance with climatic conditions. For a cold region, Dumas F1, Zarya F1 are suitable, for the middle zone Zarya and Kazachok.
Brussels. It is less popular among gardeners. But with the help of home seedlings, you can get quite decent cabbage High Quality. This variety is grown in areas with a warm climate. In the north, Brussels sprouts can be grown in a greenhouse. Planting cabbage for seedlings begins from mid-March to the end of April.

If it was not possible to start planting seeds on time, you need to speed up the process by soaking them in water (18-20 degrees) and drying them after 12 hours. Then it will be possible to resume cultivation correctly.

Red and white cabbage are planted at the same time

Seed preparation and planting

Cabbage loves fertile and neutral soil, which should not be heavy. Ready land is suitable for sowing. You can also prepare homemade soil by mixing equal amounts of peat, garden soil and sand. Next, the soil is fertilized and calcined. A good fertilizer is wood ash, which prevents various diseases and nourishes the soil with useful trace elements.

Seed pre-treatment is required. To do this, it is correct to use special biostimulants. This will help reduce the risk of plant disease. The lightest solution can be obtained by dissolving 2 tablespoons of wood ash in a liter of water. The next day, he insists and then filtered. Also, cabbage seeds are placed in dark pink potassium permanganate and kept for 20 minutes. They are then washed in clean water.

It is necessary to prepare special containers for sowing seeds. Large individual boxes, peat pots, and cassettes are well suited for this. Many gardeners choose to grow in cassettes, considering them lightweight and economical option. Cassettes are made of plastic, and they have a different size and number of cells. The seedling itself is uniform, without weeds. In cassettes, the roots take the form of a cell, completely entangling a clod of earth, which also contributes to a good survival of plants in the garden. The effectiveness of the cassettes has been proven by many studies in this field.

The prepared containers are covered with earth and small grooves are made 1 cm deep every 3 cm. When the seeds are dry, they are covered with earth and covered with sand or peat to avoid the formation of a crust on the surface. The soil must be watered abundantly, and the container must be covered with a transparent film.

At normal room temperature, the first shoots can be grown in 5-6 days. An important condition is the observance of the night mode. It is necessary to withstand 6-9 degrees for 4-7 days. To achieve this effect, the seedlings are stored in the room during the day, and when night falls, they are taken out to the balcony.

Cabbage seedlings grow well in peat pots

Growing conditions

It is necessary to carry out quality care of planted seeds:

It is necessary to constantly ventilate the room where the seedlings are located. The air should not be cold.
Water future fruits with settled water once a week. It is necessary to ensure that the top layer of soil does not dry out. You can not overdo it with watering, as this can lead to root rot.
The place where the seedlings are located should be well lit. Sometimes additional lighting may be needed when the day turned out to be cloudy. Lighting fixtures will help with this. The distance from them to the plants should be about 15 centimeters. You can use artificial light up to 12 hours a day.
Seedlings are susceptible to diseases that lead to rotting of the root system. If there are signs of a "black leg", it is necessary to remove the diseased plants, and pour the good ones with a solution of potassium permanganate. Watering should be reduced, and the soil should be sprinkled with ash.
When the first sprouts appear, they should be planted in larger boxes. Peat cassettes or pots are suitable for this. When planting, weak plants are selected, one third of the root system of healthy seedlings is removed. This procedure is called "picking" and it is carried out to stimulate the branching of the roots. Then the sprouts are transferred to a warm place with a temperature of 18-20 degrees. Later it reaches 18 degrees during the day and 12 at night.
Seedlings are fertilized several times to provide the plants with a full range of useful trace elements. To do this, use manure and warm water in a ratio of one to five or chicken manure in a ratio of one to fifteen. Three grams of superphosphate can be added per liter of water. Top dressing is carried out after planting, then after 15 days and immediately before planting in the ground is planned.
The first couple of weeks the cabbage grows slowly, but after three weeks and picks, the sprouts will have three leaves. It is good if, by the beginning of transplanting into the ground, the plants will have a height of about 20 centimeters and 5-6 leaves per stem.
Before planting, it is necessary to harden the sprouts and stop watering for a week. Containers with seedlings are left on the open balcony, slightly opening the film. Water it two hours before planting in open soil.

For planting in open ground, seedlings are taken with at least 5 leaves.

Features of transplanting into open ground

This procedure is best done in the afternoon. Foggy and rainy weather is perfect for transplanting. It includes the following actions and rules:

It is necessary to prepare a place for planting in advance, remove the roots of weeds, dig up a bed, break up clods of earth.
Carefully dug up the plants, they are placed in the holes to the very leaves. Then the seedlings need to be covered with earth and compacted, as well as disinfected from an earthen flea.
In the future, regular care, abundant watering and hilling of cabbage are required. As the seedlings grow, the amount of liquid required increases.

