In Russia, its popularity has already equaled its distant relative - white cabbage, and according to some indicators it became a leader. So, it is not necessary to plant it as seedlings; you can get by with seeds, which greatly simplifies open ground. The second important advantage is that it forms heads much faster, that is, you do not need to wait until autumn to harvest. The third wonderful quality of this vegetable is that it can be used for salads, hot dishes, and pickles, which has already been appreciated by thousands of chefs. Usually Chinese cabbage is not capricious, but for some gardeners, instead of forming heads of cabbage, it only throws out inflorescences that no one needs. What's the matter? What secrets do you need to know to get good harvest?

Beijing or Chinese?

Growing Chinese cabbage subject to several simple conditions even beginners in gardening can do it. Some difficulties may arise only in reality. initial stage- buying seeds, because sometimes on bags sold in all specialized stores, you can see different names And the same picture vegetable.

Everyone knows that Beijing is the capital of China. Therefore, it is logical that Chinese cabbage and Chinese cabbage are one and the same, but there are two varieties of this vegetable. One is salad cabbage, or bok choy, the other is head-forming cabbage, or pet sai. Bok choy does not produce heads, only leaves that form in a rosette around the main bud. It is cultivated for the sake of these leaves, which are extremely useful from a medical point of view. In Russia, bok choy is most often called Chinese cabbage, and pet sai is called Peking cabbage. It is also good for health. So, it contains a lot of vitamins A, C, B, PP, contains carotene, citric and ascorbic acids, proteins important for the human body.

Biological description

So that growing Chinese cabbage in open ground does not bring unexpected surprises, let’s get acquainted with appearance this vegetable. If all sowing and care standards are followed, the harvest consists of loose oblong heads up to 35 cm long. At the base, each leaf has a large fleshy central vein, whitish in color. Its shape is most often triangular, and its dimensions are such that it makes up approximately 20% of the leaf or more. The rest of it is quite tender, pale light green, less often green or deep green, slightly convex, with uneven edges. In cross-section, the head of cabbage has small seeds, similar to tiny balls. This vegetable loves moisture, light and warmth, but can withstand frosts in soil down to -4 degrees Celsius. This does not apply to young shoots of Chinese cabbage, which need to be provided with above-zero temperatures.

Features of cultivation

Beijing cabbage has many features. One of them is very fast germination. Therefore, growing Chinese cabbage in open ground from seeds is considered the most convenient way to cultivate it. The main condition that must be met is temperature regime. The fact is that Chinese cabbage produces full-sized heads only in the air temperature range from +13 to +22 degrees Celsius. In cooler weather, this foreign vegetable actively forms arrows, in higher weather it does not set good heads and also throws out flower stalks. Planting dates in each region should be based on climatic conditions, taking into account that seeds germinate no longer than a week at temperatures environment up to +5 degrees and about 4 days at a temperature of +13 degrees. On average, cabbage is sown in open ground in spring from mid-April to mid-June, but experienced gardeners advise sowing at intervals of about 2 weeks in order to have a harvest for a long time.

How to sow seeds correctly

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground in spring is the most convenient way get a high yield. For the beds, select a well-lit place with light neutral soil.

The seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of no more than 2 cm, and preferably from 1 to 1.5 cm. Peking cabbage grows very large before the heads begin to form. lower leaves, which subsequently die off, but in the process of growth greatly interfere with each other. Based on this, the distance between future cabbages should be at least 30 cm. It is almost impossible to maintain it by sowing small seeds, so in the future the seedlings must be thinned out. In order for the seedlings to appear faster, as well as to protect them from possible frosts, it is advisable to cover the crops with film.

Further care

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground rarely causes difficulties. After the emergence of seedlings and their thinning, the first place in importance comes proper watering. Peking cabbage loves moisture and, if there is a lack of it, does not form good heads of cabbage. However, if there is too much water, it begins to rot. You need to water it abundantly, but so that the water does not stagnate, and on especially hot days, irrigate your plants using the rain method. Weeding, as well as shallow loosening of the soil, is also important for cabbage. This vegetable is fed 2 times per season with a solution of slurry or mullein.

