Planting cabbage seedlings for beginners. How to grow cabbage seedlings yourself? Use of peat tablets

There is a deep meaning in the Russian folk saying - what you sow is what you reap. But the meaning is not lost at all if you apply this saying to gardening work. So, for example, in order to grow a good harvest of cabbage on your site, which will be discussed in our article, you need to plant strong and healthy seedlings in the spring.

In order to grow healthy and strong cabbage seedlings on your own, you need to adhere to just a few basic rules. In addition, one must have a general idea of \u200b\u200bwhat this seemingly unpretentious vegetable loves, and what conditions of detention are destructive for him. So, where to start and when is it worth sowing cabbage for seedlings? Let's try to figure it out.

• Choosing a variety.

Planting any horticultural culture begins with the choice of a variety. Cabbage is no exception. But before visiting a specialty store to buy seeds, you need to decide for what and when you need cabbage. The question seems strange only at first glance. But the answer depends not only on the choice of the variety, but also on the timing of sowing seeds for seedlings. So, if in the middle of summer you want to enjoy delicious tender white cabbage salads, then it is better to plant early varieties, such as June, Podarok, Kazachok F1, Ditmarskaya. If cabbage is grown for the purpose of pickling, then the most suitable varieties are Slava, Amager, Belorusskaya. Those who want to feast on delicious vegetables in winter should sow such late-ripening varieties as Zimovka 1474, Kolobok, Geneva.

Planting any horticultural culture begins with the choice of a variety

As you can imagine, each variety has its own characteristics. Therefore, the final choice must be made when you become familiar with the varietal characteristics and what you really want. For example, early cabbage is uncharacteristic of keeping quality, and it is hardly possible to ferment it for cabbage soup.

• We buy seeds.

Buying seeds is only seemingly simple and ordinary business. But experienced gardeners approach the acquisition process with feeling, sensibly, with arrangement. You should not make spontaneous purchases of seeds, be it roots, vegetables, or even flowers. It is necessary to make at least an approximate list of what you will sow and only then go to the store. In this case, it is best to choose a specialized, proven point of sale, otherwise - buying is similar to the game "Russian roulette". The method "may or may not be lucky" is not suitable for a gardener at all. It is better to know for sure that you will be planting quality seeds that have been stored in proper conditions and have not lost their germination for one reason or another.

• Preparing the soil for planting.

It would seem that land suitable for seedlings can be purchased in a store or simply dug up in the garden. But if the first option is still acceptable, then we advise you to refuse the second - just take land from the garden, especially from those places where cruciferous crops (radish, radish, turnip) were previously grown and it is impossible to sow seed material into it, since it may contain infectious microorganisms characteristic of cabbage, in connection with which the risk of infecting the plant with various diseases is greatly increased even at the seedling stage.

The best option is to prepare the soil mixture yourself.

The best option is to prepare the soil mixture yourself, even in the fall or early spring. To do this, you need to take one part of the sod land and humus, add a little ash to this mixture (approximately 1 tablespoon per 1 kg of soil mixture), which is not only a source of necessary macro and microelements, but also acts as an antiseptic. The resulting substrate must be mixed well so that it is completely ready for use. Other options for preparing the soil mixture are also possible - the main thing is to ensure that the resulting substrate is breathable.

• We decide on the timing of planting.

Video about sowing cabbage for seedlings

To be quite scrupulous, the planting time should be calculated based on many factors - the climatic features of the region, the timing of the harvest, the rate of seed germination, the position of the moon, etc. If you do not go into such details, then you can take the average values \u200b\u200band plant:

• early cabbage - March 20-28;
• mid-season varieties - March 25 - April 20;
• late-ripening varieties - from early April to the end of the month;
• preparing seeds for planting.

In fact, the preliminary preparation of seeds for planting is a whole science, with which not everyone, even an experienced gardener, is familiar. But all methods used in this case are suitable for untreated seeds, or seeds collected with your own hands in the garden. If you want to plant seeds that have been previously treated, then it will be enough to carry out a light preparation of the seed. To do this, soak cabbage seeds in hot water (approximately 500C) for 20 minutes. After warming up, cool the seeds with cold water. Such simple manipulations will increase the resistance of cabbage to various diseases, primarily fungal. But be careful! Not all seeds that have been processed in production can be presoaked. When you have pelleted and inlaid seeds, as well as seeds in a gel shell, they should only be planted dry, otherwise the nutrient layer will be disturbed.

When the cabbage "hatches" and grows at least to 10-15mm, the seedlings must be tilled to improve the quality of the seedlings

This process should not be neglected. Each stage of growing good seedlings is important, so sowing seeds must be done correctly. Before sowing cabbage, we prepare containers by filling them with the prepared soil mixture. As such, trays with a depth of 70-100mm are perfect, where you can plant seeds in several rows to facilitate further care of them. Before sowing, we water the soil in trays abundantly, since cabbage seeds require a lot of water to germinate. But after that watering is not done (only if the house is too hot and the air dries out the ground). Refusal to water at normal temperature and humidity is an excellent prevention of many diseases, including "Black Leg" - a disease of young seedlings, which is a real disaster for many gardeners.

