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In recent years, in many regions of Russia, gardeners have started growing Chinese cabbage. Residents of the Urals are also not lagging behind, experimenting with different varieties of salad vegetables. For some, everything worked out right away, while others were 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 climate characteristics. In hot or cold weather, Chinese cabbage begins to lag behind in development. Growing this vegetable in the conditions of the Urals is not much different from the basic agrotechnical requirements: you need to monitor the lighting and the amount of moisture in the soil.
The harvest depends on climatic conditions and the period of planting of Chinese cabbage.If the temperature outside is too hot and the nights are light, the plant will devote energy to flowering and feathers, and the fruit will not develop.
Growing late varieties of Chinese cabbage In the Urals, weather conditions make it difficult to sow directly into the ground. If you still like the late variety, you should definitely grow seedlings. Although, if you have a greenhouse, you can also try late varieties (it is best to use hybrids) for autumn consumption.
To grow Chinese cabbage in the Urals, you need to remember:
- Responds well to watering and fertilizing.
- Transplantation slows down growth.
- Soils need neutral or slightly acidic. Clay areas are not suitable.
Floweriness of cabbage - what is the reason
Gardeners living in the Urals often lose their harvest due to the flowering of Chinese cabbage. It is clear that a head of cabbage will not form. 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.
- The vegetable needs a short daylight hours.
- The heat is destructive.
Solving the problem of growing a rich cabbage crop in the Urals is not difficult. It is enough to choose the right planting time so that the Chinese cabbage has time to ripen before the onset of long daylight hours and heat. As a rule, it takes 40-60 days to tighten the forks.
Strong seedlings are the key to 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 winter consumption, then the seeds are sown in early June. The grains are immediately placed in separate containers.You can use cups, cassettes, and peat tablets for Peking cabbage seedlings.
Many beginning gardeners ask why this method is better than planting seeds in boxes. The answer is simple: when transplanting seedlings of Chinese cabbage, the root system can be damaged.
When growing cabbage of this type in the Urals, fertile soil is poured into cassettes or plastic cups and a little wood ash is added. The soil is spilled with boiling water with dissolved potassium permanganate in advance. The seeding depth is no more than a centimeter. The containers are covered with glass or a bag and placed in a warm, well-lit place.
As a rule, high-quality seeds germinate in 3-4 days. Remove the covering from the cabbage immediately. To prevent seedlings grown in the Urals from stretching out, the air temperature is reduced. Lighting must be at least 6 hours.
Further care of seedlings in the Urals is no different from other regions - watering, surface loosening, fertilizing. By the time of planting, cabbage seedlings form a powerful root system and 4-5 leaves, as in the photo.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Choosing a place to plant Beijing
To plant cabbage of this type, select those beds on the site where cruciferous vegetables were not grown. Regardless of whether you live in the Urals or in another region of Russia, you need to plant seedlings in a bed with fertile neutral soil.
The ridge needs to be dug up in the fall, compost or humus added, about 4 kilograms for each square. In spring, low ridges are raked at a distance of up to half a meter. The step between Chinese cabbage bushes in a row is at least 40 cm.
Planting cabbage
A few days before planting (this is approximately towards the end of May), the soil is watered with boiling water and potassium permanganate. This is necessary to prevent clubroot. When planting seedlings, you need to monitor the planting depth. Add a teaspoon of wood ash to each hole. After this, carefully water the cabbage so as not to wash out 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 is not worth the risk. It is better to stretch temporary arcs over the plantings and cover them with any material.
Growing in a greenhouse
If you have a reliable greenhouse, then it can be used both for obtaining early seedlings and for growing vegetables throughout the growing season.
Chinese cabbage grows best when surrounded by other plants, with the exception of cruciferous plants. Such plantings are called compacted. Good neighbors in the greenhouse are cucumbers, tomatoes, early sown dill, parsley, and celery. While these plants are gaining strength, the Beijing will be ready for harvest.