Sowing seeds and further transferring plants to open ground is not such a complicated procedure as it seems at first glance. But for beginners, there will be some difficulties in growing.

Then you can use the video blogs of Yulia Minyaeva, where the secrets of good cabbage seedlings are described in detail and in an accessible way. This visual aid will be useful for some experienced gardeners.

Regardless of what kind of vegetable you plan to grow, be it cauliflower or Brussels sprouts, you must follow simple care rules and strictly follow the planting technologies for each species. Then, having shown attentiveness and patience, it will be possible to get an excellent harvest.

Cabbage seedlings at home

Many people want to grow seedlings of early cabbage at home - after all, there is nothing more pleasant than your own early harvest. AT early dates you can grow all kinds of cabbage - not only white cabbage, cauliflower, but also broccoli, etc. So it's just a matter of your diligence and desire. Today I will tell you some important points in seedling business, this will help you avoid mistakes.

Conditions for growing seedlings of cabbage

The most important conditions for growing quality healthy cabbage seedlings are: humidity, temperature and light. These three components are the basis of your early harvest.

To grow early cabbage, you need to sow the seeds no later than March 20th. It is best to start sowing the first batch of seeds on March 10th, and the next in 5 days. This way you can plant three batches of seedlings. Then the ripening will happen in stages - so it will be easier for you to harvest.

Preparing cabbage seeds for sowing

In order for cabbage seedlings to be powerful, it is necessary to check the seeds for germination.

For better germination, soak cabbage seeds in a special nutrient solution of sodium humate (a teaspoon of fertilizer per liter of water). You will also need to disinfect the seeds - special solutions are suitable for this, for example, Fitosporin, Baktofit.

After these preparatory procedures, you can sow cabbage seeds for seedlings in the soil mixture. It should consist of sand, peat and sod land.

Disinfection of the nutrient mixture

To avoid infection and diseases of seedlings, it is necessary to ignite the soil or at least disinfect it with boiling water (just carefully spill the earth with boiling water).

You can also use a solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. I do not advise adding humus from the site, otherwise your seedlings may get sick with a "black leg" or some other infection that has settled in the damp earth.

You can make the land more fertile by adding ash, chalk, dolomite and superphosphate. On a bucket of soil, take a tablespoon of these substances and mix thoroughly with the soil.

What containers are suitable for seedlings of cabbage

It is important not to take too deep containers. Containers deeper than 5 cm should not be used.

Sowing cabbage seeds for seedlings

Before sowing seeds, spill the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate - about 1 gram per 10 liters of water.
Make grooves to a depth of 1 cm in 3 cm increments. Seeds can be sown 1 cm apart.
To retain moisture and speed up germination, it is best to cover the container with clear plastic wrap. Then you will see abundant shoots on the 3-4th day. The container should be kept at a temperature of 20-25 degrees.
When your seedlings give two real leaves, you can pour peat into the aisles.

Very important! In order to prevent cabbage seedlings from stretching, immediately after seed germination, remove the container to a cool and bright place where the air temperature will not be higher than 7-8 degrees.

You can arrange such a "cold greenhouse" on the window, just make sure that the seedlings do not freeze during possible frosts.

Picking seedlings of cabbage

When your cabbage seedlings are 10 days old, you need to make a pick. I advise you to plant seedlings in separate cups with the same mixture that you used for sowing.

You can take peat pots, plastic cups or multi-section seedling cassettes. In plastic dishes, be sure to make holes in the bottom to allow excess water to escape during watering.

I do not advise transplanting seedlings into boxes after picking.. Otherwise, when planting it in the ground, you will definitely damage the root system and the seedlings will be more difficult to take root.

The first time after picking the seedlings, it is necessary to create a temperature regime of 15-18 degrees for it. After the seedlings take root in a new place, the temperature should be reduced to 10-14 degrees.

Watering should be carried out as it dries with warm water with a temperature of about 20 degrees.

About 5-7 days before transplanting into open ground, it is necessary to stop watering.

Hardening seedlings of cabbage

As soon as the seedlings have real leaves, it needs to be hardened off. The hardening procedure consists in lowering the temperature to 4-5 degrees Celsius while lighting sunlight, for this, the containers are put out for a short time on the street or on the balcony. The first day at 3 o'clock, the second at 5 o'clock, and the third day at 7 o'clock.

Top dressing of cabbage seedlings should be done 2 times - 5-7 days after transplantation and a few days before planting in the ground.

How to protect seedlings from the "black leg"

To begin with, let's look at what affects the diseases of the seedlings of the "black leg". First of all, it is excessive watering, elevated temperature, a small amount of light. You can prevent this disease with the help of biological preparations Baktofit, Fitosporin, etc.

When your seedlings have 5-6 leaves and are 18-20 cm tall, you can start planting them in the ground. This can be done in Central Russia from late April to early May.