When the cabbage "hatches" and grows to at least 10-15mm, the seedlings must be tilled to improve the quality of the seedlings. The optimal step for thinning is 20x20mm, since it provides not only excellent nutrition for the cabbage, but also aeration of its root system, and subsequently facilitates the transfer of seedlings to individual containers for further germination. By the way, you can immediately sow seeds in individual containers or cassettes, and then you will not have to go through the next stage, but in this case you should be prepared for the fact that by the time of planting there will be much less viable seedlings than the seeds were sown.

It is necessary to dive the seedlings about 7-14 days after thinning, when the young plants get a little stronger and withstand the transfer to an individual pot or cassette for seedlings (3x3 seedlings clustering scheme with a step of 50 mm). It is best to use cardboard cups or peat pots. Diving is necessary to strengthen the cabbage root system and ensure its survival in the open field.

It should be noted that the treatment of soil with antifungal solutions in individual pots or cassettes, although not strictly necessary, is highly desirable, since getting rid of fungal infections at an early stage will ensure the health of the plant for the entire growing period.

Diving is necessary to strengthen the cabbage root system

To ensure high quality seedlings, four basic rules must be followed:

• shine. Since during germination daylight hours are still insufficient to ensure high photosynthesis, the seedlings are illuminated for up to 12-15 hours a day. For supplementary lighting, an ordinary fluorescent lamp of any glow temperature is suitable;
• watering. It is necessary to water as the soil dries up, but you cannot overflow the cabbage, as well as overdry it. is selected individually. After watering, loosening is strictly necessary;
• temperature regime. The initial stage before the emergence of shoots is +18 ... + 22C. White cabbage should be germinated with significant temperature changes - during the day +15 ... + 17C, at night +8 ... + 10C. Colored at higher temperatures (by 5-7 degrees);
• top dressing.

The feeding scheme is pretty simple. The first fertilizer is applied before you plan to sow cabbage seeds. Then the seedlings are fed only 7-10 days after the pick. Potash fertilizers, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate are used in a ratio of 2/4/2 grams per liter of water. A liter of top dressing is enough for fifty shoots. Top dressing is applied only after watering. The second top dressing is applied 14-16 days after the first, the fertilizers are the same, but in double the amount per 1 liter of water. The third feeding - the fertilizers are the same, but the proportion is already 8/5/3 per liter.

The first fertilization is applied before you plan to sow cabbage seeds.

Many experienced gardeners harden the seedlings, for which, 7-10 days before planting in the ground, they first begin to put it under the open window for several hours, and 5 days before planting they are already taken out to the balcony if the weather is sunny.

Video about planting cabbage for seedlings

Seedlings can be considered ready for planting if they have 4-5 leaves. Unfortunately, this is not the most suitable place for white cabbage. It is worth planting seedlings in open ground in good weather, beforehand (1-2 hours before) it is watered abundantly. For the prevention of "temperature shock" when planting in the ground, the seedlings are taken out onto the balcony for 20-30 minutes, which is enough to cool the root system.

And one cannot count on a big harvest either. In order for the seedlings to turn out to be healthy and hardy, all the requirements for proper sowing and care must be observed.

Before purchasing planting material, decide what kind of cabbage you want to get in the end, why and at what time you need it ready-made. Have you thought about using young cabbage for making salads, or do you need a vegetable for fermentation and long winter storage? The choice of variety and sowing time will depend on the answer to this question.

Early ripe varieties of white cabbage give a small yield. Heads of cabbage weigh up to 1.5 kg with a relatively low density. Mid-season cabbage can either be eaten immediately after harvest, or used to prepare preparations for the winter in the form of pickles. And late-ripening varieties will retain their freshness in the best possible way throughout the cold season.

The time of planting seedlings in the beds depends on the timing of the ripening of the vegetable. And the time at which the seeds are planted depends on the time of transplanting seedlings into open ground.

Sowing of seedlings of cabbage for seedlings - as well as planting seedlings in open ground - is carried out during a period that depends on the weather characteristic of the given climatic zone and on the type of vegetable.

The age of seedlings, completely ready for planting in the soil, is different for each of the varieties.

1. Landing on the beds white cabbage early varieties are produced for seedlings that have reached 45-60 days of age. For late species, 35-day-old seedlings are sufficient. This rule also applies red cabbage and hybrid varieties.
2. Before transferring to the beds broccoli seedlings must be 35–45 days old.
3. Cauliflower they are planted in beds when the seedlings reach 45-50 days of age. Brussels sprouts is planted in the same way.
4. Kohlrabi planted at the age of 35 days, and the seedlings savoy cabbage can "tolerate" up to 50 days.

