Content
Many beginning farmers are faced with the fact that cabbage seedlings, which appeared quite successfully, subsequently dies. To find out how to grow cabbage seedlings at home, read the article, and if you follow all the recommendations, get a good harvest of this healthy vegetable.
Growing a large harvest of cabbage depends on the following conditions:
- Seed qualities
- Preparing the land for planting
- Cabbage fertilizers
- Proper care of seedlings: germination, picking, planting in the ground, measures to prevent or control diseases and pests, weeding, watering, cleaning.
Preparing for sowing
To get healthy seedlings, you should properly prepare for planting: choose seeds, decide on the sowing date, prepare the soil and container.
Selection of planting material
The choice of seeds for seedlings depends on the following factors:
- Desired harvest time: the choice of variety depends on this - early ripening, mid ripening or late.
- The planned quantity and size of the harvest.
- Climatic conditions where the vegetable will be grown: the selected seed variety must correspond to them.
Cabbage, if you follow certain rules, can be stored until the spring of next year (until May). The vegetable is great for pickling. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to purchase large quantities of late varieties of cabbage seeds.
Getting a rich harvest depends on the quality of the seeds, so it is important to choose them correctly.
It is recommended to buy seeds with a reserve, as some may not germinate or die during cultivation. If you choose a variety for planting that you have not purchased before, do not purchase a large quantity. It is better to take a little of different varieties.
It is advisable to buy seeds in a store: this way you will know exactly the expiration date, growing conditions and cabbage variety. It should be remembered that the closer the date is to the expiration date, the lower the percentage of seed germination. Cabbage seeds retain their quality for 5 years after collection. If you buy seeds “from hand”, there is a high risk of getting seedlings that will transmit diseases of the parent cabbage.
Purchased seeds should be stored at a temperature of +5 degrees and 60% humidity.
Time for planting seeds for seedlings
The timing of planting seeds for seedlings depends on the type of vegetable and the climate of the region.The vegetable sprouts appear within 12 days from the moment of planting; 45 days after germination, the cabbage is transplanted into the ground. Thus, growing cabbage through seedlings should begin approximately 2 months from the planned date of its planting in the ground.
Preparing material for planting
Before preparing seeds, it is necessary to remove from the total quantity those unsuitable for planting: defective or very small. To check the remaining material for germination, you can plant them for testing. A check is done at least 2 weeks before the start of the sowing season: you need to take several seeds and plant them in the ground. As a result, you will know exactly whether you will get sprouts or not, and how many days the sprouting process takes (this information will be useful for determining the time for planting seeds).
Also, seeds can be pre-germinated to ensure that high-quality material is planted in containers. To do this, place the seeds in a damp cloth or gauze. In this case, you need to make sure that the future seedlings are not in one place - you need to distribute the seeds separately from each other. The fabric should be placed in a container and stored in a semi-dark place with an air temperature within +25 degrees. Until the seeds germinate, it is necessary to control the moisture level of the fabric - add water as needed. Usually sprouts appear within 5 days.
To prevent fungal infections, it is recommended to treat the seeds, unless the annotation indicates that the material has already undergone appropriate treatment. To do this, they must be placed in gauze or other fabric and immersed for 20 minutes in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate. After the procedure, the seeds must be washed.
To stimulate germination, planting material is immersed in a nutrient liquid for half the time of day: one teaspoon of fertilizer per liter of water. After the time has passed, the material is washed and left for a day at a temperature of +2 degrees.
Before starting to grow cabbage seedlings at home, it is advisable to harden the seeds. To do this, you need to place the material in hot water (+50 degrees) for a quarter of an hour, then lower it into cold water for 60 seconds.
Preparing the land for sowing
Peat is suitable for growing cabbage. Ideally it will be:
- humidity not higher than 60%;
- with a low degree of decomposition;
- riding;
- with a pH level of no more than 6.5.
High salt content in peat or its low acidity can lead to poor formation of the root system of cabbage seedlings.
If non-moor peat is used for seedlings, one sawdust should be added to three parts of it.
Before use, it is recommended to steam the peat to disinfect it.
How to grow cabbage seedlings at home so that they are strong? You need to add fertilizer to the peat. It is better to use a universal, finest, complex fertilizer.
Preparing containers for growing cabbage
There are many types of containers in which cabbage is grown. See the table for the positive and negative aspects of each:
Container for cabbage seedlings | Positive sides | Negative sides |
|---|---|---|
Pots |
| Individual for one seed, respectively, take up a lot of space |
Boxes | Space saving due to the fact that several seeds are placed in one container
| When transplanting into the ground, there is a high risk of damaging the roots. |
Containers with which seedlings are planted in the ground (peat: pots, cassettes, tablets) |
|
|
Cassette |
| Individual for one seed, respectively, take up a lot of space |
"Snails" |
| Some skill is required to form a snail-shaped container |
Available materials (plastic bags, cups and boxes of juices, dairy products, etc., bottles, newspaper, eggshells, etc.) | No financial costs required | When transplanting into the ground there is a risk of damaging the roots |
Sowing cabbage seeds
Let's consider two popular sowing methods: growing cabbage seedlings in cassettes and in "snails".
Cassette growing of cabbage
The cassettes must be filled with earth, not reaching 3 mm to the top edge, so that the roots of the seedlings cannot grow into the adjacent cell.In the center you need to make a 3 mm depression in which to place the seed. One cell is intended for one plant.
Until the sprouts appear (about two days), the cassettes must be kept in a room with a humidity of at least 80% and a temperature of +20 degrees. If the seedlings are kept under the same conditions, after the seedlings appear, they may stretch out, which will negatively affect the quality.
