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In recent years, in many regions of Russia, gardeners have taken up cultivation of Chinese cabbage... Residents of the Urals are also not lagging behind, experimenting with different varieties of salad vegetables. Someone succeeded right away, others are somewhat disappointed. It's all about the peculiarities of the climate of the Urals: it is not always possible to withstand the vagaries of the weather.
Chinese cabbage can be grown in different ways: seedlings, sowing seeds in the ground or in the greenhouse... Some vegetable growers in the Urals manage to get good harvests of salad vegetables on balconies and loggias. Let's figure it out how to grow Chinese cabbage to the Urals.
Vegetable growers of the Urals should know this
Residents of the Urals must understand that the harvest depends on many factors, including the characteristics of the climate. In hot or cold weather, Peking cabbage begins to lag behind in development. Growing this vegetable in the Urals is not much different from the basic agrotechnical requirements: you need to monitor the illumination, the amount of moisture in the soil.
The harvest depends on the climatic conditions and the period of planting Peking cabbage. If the temperature outside is too hot and the nights are light, then the plant will give strength to flowering and feathers, and the fruit will not develop.
Growing late varieties of Chinese cabbage in the Urals, sowing directly into the ground is hampered by weather conditions. If, nevertheless, you like the late variety, you must definitely grow seedlings. Although if you have a greenhouse, you can try late varieties (it is best to use hybrids) for autumn consumption.
To grow Peking cabbage in the Urals, you need to remember:
- It responds well to watering and feeding.
- The transplant slows down growth.
- Soils need neutral or slightly acidic. Clay areas are not suitable.
The flowering of cabbage - what is the reason
Gardeners living in the Urals often lose their crops due to the flowering of Peking cabbage. It is clear that the head of cabbage is not formed. This worries not only novice vegetable growers, but also those who have extensive experience in growing Chinese cabbage.
What is the reason? It lies in the biological properties of the plant.
- A vegetable needs a short daylight hours.
- The heat is destructive.
It is not difficult to solve the problem of growing a rich harvest of cabbage in the Urals. It is enough to choose the right planting time so that before the onset of a long daylight hours and heat, the Peking cabbage has time to ripen. As a rule, it takes 40-60 days to twist the forks.
Strong seedlings - a guarantee of a harvest
When growing Chinese cabbage seedlings in the Urals, seeds of early varieties will have to be sown at the end of March. If the Beijing salad vegetable is needed for consumption in winter, then the seeds are sown in early June. The seeds are immediately placed in separate containers. You can use cups, cassettes, peat tablets for seedlings of Peking cabbage.
Many novice gardeners ask how this method is better than planting seeds in boxes. The answer is simple: when transplanting seedlings in Peking cabbage, you can damage the root system.
When growing this type of cabbage in the Urals, fertile soil is poured into cassettes or plastic cups, a little wood ash is added. The earth is spilled in advance with boiling water with dissolved potassium permanganate.The seeding depth is no more than a centimeter. The containers are covered with glass or a bag, placed in a warm, well-lit place.
As a rule, good quality seeds germinate in 3-4 days. The coating is immediately removed from the cabbage. To prevent seedlings grown in the Urals from stretching, they lower the air temperature. Lighting should be at least 6 hours.
Further care for seedlings in the Urals is no different from other regions - watering, surface loosening, top dressing. By the time of planting, cabbage seedlings form a powerful root system and 4-5 leaves, as in the photo.
We plant seedlings in open ground
Choosing a place for landing Peking
To plant this type of cabbage, select those beds in the area where cruciferous plants have not been grown. Regardless of whether you live in the Urals or in another region of Russia, you need to plant seedlings in a garden bed with fertile neutral soil.
You need to dig up the ridge in the fall, add compost or humus, for each square about 4 kilograms. In the spring, low ridges are raked at a distance of up to half a meter. The step between the Peking cabbage bushes in a row is at least 40 cm.
Planting cabbage
A few days before planting (this is approximately closer to the end of May), the soil is watered with boiling water with potassium permanganate. This is necessary for the prevention of keels. When planting seedlings, you need to monitor the planting depth. Add a teaspoon of wood ash to each hole. After that, the cabbage is carefully watered so as not to blur the roots.
The nature of the Urals is capricious, the return of frosts in late May - early June does not surprise local residents. Although Chinese cabbage can withstand up to -3 degrees, it's not worth the risk. It is better to stretch temporary arcs over the landings and cover with any material.