Prices for white cabbage seeds

white cabbage seeds

When to sow seeds for seedlings

Taking into account the timing of planting seedlings of different varieties of cabbage on the beds, they calculate the time of sowing seeds. We give approximate terms for the middle band.

1. Early ripe white cabbage is sown between 10-25 March. At the same time, hybrid varieties and red cabbage are sown. Mid-season and late species of similar varieties are sown on April 10-15.
2. The broccoli planting material is sown several times. The time interval between crops is 15–20 days. The first time is sown in the second decade of March, and the last time in the third decade of May. Do the same with cauliflower.
3. Brussels sprouts are planted in the second half of April.
4. If you want to harvest kohlrabi cabbage early, sow in the second decade of March. Kohlrabi seeds are also sown on seedlings several times. But it is not recommended to do this after June. If you follow all the rules, you can immediately plant seeds in open soil.
5. Savoy cabbage of early maturing varieties is sown from 10 to 20 March. Sowing mid-season species is best done from April 10 to April 20, and later - in the first days of the month.

Prices for cauliflower seeds

cauliflower seeds

How to prepare cabbage seeds for sowing

To a great extent, the success of the future cabbage harvest depends on good seedlings, and they, in turn, are obtained from high-quality seeds, so buy better quality seed.

Before planting seeds, you must first prepare them. At the stage of sowing seeds, using certain actions, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of further serious diseases of cabbage, which will allow you to get healthy and hardy seedlings.

When buying an already processed planting material (which is usually indicated on a bag of seeds), you just need to hold them for 20 minutes in water heated to + 50 ° C. You can eliminate the likelihood of fungal diseases of cabbage if you cool them in cold water within 5 minutes after warming up.

Note! Some varieties of cabbage do not require wetting the seeds before planting. Be sure to consider this point.

Soaking seeds is a classic method to speed up seed germination

How to prepare the soil for sowing cabbage seeds

Strong cabbage seedlings can be obtained if the soil nutrient mixture is correctly prepared. It is best to prepare the land for seedlings in the fall. It is acceptable, but less desirable, to prepare the mixture just before sowing the seeds.

Take one piece of turf and humus, a small amount of ash (10 tablespoons per 10 kg of soil) and stir well. Ash here will not only provide the soil with useful elements, but also prevent the appearance of a black leg on seedlings due to its antiseptic properties.

The land should be treated with water with a small amount of potassium permanganate for disinfection. When preparing a soil mixture, it is necessary to adhere to an acidity indicator equal to or close to neutral.

Of course, you can make an earthy composition based on sod as well as on the basis of other nutritional ingredients, such as peat, for example. The resulting soil mixture should be air permeable and fertile.

On a note! Soil suitable for cabbage seedlings can be found commercially. For these purposes, not only a soil mixture intended directly for cabbage is suitable. The use of universal soil is also allowed. The soil from your garden is unsuitable, as using it increases the risk of infection of the seedlings.

Soil prices for seedlings

seedling soil

Step-by-step instructions for the correct sowing of cabbage seeds

Cabbage seedlings will take root better outdoors if produced. It will also have a positive effect on the volume of her root system, and the plants themselves will be more robust.

Table. Instructions for growing cabbage seedlings.

Steps, photo	Description of actions
	Cabbage seeds need a lot of water immediately after sowing, so the soil must be abundantly moistened before planting. And after sowing, cabbage should not be irrigated until the first shoots appear, in order to prevent infection with a black leg.
	The seed is planted in prepared containers.
	After the emergence of seedlings, they are thinned out. As a result, a free space of about 20 × 20 mm should appear around each seedling.
	After 14 days, the seedlings dive. To do this, they are planted in separate cassettes with cells of about 30 × 30 mm, deepening the stems to the level of the cotyledons.
	After another 2 weeks, the seedlings are again transplanted into containers with an area of \u200b\u200babout 50 × 50 mm. For these purposes, plastic cups are suitable, pre-treated with any solution that prevents the development of fungus (for example, copper sulfate), or pots of peat.

If you do not plan to pick cabbage seedlings, it is recommended to immediately plant the seeds in a separate container. Then its roots will reach the required size, and transfer to open ground will take place in the most gentle way.

Lighting, temperature and watering cabbage seedlings

To grow strong and stocky plants, you need to provide the seedlings with additional lighting, since there is not enough light in the rooms where they usually grow. For illumination purposes, a regular daylight lamp is suitable, which should illuminate the cabbage for 12 to 15 hours daily.

Watering the seedlings is done when the soil surface dries up. Cabbage is a moisture-loving plant. But with an excess of moisture, a black leg disease can develop or root decay can occur. To harden cabbage seedlings and prevent moisture stagnation, it is recommended to ventilate the room after irrigation.

