Early cabbage: varieties and cultivation features

Early white cabbage has its pros and cons in horticulture. One of their advantages is the mild ripening period. Early cabbage, the varieties of which have their own characteristics, needs special care.

Content:

• Early white cabbage varieties
• Growing early cabbage seedlings
• Care features
• Growing early white cabbage in greenhouses
• How to choose early cabbage seeds?

Early white cabbage varieties

Various early varieties to taste white cabbage differ little from each other. They usually all have small forks that can crack if not properly watered. Early cabbage is not intended for long-term storage. They do not leave her in the cellar for the winter.

• "Transfer F1" is a variety of early white cabbage, beloved by many gardeners. The F1 mark means that the variety is hybrid. You do not need to collect seeds from it. The heads of cabbage are dense, juicy, do not crack, and are good for salads. Heads of cabbage, as is correct, are small, weighing up to 1.5 kg. Ripening period up to 110 days.
• "Kazachok F1" - also a hybrid variety of early cabbage, ripens within 95 days. Heads of cabbage are small (up to 1.5 kg), light, and have a milky shade in the section. Cold-resistant variety. Growth slows down in extreme heat.
• "June" - the name of the variety speaks for itself. Ripens within 90-100 days. The forks are not protected from cracking, so you need to be careful with watering. Heads of cabbage can weigh up to 2 kg. Usually, all the seedlings begin to tie the forks at the same time, together, and at the end of June you can already please the family with fresh cabbage. Not afraid of night frosts, very cold-resistant.
• "Malachite F1" is a hybrid variety of early white cabbage. It matures within 95-130 days. Heads of cabbage are small, weighing up to 1.5 kg, dense, light green with a grayish tinge.
• "Present". This variety has a fairly good yield, which, perhaps, is the reason for the name. Heads of cabbage can grow to large sizes, reaching 3.5 kg in weight. The approximate ripening period is 124 days. Heads of cabbage are resistant to cracking, stored for a relatively long time, up to 5 months in the right conditions. Dense heads of cabbage are conveniently transported over long distances.
• "Golden Hectare". Variety with high yields and tolerance to dry weather. The heads of cabbage are medium up to 2.5 kg, practically do not crack, and are stored for a long time. Ripening period - up to 110 days.

Growing early cabbage seedlings

Seedling method growing early white cabbage is the most popular. Growing seedlings begins with the selection of the seeds of the variety you need and the preparation of the soil. The soil for seedlings should be nutritious, preferably prepared in advance, in the fall. In the soil it is necessary add humus and ash, which will serve as an antiseptic and protect plants from decay. It is important that the soil is breathable. Avoid using cruciferous soil in your garden. It can contain infections that are dangerous for cabbage.

It is necessary to choose the right time for sowing seeds for seedlings.

In winter it is too early, in May it is too late (especially for early varieties). It is advisable to plant early cabbage varieties in March, when the first sunny days begin. At this time, there is already enough light for seedlings.

Don't forget to calculate when you will plant seedlings in open ground... After planting the seeds, it will take approximately 10 days before the shoots appear and another 50 days before the seedlings are ready to plant. Treat the seeds in any way you know before planting to protect them from infection. For example, you can put them in slightly salted water, mix thoroughly and let stand, and then rinse with running water and dry.

The soil for planting must be well moistened. Before the first shoots appear, no more watering is needed, so as not to cause the process of seed rot.

After the seedlings appear, they need to be thinned out. If you leave them densely planted, they will "crush" each other as they grow and grow weak. Each sprout needs an area of ​​2 by 2 cm.

After a while, the seedlings need to dive, and after another month and a half, plant in separate pots. To avoid these difficulties, you can sow the seeds initially in separate cups. There is usually not much light in March, so the seedlings need to be illuminated with artificial light. For about 12-15 hours a day, cabbage should be in a lighted place. For artificial lighting, a fluorescent lamp is suitable. Its light is close to the sun.