Growing in a greenhouse
If there is a reliable greenhouse, then it can be used both for obtaining early seedlings and for growing vegetables throughout the growing season.
Peking cabbage grows best when surrounded by other plants, with the exception of crucifers. Such landings are called compacted. Good neighbors in the greenhouse are cucumbers, tomatoes, early sown dill, parsley, celery. While these plants are gaining strength, the Peking will be ready for harvest.
So that the plants do not interfere with each other, the rows are made at a distance of at least 20 cm, between the seeds up to 10 cm. It remains to decide when to sow cabbage in a greenhouse in the Urals. The first sowing is carried out in March, if you want to get the harvest in June. Having sown seeds in February for seedlings in an apartment, the first Peking can be cut by May 9.
Growing cabbage directly in the ground
In the Urals, you can grow a vegetable and direct sowing of seeds into the ground. The works are being carried out at the end of June. The place is chosen well lit, but in the afternoon the rays of the sun should not fall on the ridge.
After culling, processing the seeds are soaked for germination. This technique helps to reduce the seed consumption. Seeds are laid out in 2-3 pieces at a distance of 30-40 cm, sowing depth up to 2 cm. The distance between rows is about half a meter.
After sowing, to accelerate germination, the garden bed is covered with any covering material. The sprouts that appear are examined, the strongest are selected, the rest are plucked out.
Planting care
There are practically no special differences in the care of plants in the Urals. Lettuce loves abundant watering, but, most importantly, do not overdo it.Flooding of the soil can lead to rotting of the roots, the development of various diseases. This environment is to the liking of many pests.
Plants during the growing season need feeding both in the open field and in the greenhouse. Can be watered with infusion of mullein, bird droppings, rabbit dung slurry, or fermented grass.
About the rules for growing Chinese cabbage:
Diseases and pests
Peking in any locality, including when grown in the Urals, sometimes gets sick or is precipitated by pests. The plant becomes lethargic, growth stops. An urgent need to find out the reason.
As a preventive measure - choosing the right place for Chinese cabbage. If turnips, radishes, mustard previously grew on the garden bed, then, most likely, pathogens and pests in it can remain even after the severe Ural frosts. Better to plant Peking after potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and all kinds of legumes.
Among the most common diseases are fungal, black leg, keel, spotted mosaic of leaves. This is how the roots look like, affected by a fungal disease and a black leg. See the photo below.
As for pests, there are no less of them in the Urals than in other regions. The most dangerous "eaters" are shown in the photo.
There are also slugs with snails, which also eat leaves.
The photo below shows a root damaged by cabbage fly larvae. As a result, it atrophied, the plant died.
How to grow healthy cabbage
As a prophylaxis against almost all leaf-gnawing insects, plants are sprayed with infusion of ash and tobacco. You can sprinkle these substances on the soil around the vegetables.
Slugs, snails, cabbage fly cannot harm cabbage if sprinkled around with a mixture of black and red pepper.
The cruciferous flea is tricky to handle as it jumps from plant to plant. You can, of course, cover the plantings with special materials. But it is best to spray all crucifers with pesticides.
This is how the cabbage looks like in the photo, on which cruciferous fleas feast on.
Here they are - cabbage pests: cabbage butterfly caterpillar and aphids.
Combined landings
Peking cabbage is a multicultural plant. She grows better when surrounded by:
- legumes and cereals;
- among cucumbers, onions, salads;
- tomatoes and beets;
- various colors, including marigolds;
- among the herbs: celery, spinach, basil.
Peking cabbage growing in the Urals is a fascinating business. Look at the photo to see what kind your site takes on. Beauty - landscape designers will envy!
Useful Tips
As you can see, the cultivation of Peking vegetables is possible in the Urals. The main thing is the implementation of agrotechnical techniques and love for plant growing.
For the Urals, we have saved some useful tips for growing cabbage:
- If the soil is clayey, add a large amount of compost or humus: a salad vegetable will thank you with a rich harvest.
- Spray plants with herbal infusions and wood ash. It is a top dressing and pest control agent.
- When growing cabbage in the Urals, the soil must be mulched with cut grass, so moisture is better preserved, the plants receive nutrients.
- If you have phacelia, vetch, oats, which are excellent green manures, you can plant cabbage directly on these ridges. Then the accompanying plants are cut and used as mulch.
Good luck to you, gardeners of the Urals! Do not be afraid to experiment, grow different cultivated plants on your plots.