Before the first shoots of white cabbage appear, it is necessary to maintain the temperature in the room from + 18 ° C to + 20 ° C. Then, for young sprouts, the optimum temperature will be from + 15 ° C to + 17 ° C during the day, and from + 8 ° C to + 10 ° C at night. Such a wide temperature range is necessary to strengthen the seedlings and prevent them from pulling out.

For cauliflower, the same rule applies, but the average temperature should be higher. The excess should be 5–7 ° C relative to those night and day temperatures that are maintained when growing white cabbage seedlings. If this is not observed, then the harvest will be worse, and the inflorescences will be smaller in size.

If we talk about the middle lane, then watermelons here (as well as some other crops - for example, melon) are preferable to grow through seedlings. In reality, there is nothing complicated in this process, the main thing is to know and how to do it.

How to feed cabbage seedlings

During the period of growing seedlings, cabbage must be fed. In total, such dressings need to be applied three to four times.

For the first time, feeding is carried out when the seedlings are sufficiently rooted after the pick. As a rule, this period ranges from a week to ten days. Top dressing is carried out using the following composition: 1 g of potassium chloride, 4 g of superphosphate, 2.5 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 liter of water heated to a warm state. A composition of one tablespoon of urea diluted in 10 liters of water is also suitable. The stress caused by picking plants is well neutralized by feeding prepared from chicken manure (or mullein) and water in a ratio of 1:10.

The second time the seedlings are fed in the period from 12 to 14 days after the first feeding has taken place. For this, the seedlings are irrigated with a mixture of 4 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 liter of water.

For the third time, feeding is carried out seven days before the transfer of seedlings to open ground. Fertilizer is applied from bird droppings (or mullein) or the following composition is used: 3 g of ammonium nitrate, 2 g of potassium chloride, 8 g of superphosphate per 1 liter of water.

On a note! Additionally, you can feed the seedlings with a yeast-based fertilizer. For this, from 50 to 70 g of yeast is diluted in 5 liters of water. After 1–2 days, you can irrigate seedlings with this mixture.

Video - Sowing cabbage for seedlings

There are secrets of growing cabbage seedlings and planting them. A modern table is unthinkable without her. If you want to grow cabbage seedlings yourself at home, then first of all you need to think about seeds, about those varieties that will provide you with the result that will satisfy your wishes. But on the one hand, many gardeners have problems with cabbage seedlings. On the other hand, there is nothing special and difficult. How to plant cabbage for seedlings?

Seedling box

Choosing a variety for growing cabbage seedlings

There are countless varieties of this vegetable. There are very early cabbage, which already ripens by the end of June, forming tight, juicy heads of cabbage, there are varieties that ripen in the middle of summer, and there are varieties that are harvested only at the end of October - they are intended for late storage.

In addition to white cabbage, there is cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Peking cabbage, red cabbage, Savoy cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, ornamental. The choice of variety and type depends on your needs.

First of all, answer very important questions before buying seeds:

• you want to use cabbage only in summer, make, for example, vitamin salads from it;
• you want to ferment it;
• or maybe you have a basement or other storage where you want to store it until the next harvest.

Sowing cabbage seeds for seedlings

The technology for growing cabbage seedlings is the same for any species. Its seeds resemble radish seeds, yet they belong to the same cruciferous family, but a little smaller.

Cabbage is grown mainly through seedlings. This is an extremely cold-loving, light-loving plant. Often asked about growing cabbage seedlings c.

But now - the most important thing. You can sow seeds at home, but, you know, a home microclimate for her is absolute nonsense. She simply cannot live in such a microclimate. The maximum she can do at home is to ascend, but she will immediately fall, the color will turn pale green, then yellow, and then she will disappear. Therefore, cabbage seedlings cannot be grown at home. But, if you have a cold veranda, a glazed balcony without heating, then maybe something will work out. Cold and light are important for her.

Therefore, cabbage seedlings need to be grown, roughly speaking, almost on the street. We need to make a so-called cold breeding ground. How to do it? Very simple.

You take an ordinary box, you can even use a balcony one for flowers.

Seedling container
Sown seeds must be well watered

Fill it with soil. You do not need to soak, warm up cabbage seeds. You can sow them in rows, or you can scatter them. It's not that important. It is important after sowing to lightly sprinkle the seeds with earth, trample them lightly and be sure to water abundantly on top. Cabbage is a moisture-loving plant, so there will be no harm from abundant watering.

This box of sown seeds must not be left at home. It is necessary to bring it to the country or take it to the garden. If you still have snow, then rake it off, put a box with sown seeds on the cold ground. The place should be open, warmed by the sun. Install arcs from above, stretch the film. This is how your nursery will stand until shoots appear. Seedlings will appear in ten to twelve days.

