Cultivation of cabbage in the Urals - planting and care, selection of varieties (Part 2)
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What cabbage can be grown in the Urals except white-headed
Today we publish the end of the story about a useful, tasty, elegant and generally indispensable beauty cabbage grown in the Urals.
Deceptive fertility
Cauliflower deserves a separate word. I used to think that I could not afford to deal with this fastidious look: hassle with seedlings, careful preparation of the ridge with the proper application of potassium fertilizers and a full range of trace elements, troubles with shading, curling leaves at the top and instability in the ground - well, at least take it and tie it up like tomatoes! But as it turned out, much of the above is completely solvable and takes very little time and effort.
The first thing I’ll immediately focus on is the selection of varieties of early ripening for a friendly harvest. The second rule - moderately fertilized soil with the introduction of potassium-but-phosphorus fertilizers (you can ash for digging and point in the planting hole), at least 200 g per 1 square. m. I don’t advise bringing fresh manure or planting it where it was stored until recently because of a significant excess of nitrogen-containing substances in the soil, which will accelerate growth, but will lead to a serious delay in setting the head of cabbage or to its complete absence.
I came across such negative experience this year. In June, an area occupied by a bunch of humus and weedy residues (humus had been lying in this place for two years) was freed, while cauliflower seedlings still remained and were looking for their place. I thought: the place is sunny, fertilized, moderately moist - why not place cabbage plot here? And posted.
In vain, very vain! It was already October, and the heads were tied only to units, and even that with a cam, and the green mass and height of the plants were astounding in their sizes. Moreover, due to the excess and unbalanced soil composition on the plot in August, signs of potassium starvation began to appear - curly young leaves and drying edges. And individual seedlings of cauliflower, which found their place in different parts of the garden, on the contrary, showed excellent results, perfectly alternating with white cabbage in a row, framing potato ridges.
An unsuccessful experiment led me today and with the planting of cauliflower on an upraised bed after a radish. Still cruciferous after their fellow-members of the family grow reluctantly: apparently, the same type of nutrient intake is affecting. And despite repeated fertilizing with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, as well as foliar top dressing on the leaves with a solution of boric acid, the experience is recognized as unsuccessful, the recommendations are entered in a notebook!
This year I preferred varieties Autumn Giant (photo 1), Purple head (photo 2), Princess, Goat-Graze, Graffiti (photo 3).
Broccoli in the Urals
Well, for a separate variety of cauliflower - broccoli, which is gaining more and more popularity among gardeners - the fame of the healer from many diseases and the development of malignant cells grows stronger. It has personally become a tradition for me to pluck fresh inflorescences every time I visit the garden. It tastes and color is pleasant.
Broccoli impresses with its yield: when the main head ripened (and it usually weighs up to 1,5 kg, depending on the variety), active growth of axillary buds begins, where later small inflorescences will grow, but in the total weight they will weigh almost like the main head.
On my experience I was convinced that broccoli grows well and gives an excellent harvest on sunny areas with fertile soil, it is demanding to watering and timely cleaning of inflorescences. The last bunches of inflorescences are cut already late
in the fall and immediately send it to the freezer (photo 4). Unfortunately, most of the vitamins are destroyed by heat treatment, but still I add it to cans with canned food, stew, make casseroles. And your favorite broccoli dish is a fresh salad with chicken.
Cabbage is not for food, so for fun
A few words are worth saying about Brussels sprouts. First of all, a significant drawback of this valuable crop is the too long growing season. This is the first thing I noticed, but my hand still reached for the bag of seeds, and the landing was carried out. In the first year, this type of cabbage showed itself in all its glory: from each bush an average of 15 full-bodied dense cabbage was collected the size of a walnut (photo 5). The rest, fading to the top, it was decided to leave until spring. Cleaning was carried out already in mid-November with a sufficiently high snow cover, and landing was carried out in early May.
According to long-term observations I can say that Brussels sprouts do not tolerate rivalry, they need moderate watering and a warm sunny place. As a culture-sealant or marker, it definitely does not fit. For her planting, you need to take care in advance of the place, including from the aesthetic side, because it is an active garden dominant, attracting enthusiastic views of neighbors and friends. If you do not get to taste wonderful kochanchikov, at least you will please yourself and those around you who are still exotic for the domestic vegetable gardens.
See also: Growing cabbage in the Urals - planting and care, the choice of varieties
5 valuable findings
Well, now about the most popular cabbage among all our gardens - white-ripe early and middle-ripening, and also late salty. On the advice of a neighbor, I decided this year to introduce new, tested by him on his 6 hundreds of hectares: Sugar Loaf, Amager and Moscow Late. And besides these varieties, the choice also fell on the Winter Head and the Stone Head, the Miracle on the record, as well as early ripening Nozomi.