Video - the secrets of sowing cabbage for seedlings

Video - sowing early cabbage for seedlings

Home-grown cabbage seedlings will allow you to get a much faster and better harvest. Your vegetables from your garden are much more valuable in terms of nutrition and energy!

Cabbage is a popular vegetable with a rich set useful substances. The culture is hypoallergenic, contains many vitamins (A, C, E of groups B and PP), lutein and zeoxanthin (compounds that improve vision, they protect the retina from damage by free radicals leading to cancer).

The presence of cabbage in the diet promotes the formation of bone tissue, improves metabolism, and helps regulate the process of hematopoiesis.

A biological feature of all types of cabbage is a predisposition to diseases and pests. To get vegetables without signs of disease, pest damage, cabbage is treated with special preparations a couple of times a week (when grown on an industrial scale). To obtain an environmentally friendly product, it is advisable to grow cabbage on your own plot.

The choice of seed material and agricultural technology for growing seedlings of cabbage

Any group (early, middle, late) is grown through seedlings. For the process to be successful, it is necessary to choose high-quality seed. Purchase seeds in specialized stores. The following information must be indicated on the package: variety name, relation to the group, region of cultivation, approximate data for sowing and planting in open ground, harvesting dates. Pay attention to zoning - these varieties are most resistant to diseases and pests. It is advisable to grow varieties of different ripening periods.

For all cabbages, regardless of the species (white, kohlrabi, savoy, etc.), seedling growing technologies are the same. Differences in care begin after planting in open ground.

Growing methods may have some features: with a pick, without a pick, in boxes, in separate containers, in a greenhouse, etc. The leaves of the plant are fragile, easily damaged, so growing in separate pots without picking is optimal. Picking can slow down the growth of the plant. This trick can be resorted to if the seedlings are sown too early or the weather conditions do not favor transplanting into open ground. After picking, the stems of the plant will become more straight, thickened, the seedlings will more easily endure the subsequent transplant.

When to plant cabbage for seedlings

Planting time for cabbage seedlings:

When to plant early: sow early varieties of cabbage in late February-early March
Sow medium varieties of cabbage from the third decade of March to the end of April
When to plant late cabbage for seedlings: late varieties of cabbage are sown for seedlings during the first and second decades of April.
June when to plant seedlings? To plant seedlings in early June, sow seeds in late April-early May.
When to sow Brussels sprouts for seedlings: from the second decade of March to the first decade of April inclusive.
Ornamental cabbage when to sow seedlings: from mid-March to the end of April.
for seedlings: in the first decade of April.
When to sow cauliflower for seedlings: in the second or third decade of March, 40-50 days before planting in the ground.

Time frames are indicative. When to plant cabbage seeds for seedlings depends on the variety, the growing season of the plant, the climatic conditions of your region (affects further development in open ground). So, early varieties ready to harvest in 90-120 days, mid-ripening - in 150-170, and late - in 160-180 days.

Soil for seedlings of cabbage and preparation of containers

The soil needs nutritious, light, breathable, moisture-intensive. For those who do not like to waste time, it is quite possible to limit themselves to universal soil for seedlings.

Sod or leafy soil (or both in equal proportions) can become the basis of the substrate. Add humus or peat. Soil looseness will help provide sawdust, perlite or river sand. The proportions of the mixture are 1:2:1.

A mixture based on garden soil with the addition of ash, lime and sand is suitable.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Carry out disinfection in one of the ways: freezing, calcining, steaming, treating with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

Treat the soil mixture dried after disinfection with an antifungal drug.

Then apply fertilizer. For 10 kg of soil you will need: 15-20 g of urea or ammonium nitrate, 20-25 g of granulated superphosphate, 25 g of slaked lime, 10 g of potassium sulfate. These components can be replaced by 30-35 g of nitroammophoska.

As a container, you can use: ordinary boxes, special containers with cells, individual cups, peat pots.

Sowing cabbage for seedlings

When sowing in boxes, sow in rows, keeping a distance of 5-6 cm between rows and 3-4 cm between plants.
For individual plantings in a cassette or peat pots, place 1 seed.
Embedding depth - 1-2 cm.
Cover crops with foil or glass.
Until seedlings appear, moisten the soil with a fine mist sprayer.

How to sow cabbage for seedlings at home video:

Growing cabbage seedlings from seeds

Conditions for growing seedlings of cabbage

At different stages of development of seedlings, an appropriate temperature regime is required:

From the moment of sowing until the emergence of sprouts (about 7 days), the soil temperature should be 18-20 ° C, and the temperature environment during the day - 8-10 ° C, at night - 7-9 ° C.
After 12-15 days of growth, lower the soil temperature during the day to 15-17 ° C, at night it should be 12 ° C. Leave the temperature readings the same.

What to do so that cabbage seedlings do not stretch video:

How to dive cabbage seedlings

In the phase of the appearance of 2 true leaves, pick seedlings. Pinch the tip of the root, then deepen into the soil to the cotyledons.