If you already have a greenhouse installed, then bring the nursery inside, additional arcs with film will no longer be needed. An additional greenhouse will need to be made only for seedlings, since they are afraid of frost. And white cabbage, Brussels, Savoy, others do not need additional shelter, they tolerate frosts down to -5 ° C.

If you have a stationary greenhouse, for example, a glass one, then the seeds can be sown simply into the soil of the greenhouse without any nursery, since the earth there is very well warmed up by the sun in early spring.

So, a cold breeding ground is the main secret to getting a good cabbage harvest.

How to care for cabbage seedlings

Seedlings

After a while (10-12 days) in your cold nursery you will see such a picture - a forest of seedlings.

Cabbage has very few seeds that do not germinate. It's no big deal that your seeds sprout so often. This is normal. It tolerates thickening up to a certain stage - until the 3-4th leaf appears. Until this moment, you do not need to do anything with the seedlings - just make sure that the earth does not dry out, water it periodically. Remember that if it is + 5 ° С outside, then in the greenhouse it can be + 20 ° С, and this can cause the soil to dry out.

Of course, already at this stage you can notice that some plants are stronger, taller, more robust. Most likely, these are the ones that will be planted in the garden. But so far they are all on an equal footing. You can leave everything as it is and wait for the 3-4th leaf to appear. Or you can carefully transplant part of the plants from the nursery, along with a lump of earth into a separate pot. If there are 1-2 true leaves on the seedlings, then several plants can be transplanted at once into a separate pot. And if more, then plant immediately in a separate glass.

Seedling picking

Cabbage is very fond of feeding with organic fertilizers, but it is better not to apply fertilizers before planting.

This plant has a very interesting feature - it is better to transplant it into the ground earlier, with full presence of 1-2 true leaves, when the 3-4th leaves are just emerging. Well, as a last resort, when the 3-4th leaves have already grown, but not later. Since you cannot get large, beautiful heads of cabbage, but they will ripen later. This pattern has long been noticed, but why this happens is a mystery. Apparently, this is due to the energy of the environment.

Usually cabbage seedlings are planted in open ground 30 days after germination.

Plants should be about this size before planting.

Can be transplanted to a permanent place

I do not thin out the cabbage seedlings in the nursery. Let it grow thickly. When planting in the ground, you will reject weak seedlings, choose strong, strong, beautiful ones.

When you remove cabbage seedlings from a pot or nursery, you will plant them in the right way - at certain distances. Plants of varying degrees of development will quickly align, catch up with each other. Even if some plants have been depressed, they will recover quickly. For cabbage, the earliest period of development is not the main thing; for it, what will happen in the garden after planting is important.

Many summer residents are already thinking about when to plant cabbage for seedlings and when to plant it in open ground. In order for the seedlings to grow and develop well, you need to choose the right timing for planting cabbage and know all the nuances of caring for cabbage seedlings. In this article, you can study the lunar calendar of cabbage planting for 2019, find out how to grow cabbage seedlings at home and when to plant vegetables in the garden in spring or summer.

The timing of planting a healthy vegetable depends on the type of cabbage and its variety. Therefore, before studying the lunar calendar for planting cabbage, you should find out how many days the seedlings should grow at home. Before disembarking in open ground must pass:

1. Hybrids and early white cabbage - 45 to 60 days.
2. Mid-season white cabbage - from 35 to 45 days.
3. White-headed late varieties - from 30 to 35 days.
4. Kohlrabi - from 30 to 45 days.
5. Broccoli - 35 to 45 days
6. Brussels and colored varietal - from 45 to 60 days.
7. Savoy - from 35 to 50 days.

Now you can look at the table of the Lunar calendar and, based on the climate of the region, choose the appropriate dates that are suitable for all types of cabbage:

In no case should you sow and plant on the days of the New Moon and Full Moon. In 2019, these are the days: February 5 and 19, March 6 and 21, April 5, 19, May 5, 19, June 3, 17.

• in February - from 3 to 5, 19, 20;
• in March it is the 5th, 6th, 21st and 31st;
• in April - 5, 19;
• in May - 4, 5, 19, 20 ..

Sowing cabbage by region

When sowing cabbage seeds for seedlings, one should focus not only on the Lunar calendar, but also on the types and varieties of vegetables:

Early white cabbage	March 10-25
Mid-ripening and late-ripening white cabbage	No later than April 15, starting from the 10th
Cauliflower and broccoli	Sowing is recommended twice, starting from March 15 and ending on the last days of May. A break of 14 days should be taken between crops.
Brussels	During the month of April
Kohlrabi	Planting dates depend on the desired harvest time. Can be planted from March 1st to early June.
Savoy: early maturing	March 10-30
Redhead	In March and April - in the southern regions. From April to June - in Siberia and other regions with cold winters.