To prevent plants from interfering with each other, rows are made at a distance of at least 20 cm, with up to 10 cm between seeds. It remains to decide when to sow cabbage in a greenhouse in the Urals. The first sowings are carried out in March if you want to get a harvest in June. Having sowed the seeds in February for seedlings in the apartment, the first Peking trees can be cut by May 9.
Growing cabbage directly in the ground
In the Urals, you can grow vegetables by directly sowing seeds in the ground. The work is completed at the end of June. Choose a well-lit place, but in the afternoon the sun’s rays should not fall on the ridge.
After culling and processing, the seeds are soaked for germination. This technique helps reduce the consumption of seed. Seeds are laid out in 2-3 pieces at a distance of up to 30-40 cm, sowing depth up to 2 cm. The distance between the rows is about half a meter.
After sowing, to speed up germination, cover the bed with any covering material. The sprouts that appear are inspected, the strongest ones are selected, and the rest are plucked out.
Planting care
There are practically no special differences in caring for plants in the Urals. Salad cabbage likes to be watered generously, but the main thing is not to overdo it. Swallowing of the soil can lead to rotting of the roots and the development of various diseases. Many pests like this environment.
During the growing season, plants need feeding both in the open ground and in the greenhouse. You can water with infusion of mullein, bird droppings, slurry of rabbit droppings or fermented grass.
About the rules for growing Chinese cabbage:
Diseases and pests
Pekinka in any area, including when grown in the Urals, sometimes gets sick or is besieged by pests. The plant becomes lethargic and growth stops. We urgently need to find out the reason.
As a preventive measure, choosing the right place for Chinese cabbage.If turnips, radishes, and mustard previously grew in the garden bed, then, most likely, pathogens and pests may remain in it even after the severe Ural frosts. It is better to plant pekinka after potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and all types of legumes.
Among the most common diseases are fungal diseases, blackleg, clubroot, and spotted leaf mosaic. This is what roots look like when they are affected by fungal disease and blackleg. See 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 and snails that also eat the leaves.
The photo below shows a root damaged by cabbage fly larvae. As a result, it atrophied and the plant died.
How to Grow Healthy Cabbage
As a preventive measure against almost all leaf-eating insects, plants are sprayed with an infusion of ash and tobacco. You can sprinkle these substances on the soil around the vegetables.
Slugs, snails, and cabbage flies will not be able to harm the cabbage if you sprinkle a mixture of black and red pepper around it.
Crucifer flea beetle is not easy to control because it jumps from plant to plant. You can, of course, cover the plantings with special materials. But it is best to spray pesticides on all cruciferous vegetables.
This is what cabbage looks like in the photo, with cruciferous flea beetles feasting on it.
Here they are - cabbage pests: cabbage butterfly caterpillars and aphids.
Combined plantings
Beijing cabbage is a multicultural plant. It grows best surrounded by:
- legumes and grain plants;
- among cucumbers, onions, salads;
- tomatoes and beets;
- various flowers, including marigolds;
- among herbs: celery, spinach, basil.
Growing Chinese cabbage in the Urals is a fascinating business. Look at the photo to see what your site looks like. Beauty - landscape designers will envy!
Useful tips
As you can see, growing Beijing vegetables is possible in the Urals. The main thing is the implementation of agrotechnical techniques and a love of crop production.
For the residents of the Urals, we have saved some useful tips for growing cabbage:
- If the site has clay soil, add a large amount of compost or humus: the salad vegetable will reward you with a rich harvest.
- Spray the plants with herbal infusions and wood ash. This is a fertilizer and a means of pest control.
- When growing cabbage in the Urals, the soil needs to be mulched with cut grass, this way moisture is better retained and the plants receive nutrients.
- If you grow phacelia, vetch, and oats, which are excellent green manures, you can plant cabbage directly on these beds. Then the accompanying plants are cut and used as mulch.
Good luck to you, gardeners of the Urals! Don’t be afraid to experiment; grow different cultivated plants in your plots.