After picking before planting in open ground, the soil temperature should be 10 ° C, the air temperature during the day - 14-16 ° C, at night - 7-10 ° C.

From lack of lighting, seedlings are drawn out. In order for the seedlings to be strong, it is necessary to provide daylight hours lasting 12-15 hours. Fluorescent lamps can be used.

The soil should be slightly damp. Avoid stagnant moisture so that thin roots do not suffer from rot. Water about once a week.

How to dive cabbage seedlings into cassettes at home, look at the video:

How to dive cabbage seedlings in a greenhouse, look at the video:

Diseases of cabbage seedlings

Seedlings can be affected by the following diseases: black leg, mucous and vascular bacteriosis, fusarium wilt.

To prevent this from happening, you should:

Water the seedlings with a solution of biological products (phytosporin, trichodermin or planriz). Cook it according to the instructions on the package.
Mulch the soil with sand or other moisture-absorbing material.
Reduce the intensity and frequency of watering, especially if the air temperature is low.

Protection from pests is also necessary. Dangerous for cabbage are cruciferous flea, cabbage moth, cabbage fly, aphid, scoop, whitefish, etc. If pests appear, treat with a biological product in the tank mixture. In the fight against leaf-eating, lepidocide, bitoxibacillin, dendrobacillin have proven themselves well.

How to feed cabbage seedlings

Feed your seedlings. At the stage of formation of 2-3 new leaves, add a solution: for 10 liters of water, 20-25 g of superphosphate, 20 g of ammonium nitrate, 5-10 g of potassium chloride. It can be replaced with a solution of 30-35 g of nitroammophoska for the same volume of water. Apply the second top dressing after 10-12 days, and the third (if necessary) - after 15-20 days. After foliar feeding, be sure to rinse the seedlings with clean water.

How to harden

It is important to harden the seedlings (accustom to a lower temperature, more oxygen, brighter lighting). Keep night air temperature within 7-8 °C, daytime - 14-15 °C, and in cloudy weather - 12-14 °C.

Preparing cabbage seedlings for planting in the ground

When to plant seedlings of cabbage in open ground

When to plant seedlings of cabbage in the ground? Early seedlings are ready for transplanting into open ground after 45-55 days of growth, medium and late - after 35-45 days. The seedling should have a well-developed root system, an elastic stem, 5-7 leaf plates of a uniform color (without spots, damage), the height of a young plant should be 18-20, 20-25 cm, respectively.

Cabbage seedlings are not afraid of low temperatures; they can be planted already in steady weather without night frosts. Plants are able to withstand short-term cooling down to -2 ° C, but it is better to plant when there are no return frosts.

Numerical data in the article are averaged, indicative. In each individual case, they will have their own values, close to those indicated.

Cabbage seedlings are planted less often, on average adhering to the scheme of 40x50 cm. Holes are made, slightly deepened, so that water is retained in them after watering. Subsequently, when loosening, the earth is leveled, slightly falling asleep the cabbage stalk to the level of the leaves, due to which a more powerful root system.

The plant is cold-resistant, not picky, but it can also be destroyed by low temperatures, insufficient humidity, starvation, and diseases. But this does not mean that the only possible way is to purchase cabbage seedlings on the market.

This is a rather risky undertaking: you can end up with the wrong variety or, for example, the seedlings will not be viable.

It is believed that ideal conditions for growing cabbage can be created in a greenhouse. However, even at home, on the windowsill, even a novice summer resident can do it. Of course, provided that he complies with all the necessary conditions, and first of all - correctly calculate the time of planting seeds.

Growing seedlings of cabbage

Starting this responsible business, remember that cabbage loves light, moisture, fertile soil. Its varieties are divided into early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening, respectively, and have different ripening periods. So, you should sow depending on the variety. Usually the countdown is from the time of germination, and this happens on the fourth or fifth day.

So consider: early varieties from germination to planting seedlings should be separated by an average of 45 days, medium varieties - 35
days, later - 50.

You can sow early varieties in mid-March, but you can extend the time for harvesting ripe cabbage if you sow in three steps, three to four days each.

Mid-ripening cabbage is planted in the twentieth of April, until the beginning of May they keep crops on the windowsill, and only then dive into a cold nursery. However, you can immediately sow in this hotbed if you cover the soil with Lutrasil.

Late varieties are sown in early April, and later, like early cabbage, dive into cold nurseries. At the same time, plants should already form three to four ordinary leaves.

Suitable soil for growing cabbage

This vegetable prefers fertile and neutral soils. If you have to grow seedlings on the windowsill, do not be too lazy to prepare a special soil mixture from equal parts of peat, soddy soil and sand. It is advisable to immediately disinfect it by calcination or treat it with a one percent solution of manganese. In the future, this will save seedlings from many diseases.

The soil will be truly nutritious if you add one tablespoon of superphosphate and dolomite flour to each bucket, two tablespoons of ash. Mix the resulting mixture well and grind with your hands.