Having studied the timing of planting cabbage by varieties and knowing how many days must pass from sowing to planting in the ground, you can determine the sowing dates for a particular region and choose the best one according to the Lunar calendar.

In the Krasnodar Territory and other southern regions they begin to plant cabbage for seedlings in February.

In the Leningrad region, Moscow region, in the Urals and in central Russia they have been sowing since March.

In Siberia and more northern regions planting cabbage for seedlings can be started from the end of March.

Seedlings of cabbage: growing at home

Before sowing seeds, you should take care of the soil and planting material to be treated in advance.

Seeds in the form of rather large balls must be processed before planting:

1. Wrap in gauze or bandage folded in three layers and place in hot water with a temperature of up to 50 degrees for 15 minutes. To keep the water cool, it's best to pour it into a thermos. This heating procedure will destroy viruses and bacteria that can contaminate the planting material.
2. After warming up, the seeds are kept in cold water for 2 minutes to harden them.
3. Soak the seeds for 2 hours in a solution of Epin or another growth stimulant, so that the planting material hatches faster and the seedlings grow better.
4. Soak the seeds in warm water, and keep them indoors for 24 hours and in the vegetable section of the refrigerator for 24 hours.
5. Dry the planting material.

Attention! Not all seeds undergo this treatment! Often in stores, planting material is sold that has already been processed and can be planted immediately. Therefore, before sowing, read the information on the seed package.

Soil preparation

For cabbage, ready-made seedling soil is suitable, which is sold in a specialized store, or you can prepare a soil mixture yourself. Any of the following mixtures will work for any type of cabbage.

Mix No. 1:

• humus - 1 part;
• sod land - 1 part;
• some wood ash;
• 1 kg of soil - 1 tablespoon of mineral fertilizer.

Mix No. 2:

• sod land - 1 part;
• compost or humus - 1 part;
• peat - 1 part;
• some sand.

Mix No. 3:

• peat - 75%;
• sod land - 20%;
• sand - 5%.

Attention! Preparing the soil should be done two weeks before sowing cabbage, since it must first be sterilized, and then kept in a closed container for two weeks. During this time, beneficial bacteria are formed and multiplied in the substrate, which are absent in sterilized soil.

You can sterilize the soil for 15 minutes at 200 degrees in the oven or 5 minutes at full power in the microwave.

Sowing cabbage seeds

You can plant cabbage on seedlings in common boxes, small individual cups or peat tablets.

Seedling boxes should have a depth of about 5 cm, and pots about 7-8 cm. The containers are filled with prepared soil, which is recommended to be spilled with an antifungal and antibacterial solution prepared according to the instructions with Alirin-B or Gamair. If the land is watered with such a solution, sowing into it should be carried out in two days.

It is necessary to sow seeds in grooves one centimeter deep. The distance between the grooves should be three centimeters, and between the seeds - one and a half centimeters. If planting is done in separate pots, then two seeds are placed in each.

The plantings are sprinkled with earth, sprayed with warm water using a spray bottle and placed in a bright place, where the air temperature is within +20 degrees.

After about five days, seedlings will begin to appear, and when they grow a little, the weakest of the two in a separate pot should be pinched. Pulling out seedlings is not recommended, as you can damage the roots of a nearby growing plant.

Planting cabbage in peat tablets

Tablets with a diameter of 4 cm or more must be pre-soaked so that they swell and increase in volume by about eight times. Excess water is drained from the finished tablets and two seeds are planted in them, which are sprinkled with peat. The tablets are placed in a container that is placed on the windowsill. When the senses rise and grow, they need to be thinned out by removing the excess.

While the seedlings have not yet appeared, it is necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out. As soon as the topsoil begins to dry out, it must be sprayed.

Caring for cabbage seedlings

Growing cabbage seedlings involves the following procedures:

• backlight (if sowing was carried out in February or March);
• watering;
• top dressing;
• picking.

Lighting

As soon as the seedlings appear, they are placed on the lightest windowsill or loggia, where it is light and cool. To prevent the seedlings from stretching, during the first 7 days they need a lot of light and a temperature within +12 degrees, and then the temperature can be raised to +15 degrees.

In February and March, daylight days are still short, therefore, with the help of phyto lamps or fluorescent lamps, plants are provided with additional lighting, extending the daylight hours to 12-15 hours a day. Lamps above the seedlings are installed with a distance of about 25 cm.

Watering cabbage

Seedlings should be watered regularly, but so that there is no stagnant water in the soil. Dry soil will cause young plants to dry out, and all the time too wet soil will cause the appearance of a "black leg" and the death of seedlings. Therefore, the seedlings are watered with settled water at room temperature only after the top layer of the substrate dries up. It is best to do this with a spray bottle, so as not to wash out the plants that are not yet strong.

Pickling cabbage seedlings

Approximately 10-14 days after germination, cabbage is planted in separate pots. At this time, the seedlings should have one or two true leaves.

