In ancient times, cabbage was called the “queen of the garden”. I suspect that because of the constant care of this crop. As the saying goes: "do not drown, do not rush." It is not easy to achieve a noble harvest. Hopefully a few practical tips will help novice gardeners.
Watering
Somewhere I read that cabbage leaves evaporate up to 7 liters of water per day, more than 300 per season. In dry weather, it is important to always keep the earth moist at the root. A good alternative is drip irrigation: I make a hole in the cap of a 2-liter bottle, cut off the bottom. I insert the container with the neck, or rather, the lid, into the ground at each root of the late varieties. There are no problems with watering. Fill the containers from the hose, and that’s it.
When there is a lot of water in the ground, it is poorly drawn into the bottle. In dry weather, you have to fill the tanks every day. Most of all, the plant needs moisture in the period of setting the head of cabbage. The recommended norm is 4-5 liters per plant up to 3 times a week, depending on the weather.
Early varieties are best watered from a watering can so that they gain weight faster.
Late cabbage can be irrigated from a hose under the root. The upper leaves should not be allowed to wither, the growth of the fork will stop.
Of course, when it rains, watering the "queen of the garden" is not necessary. I stop watering two and a half weeks before harvesting. The winter season is recommended not to be watered for a month, but when September is dry, I throw the hose into the ridge and let the ground get saturated with moisture. By this time, the root of the cabbage grows long, so I spill the ground well.
Top dressing
Not only do you fill the land well with humus before planting, you must feed the capricious culture every three weeks. I do the infusion like this: I half-fill the bucket with fresh manure, pour water. Leave for a week. If there is no manure, I crush young nettles, mnuh a little to give juice.
Nettle green manure is also an excellent growth stimulant.
A few words about manure. The most nutritious is horse, then comes the cow. Of the pigsty with sawdust, the worst is infused. It is suitable only for application in sparse soil. For the first feeding, I add a matchbox of urea to the infusion. In the following I add superphosphate in the same volume. By the way, it dissolves only in hot water.
The rate of liquid for irrigation is a half-liter capacity on a large bucket. I pour a ladle of the resulting solution under each head of cabbage. Between top dressings I sprinkle cabbage with wood ash. Slugs do not like her, she goes instead of potassium top dressing. My opinion is that there is not much ash for cabbage. Recommend adhere to the standards: 2 glasses of ash are recommended to insist in a bucket of water. Make infusion during the formation of heads of cabbage per liter per plant.
How to protect cabbage from pests and not harm yourself
In order to preserve a presentable appearance in cabbage, you need to take good care of it, saving from various diseases and pests that constantly attack it.
Powdery mildew
When yellow spots appear on the top of the sheet, gray plaque from below, plantings must be treated with biological fungicides. Universal and safe - phytosporin.
Slug
I make traps for them: lay out empty beer cans, add to each a little bit of old jam. If this does not help, I use ground red pepper and dry mustard - I sprinkle it in the evening, when the snails crawl out of the shelters. In the morning I collect them with a children's scoop.
Cabbage White
As soon as white and yellowish butterflies appeared, it is time to carry out preventive treatment. I spread the chalk densely, I spray all the leaves with a broom. By adding liquid tar soap to the solution. I spread ragged stepsons from a tomato greenhouse between the plants. Butterflies disappear.
Autumn care
The most delicious, crispy white cabbage is late, which remains on the ridge until the snow. They are great for salting. It is a myth that in autumn you can give up on growing heads of cabbage with your hand. Slugs, caterpillars pounce on plants, stock up on food for hibernation. Usually I cover the cauliflower remaining on the bed with the largest sheets of harvested forks. This is a great protection against excess rain and sun. Ground cabbage densely sprinkled with ground red pepper. All living creatures scatter.
If September is warm, be sure to loosen the ground. I try to remove all the weeds. I sprinkle free areas between plants with chalk or fluff. Cabbage is good, and I have fewer problems, I do not need to make lime during spring digging.
In the fall I water plants only when there is no plentiful dew in the morning. Even on dry days, condensation forms due to the contrast of night and day temperatures. Sometimes you are amazed how much moisture is in the air!
Problems with cabbage and how to solve them
There are several problems that often arise and many do not understand why this is happening. Consider a few.
Loose heads of cabbage
You go all summer for cabbage, but there’s nothing to clean. Typically, cabbage is actively tied when more than 7 cover sheets grow. At first, I broke them off, I thought they take away excess power, they interfere with growth. It turns out that this is a reserve of the plant in case of an unexpected hunger strike. Cabbage directs all forces to the formation of new reserves.
Do not plant seedlings in shaded areas, near the bushes. The plant loves space, the sun. I distribute the remaining growth to the neighbors, sticking it anyway is useless. Color and broccoli are less demanding on light. Another reason for loose heads is a little nutrition. After watering the slurry, the forks are elastic, well stored.
Root rot
Overfeeding cabbage with nitrogen is also harmful, especially young. Root rot will appear. You can recognize it by fading leaves. In the period of rains for prevention I always sprinkle the earth on the bed with ash and phytosporin.
Fork cracking
Early varieties usually sprout from the inside. With winter such a problem does not arise. The main cause of cracking is excess moisture. I began to plant early cabbage separately. When long rains begin, I throw on it a thin film, which is sold in construction stores to cover furniture during repairs. Puddles quickly form between the forks on the sides, no need to press additional shelter.
The second reason is untimely cleaning. If you overdo it for a week, wait for cracks. Be sure to have one or two plugs immediately to be recycled.
Why cabbage is not stored
I noticed that if the plugs are removed after long rains, they often rot. When you take the crop on dry soil, take out the dry root from the ground, the heads of cabbage suspended for it are stored in the basement until the beginning of spring. From an overabundance of fertilizer, the stump becomes loose, turns into mucus by the beginning of winter. Leaves quickly dry up, spots appear on them. I thought it was some kind of disease, but treating the crop with fungicides does not help, it’s verified.