It is better to install the cassettes themselves on frames to ensure air ventilation under the cells.
Sowing cabbage seeds in snails
Recently, the method of sowing seeds for seedlings in “snails” has become very popular. This is not surprising, because this method significantly saves space: in one “snail” you can grow up to 15 seedlings, and its diameter corresponds to the size of one medium pot. The amount of soil needed to form a “snail” is an order of magnitude less than when planting each seed in a separate container. Seedlings in “snails” are easy to care for.
Materials for planting cabbage seeds in a “snail”
To form a “snail” you will need:
- Underlay for laminate 2 mm thick. The length is calculated from the planned amount of planted material (about 10 cm per seed, another 10 cm must be added to this length), the width is 10-13 cm. The substrate is sold in building materials stores, it can be purchased in a roll or as a separate cut.
- Priming.
- Container with water.
- Syringe.
- Rubber roller (this item can be excluded).
- Transparent plastic bags.
- Pallets.
- Wide tape, scissors, marker, spoon, spatula.
How to form a “snail”
To form a “snail” follow these steps:
- Prepare the soil: transfer it to a container from which it will be convenient to fill the “snail” (for example, into a basin); remove the trash; break up large pieces.
- Prepare the material for planting: place it in a container where the seeds are clearly visible and from which it will be convenient to take them (for example, in a white saucer).
- Cut a strip of laminate backing to the required length and width and lay it on the table or floor. It is better to lay newspaper underneath to make it easier to remove the remaining soil.
- You need to pour soil onto the substrate using a spatula, leaving 3 cm of empty space at the beginning, end and one edge. The earth should be lightly compacted with a roller (or other method). The width of the soil layer after leveling should be approximately 3 cm.
- Fold the part of the substrate left at first without soil in half, and begin to twist all the material inward as tightly as possible. To prevent the “snail” from falling apart, it must be secured with at least two strips of tape. Place the “snail” in a tray of the appropriate size. The part that is not completely filled with earth should be on top. If you don’t have the required tray, you can put the snail in a transparent plastic bag.
- Using a marker, write the cabbage variety and planting date on the substrate. You don’t have to write, but attach the seed bag with tape.
- Use a syringe to moderately spray the soil with warm water.
- Place the seeds on the ground at a distance of 10 cm from one another.
- Gently moisten the seeds with a syringe. This must be done carefully so as not to wash away the small cabbage seeds.
- Spoon the soil onto the seeds on top. Do not water so as not to weigh down the top layer.
- Cover the “snail” with a transparent plastic bag and place it in a place where there is little light and enough heat.
- Before emergence, ventilate and water the future seedlings once a day.
- As soon as the shoots appear, the bag must be removed and the “snail” placed where the seedlings will be grown.
- Water the sprouts with a syringe with warm water as needed.
Seedling care
Proper care of cabbage seedlings involves proper watering, fertilizing and maintaining temperature conditions.
Watering
The water for watering seedlings should not be too hard, as salts may remain on the surface of the soil, which will interfere with the penetration of air. To make the liquid softer, it needs to be settled. It is ideal to use melt water for irrigation, which you can prepare yourself or melt snow or ice in winter (provided that you live outside the city away from roads).
Watering should be done moderately: do not allow water to seep through the bottom, but also do not leave the soil semi-dry. It is ideal to use about 4 ml of water per watering. The required temperature of the liquid for irrigation is room temperature. The frequency of watering depends on the state of soil moisture; it happens that seedlings do not require liquid for up to 2 days.
Temperature regime for seedlings
In order for cabbage seedlings to be strong at home, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature within 8-15 degrees Celsius. There should also be no sharp fluctuations in day and night temperatures.
Top dressing
You need to start feeding immediately after the first watering. During hot weather, in order to avoid burning the seedlings, after fertilizing the soil must be additionally watered with liquid in a volume of 1 ml. Feed the seedlings should be twice every 7 days. If cabbage growth needs to be stopped, the frequency of feeding should be reduced to once a week or two or stopped altogether.
Watch the video for mistakes when growing cabbage:
What to do if it is not possible to transplant seedlings into the ground in time
It is advisable to transplant cabbage seedlings into the ground at a certain time. However, there are situations when plants are ready to be transplanted, but weather conditions, soil conditions or other factors do not allow this.
Seedlings can be kept in the condition required for transplantation by placing them in a cool room and following the following recommendations:
- The air temperature at the storage location should not be lower than +1 and higher than +3 degrees.
- The humidity in the room should be 90%.
- The seedlings should be placed vertically in the container.
- The ground should be slightly damp.
In this way, seedlings can be stored for no more than 3 weeks.
Preparing seedlings for transplanting into the ground
Before planting cabbage in the ground, it should be hardened off. To do this, 10 days before the planned transplant, you need to take the container with the plants out into the fresh air. The amount of time spent by seedlings in conditions close to real ones should be gradually increased to 2-3 hours a day.
How to harden cabbage seedlings, watch the video:
Helpful information
The best predecessors for growing cabbage:
- carrot;
- cereals;
- melons;
- Solanaceae;
- onion.
Crops after which it is not recommended to plant cabbage:
- cabbage (sooner than four years);
- sunflower;
- mustard;
- beet;
- corn;
- rape.
Conclusion
Growing cabbage seedlings at home is complicated by the fact that it requires a special temperature regime. Despite some difficulties, it is possible to grow strong seedlings, provided that all planting and care requirements are met.