Preparing for planting cabbage seeds

First of all - do not be greedy: select only large seeds for planting.
You will save plants from infectious diseases if you prepare them correctly. To do this, place them in a gauze bag, lower them for 20 minutes in a container of water heated to 50 degrees. Then spread the seeds on a saucer, cover with a cloth and place on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 12 hours. Thus, you will accelerate the germination of grains.
And just before sowing, prepare a nutrient solution (dilute 1 teaspoon of sodium humate or Ideal liquid fertilizer with a liter of water) and soak the seeds overnight. In addition, it would be good to additionally disinfect the seed with a biological preparation. In stores for summer residents, Fitosporin, Baktofit, Planriz are on sale.
The last step in preparing the seeds for sowing is to rinse them in clean water and dry them.

Sowing cabbage seeds for seedlings

You have prepared and filled the soil mixture in shallow containers or boxes in advance. Now you need to level the ground and pour it with a pink solution of manganese. Make grooves 1 cm deep and plant the seeds at a distance of one to two centimeters from each other.

Sprinkle them with earth and cover the boxes with glass or plastic wrap. Before germination, do not forget to occasionally raise the shelter for ventilation.

If the room temperature is not lower than 20 degrees, you will see seedlings in three to four days. Immediately, the boxes with plants should be moved to a cooler place, where they will be for at least a week. At this time, do not forget to water and carefully loosen the seedlings.

Picking cabbage seedlings

As soon as you notice one or two true leaves on the shoots, start picking, which will increase the nutrition area, improve lighting, and strengthen the root system of the seedlings.
You can transplant into cups or pots. The first step is to cull diseased and weak plants. And in healthy ones, you need to remove a third of the root and carefully plant it in prepared containers.
Further, the seedlings will take root well if they are in a heated room, at a temperature not lower than 18 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 15 - 16 degrees should be gradual.

How to care for cabbage seedlings?

Planting cabbage seedlings in open ground

Usually seedlings of early cabbage are planted in open ground on April 25 - May 5. When planting, adhere to the following scheme: 45 cm - the distance between rows, 25 cm - the distance between plants.

Late-ripening cabbage is planted later, May 10 - June 1. The planting pattern is somewhat different: between plants - 35 cm, between rows - 60 cm. Choose a cloudy day for planting, and if it turned out to be sunny, transfer work to the afternoon.

Check the seedlings again: do not plant weak and sickly-looking plants. The best are strong, stocky specimens.

Seedlings after planting are often affected by a cabbage fly, so it is advisable to treat it with a solution of karbofos (0.1%) before planting.

Pour the prepared wells with plenty of water (about a liter each). Bury seedlings to true leaves.

In the first days after planting, try to spray the seedlings with water from a watering can two or three times a day. In April and May, the sun's rays are quite strong, so in order to avoid burns, it is advisable to shade it at first.

Summer residents who have experience in growing seedlings at home or in a greenhouse claim that this is a rewarding business. Do not be lazy, show care and patience - and an excellent harvest is guaranteed. And how to do without cabbage? The queen of gardens contains carbohydrates and proteins, minerals, vitamins, it is good in any form - raw, pickled, stewed. And if it is also grown with your own hands, which means it does not contain nitrates, then it has no price!

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There are two ways to grow cabbage - planting seeds directly in the garden and seedlings, when seedlings first grow at home or in a greenhouse. But sowing directly into open ground is possible only with the onset of warm weather, so this option is only suitable for varieties of early and medium ripening periods (later ones will not have time to form a crop). However, early cabbage is often planted specifically for the quick production of heads, so it is also grown in seedlings.

Growing seedlings of cabbage

To navigate the dates of planting and harvesting cabbage, you need to know the ripening dates of different varieties:

early varieties ripen 45–60 days after planting seedlings in open ground, or 75–100 days after planting seeds for seedlings;
medium varieties ripen 120–150 days after sowing seeds;
late varieties from the first shoot of seeds to a fully marketable head of cabbage grow from 150 to 180 days.

The harvest of early cabbage will be ready in 75-100 days after sowing the seeds

Seedling planting dates

The timing of planting cabbage seeds for seedlings is calculated "from the opposite", that is, from the approximate timing of planting in the garden. Seedlings from warm rooms can be moved to open ground when the temperature is 10–12 ° C outside (at night - 5–8 ° C). AT central regions This is the end of April - the middle of May. Seedlings of early cabbage can be planted at the age of 30–40 days, medium - 40–45 days, late - 45–55 days.

Freshly planted, but hardened seedlings can tolerate short-term frosts down to -1 ° C. Seedlings that have taken root and grown into growth can withstand short-term frost down to -3°C. And an adult plant in autumn is not afraid of cold down to -8 ° C.