Before picking, the seedlings are watered abundantly. Each bush is taken out together with a lump of earth, the main root is pinched by a third of the length and planted in a new, separate container filled with soil, deepening to the cotyledons.

To protect cabbage from diseases, after transplanting it is watered with a solution prepared from a Gamair or Alirin-B tablet (1 tablet must be dissolved in 10 liters of water).

The first three days after the pick, cabbage seedlings are kept at a temperature of +18 degrees, and after adaptation, the temperature is lowered to +14 degrees. If possible, but at night the plants are provided with even cooler conditions with a temperature of +12 degrees.

Top dressing of seedlings

At home, cabbage should be fed three times:

1. 7 days after picking with a solution, which consists of 1 liter of water, 4 grams of superphosphate, 1 gram of potassium fertilizer and 2 grams of ammonium nitrate.
2. 3 weeks after the pick, the plants are fed with the same solution as the first time, only in 1 liter of water twice as much fertilizer is diluted.
3. Hardening top dressing is done a day before planting cabbage in open ground. For this, the same solution is used as in the first feeding, only potash fertilizers should be taken 6 grams. A large dose of potassium is explained by the fact that this element will help plants in the garden to adapt faster.

Seedling diseases

Blackleg

The most dangerous enemy of any seedling is the blackleg fungal disease. Fungi begin to multiply and lead to rotting of the plant stem with high humidity and high acidity of the substrate, as well as if there is a lot of nitrogen in the soil.

Diseased seedlings can no longer be cured, so they are removed, and the rest are watered with a strong solution of potassium permanganate (for 1 liter of water - 0.4 g) and then they are not watered for about a week.

Cabbage seedlings turn yellow

The main reason is the lack of any nutrient in the substrate:

• the leaves turn yellow completely - there is not enough iron;
• only the tips of the leaves turn yellow - a lack of potassium;
• the underside of the foliage becomes yellow and violet-red - little phosphorus.

To rectify the situation, it is enough to add these elements to the soil. However, you should not get carried away with fertilizing, since an excess of fertilizers also leads to yellowing of seedlings.

Phomosis of cabbage

The bacterial disease manifests itself as black spots on the leaves and stems of young plants. Bacteria are transferred through planting material that has not undergone pre-planting treatment. Fomoz is not cured, and it will not be possible to save the seedlings, so cabbage for seedlings will need to be sown again.

Seedlings are pulled

The high temperature of the air in the seedling room and insufficient lighting can lead to the fact that the stems of the seedlings become long and thin. Additional lighting and lower temperatures will correct the situation.

When to plant cabbage in the garden

The timing of planting cabbage in open ground depends on the variety of vegetables:

• early varieties are planted in the beds in mid-May;
• at the end of May, late and mid-season varieties should be planted.

These terms are suitable for residents of central Russia. In the southern regions, seedlings are planted 10-14 days earlier. In Siberia and more northern regions, planting dates are shifted 7-14 days later.

Cabbage planted in the garden should be:

• height from 15 to 20 cm;
• have 4-5 true leaves (7-8 leaves should be in early maturing varieties);
• have a formed root system;
• to be healthy and strong.

10-14 days before planting the seedlings on the beds in the ground, you need to start hardening it. On the first day, she is taken out to the balcony or plot for one hour. Every day, the time the plants stay in the fresh air increases. The day before planting in the garden, the seedlings should already be on the site for a day.

The cabbage bed is dug up, fertilized with compost or rotted manure (6 kg per 1 m2) and wood ash (200 g per 1 m2).

Cabbage planting scheme

Red and white - late varieties
mid-season varieties	50x60 cm
early maturing hybrids and varieties	30x40 or 35x45 cm
Cauliflower	20x50 or 30x60 staggered
Savoy - late and mid-season	70x50 cm
early Savoy	70x30 cm
Kohlrabi - late varieties	50x60 cm
mid-season	50x40 cm
early ripening	25x35 or 30x40 cm
Brussels	between rows - 70 cm, between plants - from 60 to 70 cm
Broccoli to develop lateral shoots	20x50 or 30x60 cm

It is recommended to plant cabbage in open ground in cloudy weather or in the evening. Before planting the plants, one liter of water is poured into each well. The seedlings are buried to the first true leaves and well watered with settled water from a barrel. In order for cabbage seedlings to quickly and well take root in the open field, it is recommended to spray it for the first few evenings, and shade it from the sun during the day.

Everyone's favorite cabbage is best grown by the seedling method. Seedling not only allows harvesting earlier, but also provides the gardener with disease and climate change resistant sprouts. Planting cabbage for seedlings with all the intricacies of the process and useful tips will be described below in the article.

If you grow seedlings correctly, it will allow the gardener to collect a rich harvest from the garden. But to get good, grown seedlings by the time they are transplanted to a permanent place, you can only correctly calculate the timing of their harvesting. So when to plant cabbage for seedlings?