Growing seedlings

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground at home is practiced not only with seeds, but also with seedlings. This is done to ripen the crop earlier or to obtain several harvests per season. They begin to plant Chinese cabbage seedlings in the second half of April. This plant does not like transplanting and picking, so each seed is immediately placed in a separate cassette or in a peat pot (tablet). You can also sow 2-3 seeds, so that after germination you leave the strongest seedling and remove the rest. As soon as the seedlings hatch, the containers with the seedlings are transferred to a well-lit, but not hot place (ambient temperature - up to +18 degrees) so that the sprouts do not stretch too much. Otherwise, planting them will be problematic. The seedlings are planted in the garden bed with a clod of earth without damaging the root system.

The holes are made from one another by 25-30 cm. Add half a glass of ash and a pinch (up to a teaspoon) to each. complex fertilizers. The sprouts are ready to move into open ground when 5-6 leaves appear on each. In the first days after planting, young plants need to be covered with film at night to protect them from sudden temperature changes. The harvest can be harvested in just 3 weeks.

Growing in summer

Since Chinese cabbage ripens very quickly, it can be harvested twice per season, sowing the seeds again from late July to mid-August. It is not sown in June, which is due to the length of daylight hours, which for the formation of heads of cabbage should be no more than 12-13 hours. Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground in July is not much different from the process in spring.

The only thing that gardeners should do additionally is to artificially shorten the length of daylight hours for their cabbage by covering the plants with lutrasil. You also need to ensure sufficient watering and prevent the soil from drying out. To obtain seeds, cabbage is planted in months when the sun shines for more than 13 hours. It doesn’t matter how high the air temperature is.

Shooting Chinese cabbage

Almost all gardeners plant Chinese cabbage to produce heads of cabbage. But sometimes, instead of forming heads, plants begin to throw out flower arrows, and there is no harvest. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to comply with all standards when growing Chinese cabbage in open ground. The photo below shows what the rows should look like before the final thinning. With this method of planting, excess plants are not thrown away, but used for cooking.

Arrows may appear:

When the daylight hours are too long;

Density of plantings;

Lack of nutrients in the soil;

Insufficient watering in hot weather.

Sometimes cabbage becomes capricious when transplanting it. This happens when gardeners, thinning out plantings, try to save excess plants by transplanting them to another place.

Pests and diseases

Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground in a country house or garden plot usually proceeds without any difficulties. Important: it is not advisable to plant this crop after other cruciferous crops (radish, radish, mustard), which reduces the risk of diseases characteristic of these crops. Among the pests, cabbage is most often attacked by flea beetles, which can completely destroy the seedlings. To combat insects, the bed should be sprinkled with ash. Slugs also love to feast on cabbage leaves. If they are spotted on the site, special traps are set for them. Another pest is cabbage weeds, which lay eggs on back side leaves. If such masonry is found, they are destroyed manually.

Chinese cabbage belongs to the category and is characterized by the formation of an erect leaf rosette. The birthplace of this vegetable crop is China. IN recent years Growing Chinese cabbage is gaining popularity and recognition among gardeners in our country.

Varieties of Chinese cabbage are also represented by the Beijing version of pe-tsai, which has not only a leaf form, but also a head. An annual and fairly cold-resistant plant, it is characterized by early ripening and shows excellent results when grown in all regions of our country.

Plant characteristics

Chinese cabbage is relatively unpretentious to cultivation conditions, however, a consistently high yield is usually obtained when cultivating this useful plant in greenhouse protected soil conditions. To grow a high-quality crop, you should adhere to standard agrotechnical practices and take into account biological features this plant.

Cabbage from the Middle Kingdom is quite demanding in terms of humidity. The leaves of such a plant are collected in a fairly dense rosette, the diameter of which can reach fifty centimeters. This parameter depends not only on the variety of Chinese cabbage, but also on the growing conditions.

The main advantage of Chinese cabbage is the ability to grow in all weather conditions, as well as in shaded areas. Maximum yield is recorded in warm climates and with short days. Chinese cabbage is very responsive to high-quality soil composition, and an abundant harvest of large leaf rosettes is formed when grown on well-cultivated, moist and fertile soil.

