The content of the article:
The difference between white cabbage and red cabbage in color and chemical composition. Red cabbage is stored much better, while retaining all the useful properties.
Varieties of red cabbage
Like most cruciferous varieties of red cabbage, there may be early ripening, medium and late.
The highest taste qualities and shelf life of such varieties as Kalibos, Autoro, Rubin MS, Gako.
Based on the characteristics, each gardener can choose the most suitable variety of red cabbage. Appearance of red cabbage (photo) is usually illustrated on a package with seeds.
- Pallet - a variety of red cabbage late maturing (150 days). A round-shaped head, weighing up to, kg, is perfectly preserved.
- Nurima F1 - early variety (80 days), head of excellent taste, average weight, kg, is not intended for long-term storage.
- Kalibos is a sort of average ripening period, it is cone-shaped to 2 kg, it is not whimsical to the conditions of cultivation.
- The stone head is a late variety, characterized by a high yield, is not susceptible to disease.
How to grow red cabbage?
Depending on the variety, red cabbage is formed for 105-200 days. It can be grown in seed and seedlings.
With the seed method of growing red cabbage, a large number of seeds are consumed, and at the beginning of the growing season, careful care is required for the shoots. Seeding in the southern regions is carried out in March-April, in northern regions the period shifts for the period April-June.
How to grow seed?
The calibrated seeds are etched in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or they are lowered into hot water (50 ° C) for 20 minutes, and then cooled. The prepared seeds are sown in fertile soil, sowing 4 seeds in each well. Above, they are sprinkled with soil or a mixture of peat and humus. The minimum distance between the holes is 60 cm, and the cabbage seeds are closed to a depth of 4 cm. To protect future shoots from cruciferous fleas, the soil is dusted with ashes.
When 2-3 real leaves are formed on the plants, thinning is performed, leaving 2 copies in each well, and after a while they remove one more in favor of the better developed one. Seedlings of red cabbage can be transplanted carefully from the hole. The remaining plant in the hole hills.
Seedling method of cultivation
The seeds are prepared in a similar manner before sowing. To sprout cabbage seedlings it is possible on the windowsill in seedlings or pots, in hotbeds, not heated greenhouses or in open nurseries.
The boxes are filled with prepared soil consisting of equal parts of turf and peat. With this method of growing seedlings, it is important to monitor the temperature regime - the column should not fall below the 16-20 ° C mark before emergence. After the temperature for a week is reduced to 8 ° C, and after seedlings are grown at a temperature of 12-15 ° C.
By transplanting seedlings red cabbage is ready for May, when the plant formed 5-6 leaves and it is well seasoned.
The soil before the transplant is prepared in the same way as for white cabbage. Best of all, red cabbage grows on fertile, friable and light soils with acidity, pH. On acid soil, red cabbage does not grow at all. The best place for this culture will be a well-lit ridge on which cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, beans, beets or potatoes grew last year. To ensure that plants are not affected by a whale, the red cabbage is returned to the previous place of cultivation after 4 years. The soil on the ridge is prepared from the autumn, introducing organic. If there is none, use as a fertilizer nitroammophoska.
Transplanting of sprouted seedlings of red cabbage is carried out according to the following technology: potassium fertilizer or ammonium nitrate, mix fertilizer with soil, spill a little water, and plant seedlings. The soil around is compacted, after which it is spilled with warm water.
Caring for red cabbage
Further measures for the cultivation of red cabbage are reduced to weeding, loosening of the soil, hilling and timely irrigation.
Watering. Like any other kind of cabbage, this culture is moisture-loving. The lack of moisture affects the yield and quality of head. It is useful from time to time to spend copious sprinkling of plantings of red cabbage so that the drops drip from the leaves. Moisture for this kind of cabbage is extremely necessary in the period of formation of rosettes of leaves, their growth until the moment of closing in the inter-rows. Also, abundant watering should be done during the formation of the head. However, it is not necessary to fill in the planting, since red cabbage does not tolerate stagnation of moisture and excessively moist soil.
Loosening and hilling. The first loosening of plantings is carried out a week after planting. Caring for red cabbage means regular aeration of the soil for a good development of the root system of the plant. When the third loosening is carried out, the stalk of cabbage grows to the level of the first leaves.
Top dressing. During the active growth of leaves, cabbage is fed with nitrogen fertilizer, and when head starts to form, phosphorus and potassium should dominate in the feeding. If there is a lot of nitrogen, the plant will continue to grow leaves at the expense of head formation.
Diseases and pests. Cabbage is badly damaged by aphids, moths, thrips, cabbage and scoop, fleas, flies. But most often cabbage dies from the keel. In wet and rainy weather cabbage can be affected by vascular and mucous bacteriosis, fusariosis.
Methods of fighting for all types of cabbage are the same. From the keel, only the right crop rotation will save. From insects use insecticides or folk methods: dusting with tobacco dust and ash, sprinkling with infusions of garlic, onions or wormwood.
Red cabbage Garcia - video