If last year appeared in all respects favorable for the growth and formation of cabbage, this one was not pleased with the stability: the spring and early summer mild alternation of sunny and rainy weather was sharply replaced by the August drought and the scorching sun.
And so for a whole month - not a single cloud above your head. Only the early June and Polar regions, as well as the Savoy region, were pleased with their excellent harvest, which, despite a longer growing season, formed flat headed cabbages with an average weight of about 1,5 kg (photo 6).
And this fact is explained by the fact that varieties planted in early June with a short growing season began to head out in the beginning - mid-July, when there was plenty of moisture, light and heat. And the medium-late and late varieties started to head out during the period of drought and heat. Even despite regular watering and top dressing, including foliar, the head of cabbage formed only by the end of August and was quite small. And in September it rained. Rain water sometimes did not have time to absorb for several days. Such a cataclysm finally finished off the harvest of late-ripe cabbage: the already modest-sized heads of cabbage could not stand the excess of soil moisture and began to crack one after another. Such changes could not stand Moscow's late (photo 7), Amager, Miracle on the record. Only Sugar, Winter Head and Stone Head showed themselves staunchly (photo 8). As it was stated by the manufacturer, it is resistant to cracking varieties with high leavessness and density of head.
Analyzing the mistakes made in this season with white cabbage, I decided on the following:
1. Seedlings of late varieties need to be planted in the soil early, the optimal time is early May.
2. By the time of the planting, the seedlings must be real leaves with 4-6, low, but stocky. Overgrown sprouts for a long time are sick and noticeably behind in growth.
3. The timing of planting of different varieties must be corrected in accordance with long-term weather forecasts, to follow and compare with people's perceptions and vegetation behavior. This year, I noticed that the field grasses blossomed earlier and were seeded until the dry August, draw a conclusion.
4. Planting seedlings should be strictly according to grades and declared planting schemes, otherwise an unpleasant incident may occur. For example, the Late Moscow variety requires a more measured planting by virtue of its dimensions, spacious rows.
With his active growth, he suppresses low-growing varieties, significantly reducing their yield.
Be sure to change the planting place at least once every two years to prevent disease and restore nutrient microflora and nutrients for cabbage. I noticed this feature last season, when the same seedlings yielded a completely different crop from virtually the same land, but in different parts of the garden. The conditions of lighting, watering, heat, care were exactly the same. The only difference is that in one plot, cabbage grew after potatoes, and in another after cabbage. This, of course, may be a coincidence, but the fact remains.
Reference by topic: White cabbage: early and late varieties, care and seedlings.
It's time to dispel the bad myths about cabbage!
Although I did not pursue the goal of describing the conditions for the cultivation of different types of cabbage, I still talked about them, albeit superficially. My main task: to introduce loyal fans to the many cabbage novelties that can be found in the store today, as well as to dispel the myth of monotony and expand the standard suburban ideas about the line of cabbage species. Cabbage is diverse, each in its own way is valuable, beautiful, unpretentious and responsive to kindness. And what a healer - no words!
So, dear readers, gardeners, do not forget about cabbage: it appears in a different color, in a different shape and decorative plant plastic. She will decorate the garden, and will serve her neighbor well: in the scorching heat, she will protect, in the storm she will protect, in the rain she will cover with a sheet. And what a feast without cabbage ?! She is in soups, and in salads, and as a decoration for dishes. In pies, it’s so much fun!
In a word, add variety to the cabbage assortment of your site - and you will be full, healthy and in a good mood all season!
From the editorial office. Red cabbage is one of the first places in the list of natural antioxidants. In addition, it contains several times more vitamins and trace elements than in the usual white cabbage. Apparently, very little interest in this unique plant is due to the lack of knowledge among many summer residents.
© Author: Alexander A. Gundarev. Chelyabinsk
Below other entries on the topic "Dacha and garden - with their own hands"
- The rules for growing cabbage - seeds, sowing seedlings, pest control
- Growing cabbage seedlings (Buryatia)
- How to grow very large cabbage - 10 care tips
- How to plant Chinese cabbage and how to care for it
- Hybrids of early ripening cabbage Express F1 and Flash F1 - my reviews
- Growing cabbage on poor soil planting and care (St. Petersburg)
- Cabbage seedlings in glasses
- Cultivation of cabbage: from seedlings to snacks
- Growing broccoli: planting and care (Samara region)
- Seedlings of cabbage - the MOST common mistakes and causes of failure
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