Useful properties

Central Asian cuisine widely uses the plant in the preparation of a significant number of different dishes, which is due not only to the excellent taste of Chinese cabbage, but also to the quality indicators of this green crop. The leaves of the plant contain about seventy percent of vitamin C. In addition, the plant is rich in vitamins A and B, as well as iron and a large number of trace elements.

Chinese cabbage is especially revered for the following beneficial properties:

• lowering blood sugar levels, which makes it a very valuable food product for people with diabetes;
• strengthening the cardiovascular system and improving calcium metabolism;
• cabbage juice is effective means to reduce pain in diseases of the digestive tract;
• cabbage has proven itself as an excellent preventive remedy for colitis, gastritis and duodenitis.

According to some reports, regular use of this plant can significantly reduce the risk of cancer.

Landing rules

It is possible to grow a healthy and well-bearing plant if you follow cultivation technology. Chinese cabbage can be grown not only through seedlings, but also without seedlings.

When growing a plant without seedlings, the following rules must be observed:

• sowing of seed material on greenhouse beds is carried out from the end of April at intervals of two weeks;
• spring sowing should be done with leaf varieties, and in summer sowing preference should be given to head-forming varieties;
• the standard step between plants should not be less than fifteen centimeters, and the depth is about two centimeters;
• It is allowed to use a strip-line sowing method with subsequent thinning of plants or a group sowing method, in which several seeds are planted in one hole and then the weakest shoots are removed.

To grow Chinese cabbage in seedlings, you should use the following technology:

• the plant is very difficult to transplant, so it is advisable to grow seedlings in separate tablets or peat pots;
• uniform sowing is achieved by mixing the seed with sand;
• the sowing depth should be about one centimeter;
• planting seedlings on greenhouse beds should be done extremely carefully, when five true leaves appear on the plants;
• for plants leaf type the planting pattern for seedlings is 10×10 centimeters;
• for cabbage-type plants, the planting scheme for seedlings is 20×20 centimeters.

Useful properties of Chinese cabbage (video)

Features of care and feeding

Leaf and head types of Chinese cabbage are cold-resistant crops, as well as light- and moisture-loving. Adult plants tolerate cold temperatures down to minus six degrees, but when temperatures rise above twenty-five degrees Celsius, Chinese cabbage can get leaf burns.

Caring for this type of cabbage is not difficult and consists of regular and abundant watering, shallow and careful loosening of the soil, and timely control of weeds and pests. Good result provides high-quality mulching of greenhouse soil. Chinese cabbage is very responsive to sprinkling. When well prepared in the fall, fertile soil During the entire growing season, only two fertilizings with organic fertilizers are required.

Diseases and pests

Weakened plants, which are cared for with gross violations, are most often attacked by diseases and pests. Most often, Chinese cabbage is affected by the following pests.

Garden cruciferous flea beetles

The pest damages the leaf blades. If there are a significant number of pests, the plant may die. The small pest overwinters in plant debris left in the greenhouse.

The fight against fleas consists of sprinkling cabbage leaves tobacco dust or wood ash, as well as timely destruction of garden plant debris. An effective measure is the use of smoke or pollination of plants with sodium silicon fluoride, as well as the placement of special traps in the greenhouse - flea traps.

Cabbage whites

The pest butterfly begins its flight in midsummer. Particularly harmful are cutworms and white moths at the caterpillar stage. A massive infestation of the pest in a greenhouse threatens not only crop loss, but also the death of plants.

The fight against butterflies and caterpillars consists of pollinating plants with a product such as sodium silicon fluoride and manual collection pests from cabbage leaves. Effective drugs are "Lepidots" And "Xibatsilin".

Cabbage fly

An effective method of plant protection is high-quality moistening of the soil around the plants, as well as pollination of the soil with naphthalene or tobacco dust mixed with sand.

The most dangerous diseases of Chinese cabbage include the following types:

• white and gray rot cabbage;
• a kilo of cabbage;
• false powdery mildew;
• cabbage;
• cabbage mosaic.

To prevent the development of these formidable diseases, you should follow the rules of crop rotation and properly prepare the greenhouse structure for winter period, promptly weed the beds with cabbage and immediately remove all plant debris.