Care features

To grow a good early white cabbage, you need to follow a few rules of care:

1. Cabbage loves water... But you need to water it carefully, loosen the soil so that a crust does not form. Do not allow both the drying of the soil and its waterlogging. The planted cabbage should be watered at the rate of 2 liters per plant during the dry season.
2. You need to plant seedlings after 5-6 leaves appear on it. It is necessary to deepen them into the ground until the first leaves. At first, it is better to close the seedlings from the bright sun. The first hilling is carried out 20 days after planting in open ground.
3. Usually early cabbage is tolerant of any temperature other than the unbearable heat. But for seedlings, you need to observe a special temperature regime. The optimum temperature for young shoots is 17-20 degrees. At night, you can lower it even lower, by about 7 degrees. Such differences will help prevent pulling seedlings. All the power will go into the formation of forks.
4. Cabbage needs feeding. Seedlings need to be fed with fertilizers only after watering, so as not to burn the delicate root system. After planting, the first feeding is done after the cabbage has taken root. The first feeding should be in liquid form.
5. In order for the cabbage to take root, do not forget to harden the seedlings before planting. You need to start this procedure 7-10 days before disembarkation. To do this, you can take out the boxes with seedlings on the balcony. Thus, young seedlings will get used to the ambient temperature, to sunlight and wind. At first, they need to be protected with gauze from direct sunlight. A few days before disembarkation, you can no longer bring the seedlings into the room at all.
6. You need to loosen not only the ground near the roots, but also between the rows. This will allow air to penetrate better to the roots.
7. Planted plants can also be fertilized with ash to prevent certain diseases.
8. If you decide to grow cabbage in a non-seedling way, deepen the seeds into the ground by 2-3 cm.At the same time, you can plant early, since cabbage is not afraid of the cold. After emergence, the rows are thinned out. Further care is normal.

Growing early white cabbage in greenhouses

If you want to get the earliest harvest (early June), you will have to resort to greenhouses and greenhouses. In this case sow seeds for seedlings need already in February. During this time, seedlings will especially need artificial lighting.

You can plant seedlings in the greenhouse already in early April, when the first leaves appear on the shoots.

Before this, the greenhouse must be prepared, cleaned, and prepared with special soil. It is not often necessary to plant cabbage; there should be a distance of at least 35 cm between individual plants.This will allow each fork to form on its own without squeezing each other. In addition, the root system of each seedling will receive enough nutrients from the soil, and not "choke" each other.

Tips for growing early cabbage:

1. The temperature in the greenhouse should be no higher than 18 degrees during the day and about 10 degrees at night. This is optimal for seedlings. The greenhouse should have a separate thermometer that will tell you the exact temperature, do not rely on your senses.
2. Watering the seedlings should be moderate, as the soil dries out, but avoiding waterlogging.
3. Don't forget about pests. Greenhouses are often attacked by mice. To protect your crops, take care of mousetraps and other traps for these rodents.
4. The cabbage needs to be fertilized every week. Top dressing should alternate: mineral with organic. So the seedlings will receive enough nutrients. Do not forget that before the head of cabbage appears and during the setting of the fork, the proportions of fertilizer are different.
5. The greenhouse should not be tightly closed. Cabbage, like any plant, needs air circulation, even if it seems to you that it is cold outside and in a closed greenhouse it would be better. Cabbage is not afraid of frost as much as a lack of oxygen. Therefore, take care of the vents and ventilation system.
6. When the first frosts have passed, you can completely remove the protective film.

How to choose early cabbage seeds?

Buy cabbage seeds only needed in specialized stores. Buying from your hands at the bazaar may result in a bad harvest, or it may grow not at all what you expected.

The packaging must indicate the grade and expiration date. Cabbage has a shelf life of 4-5 years. Do not buy expired seeds or those on which the period is not indicated at all.

Other information is always indicated on high-quality seeds: ripening terms, care features, company name, batch number.

Pay attention to all this when buying. The variety must be suitable for the climatic conditions in your region. Now you can order seeds online. This will save time and allow you to quickly find the exact variety you need. Buying seeds on the Internet can save not only time, but also money if you make what are called joint purchases on wholesale sites. In order not to be left without a crop, purchase a small amount of seeds from different varieties and from different manufacturers. If some turn out to be low-yielding, others will rise.

More information can be found in the video.