Planting cabbage for seedlings can be carried out at different times, it all depends on the variety, region.

• Early varieties begin to be sown from late February to early March. Seedlings are grown for about 1.5-2 months and are transplanted to a permanent place around the beginning of May.
• Mid-season varieties can be planted from March 25 to April 25. Such seedlings are grown on average for 1.5 months.
• Late varieties of cabbage begin to sow from early to mid-April. Such seedlings are grown for only 1-1.5 months, during which time it will be completely ready for transplantation.

It is also worth noting that you can start making seedlings early in the southern and middle regions, where warm days come from the end of April. And in the northern regions, where the cold lasts until summer, it is pointless to make seedlings from the beginning of March.

What soil to choose for cabbage seedlings?

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Planting cabbage for seedlings is carried out exclusively in light soil. It is best to make it from turf, peat and humus. The latter can be replaced with sand. All parts are taken in equal proportions. In the case when it is not possible to compose a soil mixture on your own or time does not allow, you can simply use purchased seedling mixtures. You can improve the quality of the soil with wood ash. A tablespoon of ash is taken per kilogram of the finished earthen mixture.

To disinfect the soil, it must be watered right before planting the seeds with a solution of potassium permanganate. If there is no potassium permanganate, you should use simple boiling water. The water is heated, and when it boils, they simply pour it over the ground.

Important! To process potassium permanganate is also a purchased mixture, and not just the one that was made independently. Since, regardless of where the soil was taken, it may contain pest eggs and fungal spores.

Seed preparation

After the cabbage seeds are purchased, they need to be inspected at home. Often, even in packaged packages that are sold in specialized stores, a marriage comes across. Planting cabbage for seedlings with defective seeds simply will not give results. So the seeds should be sorted out, remove all half, spoiled and too small.

If the seeds are branded, were in the package, then processing may not be required. In some factories, seeds are processed before packing - this is always indicated on the package. Since they are processed with special substances, it is not recommended even to germinate them in a damp cloth so that the substance on top of the seeds does not wash off. They just sort them out and do nothing else.

When using seeds harvested by hand, bought in bulk without a bag on the market for planting cabbage for seedlings, you need to carry out processing. First, the seeds are placed in a hot solution of potassium permanganate (+50 degrees) for 15 minutes. Then you need to transfer them to cold water for 3 minutes. Now they are dried on a cloth or paper towel.

Important! If the seeds are hardened a day before planting, they will germinate faster. To do this, they are immersed in cold water (+ 2 ... + 3 degrees) for 24 hours. But such hardening can only be carried out for untreated seeds!

How to sow cabbage with seeds correctly?

Planting cabbage for seedlings can be carried out in two ways, with and without picking into separate pots. If there is no pick, the seeds must be sown immediately in special seedling boxes. Such trays are divided into separate cells, in which the seedlings need to be grown. Instead of such trays, you can use peat or any other cups, as is convenient for the gardener.

A small layer of soil is poured into the cups, up to 5 cm. Seeds are sown in small holes up to 1 cm deep. When growing seedlings without picking, 1-3 seeds are sown in each pot (for safety reasons) at a distance of 1-2 cm. Then the cups or the tray are covered with foil.

Interesting! The non-picking method is convenient to use in small farms, where cabbage is grown mostly for their own needs.

Planting cabbage for seedlings with a pick consists of two stages. At the first stage, the seeds are sown and germinated, and at the second, the sprouts are dived into separate pots. Sow seeds in large boxes 1 cm deep in rows. Such small rows in a drawer can be made with a pencil. Sow at a distance of 1-2 cm, then sprinkle with earth no more than a centimeter. Now it remains to cover the box with foil and set aside the seeds to germinate. Shoots, in both cases, you can wait for 4-5 days, if the room is + 18 ... + 20 degrees Celsius.

How to care for cabbage seedlings?

After the sprouts have appeared, the most difficult stage of growing seedlings begins - caring for cabbage sprouts. If you do not follow all the rules, the seedlings will grow thin, frail, not hardened.

What can seedlings hurt?

Seedlings of cabbage can get sick due to improper temperature conditions, waterlogging and if cabbage was planted in untreated soil. It is pointless to wait until the disease goes away by itself, it must be urgently treated.

• Cabbage seedlings are often attacked by a cruciferous flea. Treatment with Inta-Vir can help.
• Stopping (temporarily) watering will save you from the black leg so that the earth dries up. Saplings on top and ground, sprinkled with wood ash.
• Root rot will disappear if the seedlings are treated with Rizoplan. For 100 ml of warm water, 1 g of the substance is taken. The tool is simply sprayed on the seedlings from above. You can also use Trichodermin. Under 1 plant, 1 gram of the substance is applied.

VIDEO - A good way to plant cabbage