In the central regions, cabbage seedlings are planted in the garden in late April - mid-May

Capacities

There are two ways to grow seedlings:

with a pick;
without a pick.

A pick is an additional transplant of seedlings into larger pots, usually with pinching the root. Initially, the seeds are planted densely, with a distance of 4–5 cm between rows and 1–2 cm between plants. To do this, use boxes or trays. This method allows you to significantly save a scarce warm and bright area in the apartment. Then it gets warmer outside, and many people have the opportunity to dive seedlings and continue to grow them on unheated balconies, verandas, in greenhouses or greenhouses.

Best to use wooden boxes. The tree passes air and excess moisture well, but at the same time it swells and does not allow the earth to dry out quickly, providing a favorable regime for growth.

It is better to grow cabbage seedlings in wooden boxes

Sealed plastic boxes should have drainage and holes in the bottom to drain excess moisture. You also need to carefully monitor the condition of the soil. Overfilling is fraught with stagnation of water and rotting of the roots, underfilling will inhibit growth.

When growing seedlings without picking, each seed is planted not in a common box, but in a separate container with a volume of soil from 100 to 300 g. A variety of containers are used:

plastic cups;
cut packs from under dairy products;
special cassette trays with cells from 100 g.

If it is decided to do without picking, then the seedlings are grown in a separate container with a soil volume of 100 to 300 g

Priming

There are dozens of recipes for compiling soil from different components:

sod land;
garden land;
peat;
manure or compost humus;
forest humus;
sand.

The proportions can be very different. For example:

2 parts of garden land;
1 part of sod land;
0.5 parts of peat;
0.1 part of sand;

2 parts of garden land;
1 part forest, compost or manure humus.

Quarry (mountain) coarse-grained clean sand can make the soil a little looser. And silty river or clay, on the contrary, will stick the soil together. Sand in the soil should not be more than 10%. It has no nutritional value and merely serves as a neutral filler.

In any case, it is better to take garden soil as a basis - approximately the one in which the plant is to grow. In principle, only garden soil can be fully used if it is loose chernozem, structural (crumbly) loam or humus-rich sandstone. Humus and peat are added to improve heavy and poor soils, as well as to make the soil more loose and breathable.

Ready-made soil mixtures are also sold in stores. There is only one requirement - the earth must be loose, loose, breathable. After watering, when dry, it should not become hard, which is often due to excess clay. Requirements for fertility are low, the plant does not stay in this soil for long. And it’s even better if in the garden it turns out to be more good conditions- then the cabbage more easily tolerates the stress of transplantation and immediately starts to grow. In addition, excessively fertile soil can lead to the fact that the seedlings begin to “fatten” (drive the green mass), and after transplantation, the root system will not immediately be able to provide such a volume of greenery with nutrients, and part of the lower foliage will inevitably die.

Soil for seedlings can be bought or made independently

The quality of any soil will significantly increase the addition of wood ash to the mixture at the rate of 0.5 liters per 10 liters of the mixture. Ash does not contain nitrogen, it breaks down when burning firewood. But the full set of all the nutrients accumulated by the tree over the years of growth is preserved.

In any soil, there may be pathogens that are dangerous for cabbage. Therefore, to secure the land before planting, you can disinfect it in various ways:

the soil in the container is shed with boiling water;
shed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate or a 0.3–1% solution of hydrogen peroxide;
roasted in ovens.

Means that destroy only pathogenic microflora and do not touch the useful ones do not exist today. Any disinfectant and antiseptic destroys all microflora non-selectively. But there are drugs that can populate the cultivated land with colonies of microorganisms useful for plants (for example, Fitosporin, Baikal).

Seed preparation

Cabbage seeds germinate without problems, they do not need to be soaked before planting. But there is a risk of infection with pathogenic microflora, which can then damage the plant. Therefore, to eliminate this risk, seeds can be disinfected by immersing for 20–30 minutes in one of the following solutions:

pink solution of manganese;
3% hydrogen peroxide solution;
hot water with an initial temperature of about 50 o C.

To increase the energy of seedlings, the seeds can be soaked in a biostimulant according to this folk recipe: three crushed garlic cloves are poured hot water with a temperature not exceeding 50°C. Seeds are kept in solution for about 30 minutes.

Among stimulants industrial production drugs Energia, Epin, HB 101 and others are known. They are used not only for soaking seeds, but also in the process of growth (according to the instructions).

Store bought seeds can be processed. Information about this can be read on the packaging or ask the seller. Also, they always have a bright color. Such seeds are planted immediately without preparation.

Processed seeds can be of different colors

Planting cabbage seeds

Action algorithm:

Soil is poured into the container so that it is at least 1 cm below the sides (otherwise water will flow out during irrigation). Plastic cassettes with cells are poured to the top, because, as a rule, they already have a small volume, and when watering, water spreads over neighboring cells.
Soil is poured into the container so that it is at least 1 cm below the sides
In a separate container in the ground, holes are made 1.5–2 cm deep. Grooves of the same depth are made in the boxes. If the seedlings dive, they plant more densely - 2-3 cm between rows and 1-2 cm between plants. If the seedlings will grow in a box before planting in the garden, they are planted less often - 6–7 cm between rows and 5–6 cm between plants.
Too dry soil is moistened.
After planting, sprinkle with loose soil so that the seeds are at a depth of about 1–1.5 cm.
Cabbage seeds are sown to a depth of 1–1.5 cm
The earth is watered from a small watering can or plastic bottle, in the cork of which holes are made. Water is used warm, standing at room temperature to saturate with oxygen for at least a few hours. Watering with a direct, powerful jet can compact the soil and wash out the seeds.
After watering, the seedlings are covered until the first shoots different materials. Newsprint can be placed directly on the ground. It is light and will not be able to crush the seedlings. Heavier cardboard, plywood, plastic or glass are placed on the sides of the container. Under shelter, the soil and air retain moisture better, and this improves germination. The soil under the newspaper dries out faster than under other materials, but it is more convenient to control soil moisture with it. If the newspaper is dry, water it directly over it 1-2 times a day (more often in the sun, less often in cloudy weather).
The soil should be constantly moistened, when it dries out, watering is needed. At room temperature, seedlings appear on the 3-5th day.
At room temperature, cabbage shoots will appear on the 3-5th day

Sometimes the container with seedlings is covered or covered with a film. This creates greenhouse conditions (stable humidity and elevated temperature) and will speed up seedlings by 1-2 days. But a hotbed covered with transparent glass and film can overheat very quickly under the sun, especially at room temperature. Therefore, transparent covers should not be airtight, they leave gaps on both sides of 2–3 cm, and holes can be made in the film.

Video: cabbage seedlings on the windowsill

sprout care

When the first shoots appear in the form of a loop, any shelters are immediately removed. After the bulk of the seeds germinate, the seedlings need to be cooled.. When it is not possible to open the window, it is taken out into a bright, colder room or outside, if the weather permits. At a temperature of 3-5 o C, the seedlings are cooled for 4-5 hours, at 10-14 o C - 8-10 hours.

Seedlings are cooled once so that they do not stretch and get the first hardening.

In the process of growth, the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Water seedlings in the morning, evening or afternoon in cloudy weather when there is no sun..

Cabbage, unlike nightshade, can also be watered over the foliage.

Cabbage is demanding on moisture, but excessive waterlogging can ruin it.. This is possible in sealed plastic boxes, where water collects at the bottom even when the top layer dries out. This is not terrible with a shallow root system, but will affect when the roots reach the water at the bottom.

Waterlogging can be identified by the following signs:

the plant suddenly and obviously stops growing;
leaves turn red-purple.

Cabbage acquires the same color on the street from light frosts and long cold weather. But in open ground with normal humidity, this can be considered a good sign that the seedlings have hardened and become resistant to cold.

top dressing

No need to strive to ensure that the seedlings have grown a powerful green mass. Large leaves give a good presentation, but immediately after transplantation, some of them will still dry out. Small seedlings take root easier.

The green mass of the plant is rapidly growing in excessive heat and with abundant nitrogen. Therefore, nitrogen fertilization may be required only if the soil for seedlings was extremely unsuccessfully selected - too scarce, which will manifest itself as a clear lag in growth. For example, fresh sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil.

If there is more than 10% of fresh sawdust in the seedling soil, then the plants will be pale and underdeveloped. The same can happen when using high-moor peat - the nitrogen content in it is about 3% (5 times lower than in lowland peat).

In case of nitrogen deficiency, 3-4 g of ammonium nitrate or urea is diluted in 1 liter of water, and fed 1-2 times for the entire growth period. When makingin wood ash soil, the plant is almost guaranteed to grow healthy and strong. If such an amount of ash (0.5 l per 10 l of soil) could not be found during soil preparation, a small amount can be dispensed with when feeding. 1 st. l. ash is diluted in 1 liter of water, let it brew for 2-3 days. Spend 2-3 top dressing with a break of 7-9 days.

Temperature conditions

The ideal conditions for the growth of young seedlings of cabbage are 18–20 ° C. At this temperature, seedlings appear already on the 3–4th day. Although you need to know that the seeds will germinate even at a temperature of only 1-3 o C, they will take longer to germinate. Mature seedlings (from the age of 3-4 weeks and older) favor cooler air - 15-18 o C.

Cabbage seedlings will grow at both 5 o C and 25 o C. Therefore, growth can be regulated by temperature. If it grows too rapidly, forms lop-sided pampered leaves, outgrows, development can be stopped by growing it in a cool place, for example, at 10–15 ° C. Temperatures above 25 ° C are bad for plants both indoors and outdoors in summer. From excessive heat, the cabbage wilts, slows down in development, the lower leaves may fall off.

There are three ways to lower the temperature on the windowsill:

cover the battery under the windowsill with a blanket;
open a window;
on a sunny day, cover the glass with paper or newspaper to avoid direct sunlight, overheating and overdrying of the soil.

When shading, we must not forget that cabbage is very demanding on light, especially at first.. From its lack, the seedlings will begin to stretch, and this elongation will affect the growth period in the form of a too long or twisted stump. Therefore, it is necessary to shade only with direct sunlight in clear weather. A piece of non-woven covering material or paper is best. Cabbage is a "cloudy sky" culture. She loves diffused light, grows well and pours heads of cabbage in cloudy weather, and noticeably worse - on sunny hot days.

picking

Transplantation (picking) from boxes can be carried out approximately 18–20 days after germination, when the plant forms 3 or more true leaves and it becomes cramped in boxes when planted tightly. You can not dive cabbage from a separate container. Growing dived seedlings:

on loggias and balconies;
in the garden under the simplest shelters;
in greenhouses;
outdoors if the night frost has passed.

The simplest shelter is suitable for dive seedlings and for planting seeds directly into the ground

Before picking, the earth is shed abundantly so that the roots come out easily and without damage. To pry off the spine, use any flat and thin object at hand - a knife, a spoon handle, wood chips of a suitable size.

Planting interval when picking in boxes, greenhouses or racks is about 7 cm between rows and 5–6 cm between plants. You can also dive into a separate container with a volume of soil of about 300 g.

To carefully remove the plant from the ground, use a small spatula or other convenient object when picking.

hardening

A greenhouse plant that did not know outdoor conditions is always very tender. Therefore, it is advisable to harden the cabbage before planting. The first hardening is carried out under close supervision. It is in the first hours and even minutes that a greenhouse plant on the street can suffer from strong wind, cold and direct sun.

If the plant is exposed to too harsh conditions, it can take on the appearance of a burnt one before our eyes. Therefore, at the first signs of damage, the seedlings are immediately brought back, and the hardening is repeated at more mild conditions- in the shade, calm or when it gets warmer.

Seedlings that have been hardened for several hours can already be considered significantly adapted.. And then tempered without such close control. A cursory inspection every few hours is sufficient.

Landing in open ground

It is undesirable to grow seedlings for more than 50-55 days. Plants older than this age are difficult to take root. Transfer may be delayed due to weather conditions. But you need to remember that cabbage is a fairly cold-resistant plant.

There is no need to delay planting seedlings, 55 days is the deadline

It is better to plant in cloudy weather, and if in clear weather, then in the evening. Immediately after planting, the foliage may become lethargic and lie down, but if the central shoot soon grows, then the seedlings have successfully taken root.

Cabbage is planted at different intervals depending on the varieties:

early - 50 x 50 cm or 70 x 30 cm;
mid-season - 60 x 60 cm or 80 x 40 cm;
late - 70 x 70 cm or 80 x 50 cm.

Predecessors of white cabbage can be almost any culture, except for those related to the cruciferous family - radishes, turnips, radishes, and other types of cabbage. After them, common pests and diseases may remain in the ground.

Care errors and diseases of cabbage seedlings

Indoors, plants cannot be affected by frost, severe weather conditions, or pathogenic microflora. Therefore, problems with the growth of seedlings can be solely for the following reasons:

lack of light;
too thick landing;
unsuitable temperature (above 25–28 ° C);
improper watering: rotting of the roots from stagnant water or, conversely, constant drying of the soil;
absolutely unusable soil;
unsuitable for dosage or composition of top dressing.

If these errors are absent, the seedlings develop fully. But if the pathogenic microflora is in the seedling soil or is transmitted with the seeds, it can harm the seedlings with constant waterlogging. Therefore, at the first signs of growth disturbance, watering is stopped, the crops are dried in the sun, using a fan or an infrared lamp.

It also dries and disinfects the soil well, dried and hot sand in a pan, which is scattered on the ground.

In addition to drying,asthenia is dusted with wood ash or sprayed with a 0.3% hydrogen peroxide solution. These are general techniques that can stop the development of the disease if it has not had time to develop deep into the tissues of the plant. If the disease progresses, special means are used to fight, for example, Previkur. For the prevention of diseases, Fitosporin is used (according to instructions).

The window sill on the sunny side is the most valuable and scarce area for growing seedlings in the early stages. It is quite possible to grow cabbage seedlings on it, but it is often excessively warm there. And it is more rational to use this place for heat-loving crops - peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants, which should be planted in February. And cabbage can be planted with seeds in late March - early April in unheated greenhouses or simple shelters, under arcs of glass reinforcement or wire, covered with a transparent film. In clear weather, the sun warms up such closed areas up to 20 ° C and above, even if it is frosty outside. And at night, in case of prolonged cold weather, the shelters are covered with an additional layer of non-woven covering material, fabric or other warm material at hand.