Plant health is of no small importance. Strong Chinese cabbage is rarely affected by diseases, so it is advisable to use only zoned and disease-resistant varieties for sowing, and the seed material should be subjected to high-quality pre-sowing treatment.

Chinese cabbage can be eaten raw and for cooking at the age of one and a half months. At this stage, grown in accordance with cultivation technology, the greenhouse plant has several succulent and large leaves.

How to grow Chinese cabbage (video)

The main process of harvesting Chinese cabbage occurs when the heads close. Despite the fact that the plant belongs to the category of very cold-resistant, it is advisable to harvest the entire crop before the onset of stable frosts. Otherwise, the heads of cabbage will be poorly stored and will significantly reduce their taste. An excellent storage method is to dig up the plant with its root system and then bury it in moistened sand. Containers with sand should be stored in a cool room with good ventilation.

Vegetables are abundant on the tables of Asian countries. For example, Chinese cabbage. Salads are prepared from it and used as a side dish. Previously, this vegetable was exclusively imported to Europe. Today, growing and caring for Chinese cabbage is available in many regions of Russia.
Today, gardeners are interested in growing not only well-known and widespread vegetable crops. Through the efforts of breeders, varieties have been developed that are adapted to conditions different from the “parental” ones. What is required to grow and care for Chinese cabbage, why this vegetable is so popular not only in its homeland.

What is Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage refers to bok choy and Chinese cabbage plants. They both found widespread V Chinese cuisine. The vegetable is a variety of turnip and belongs to the same genus as cauliflower, broccoli.

Fact. For quite a long period, bok choy was considered isolated, an independent species Chinese cabbage. Today, both varieties are widely represented on supermarket shelves not only in Asia, but also in Europe and North America.

Outside of Asia, Chinese cabbage has become widespread. That is why, when searching for information about Chinese cabbage, a large percentage of sources describe Chinese cabbage.

Chinese cabbage leaves are pale green in color, the stems are white, rolled into an elongated, loose head. Traditionally used for fermentation.

Bok choy cabbage, or pak choy as it is also called, does not form a head. The leaves are dark green, the stems are fleshy, gathered around a small bud.

Features of agricultural technology

It was experimentally found that Chinese cabbage is difficult to tolerate such a procedure as transplantation, which is often used for other vegetable crops. That is why it is preferable to grow this plant from seedlings or sow it in the ground, always thinning out weaker specimens.

Important. Despite the fact that Chinese cabbage and pak choi are species relatives, it is not recommended to plant them close to each other.

Features of the process of growing Chinese cabbage

Growing pak choi cabbage has a number of features. They can be formulated as follows:

1. Chinese cabbage is a fast-ripening crop. Early varieties reach maturity on average in 40-55 days, late varieties - 60-80, medium - 55-60. Such indicators allow you to get up to 3 harvests in one season.
2. If the appropriate conditions are created, the plant can be grown throughout the year.
3. Temperatures below 13°C and extended daylight hours (artificially or naturally) can cause bolting and flowering.
4. The optimal temperature for germination is from 15 to 22°C.

It is possible to avoid flowering and bolting if you follow the following rules:

• crops should not be too thick;
• give preference to varieties that are resistant to flowering;
• artificially shorten daylight hours.

The listed features of growing Chinese cabbage should be taken into account before the actual cultivation of the crop begins.

One of the methods of growing Chinese cabbage is seedlings. It is preferable given the instability of the root system to transplantation. That is why the seeds are sown in individual peat pots, in which the seedlings germinate later and are transplanted into a greenhouse or open ground.

Growing Chinese pak choi cabbage using the seedling method has one important advantage - reducing the ripening time. After planting the seedlings in the beds, the first harvest can be harvested after 20-35 days.

Optimal timing for sowing Chinese cabbage for seedlings

Chinese cabbage seeds germinate at a temperature of 4°C. However, for normal growth and full development, the culture requires other temperature indicators - from 15 to 22°C.

Advice. Exceeding the optimal temperature conditions leads to the fact that the plant begins to bloom. This is especially often observed with another factor - long daylight hours.

You should start planting seeds for seedlings about a month before you start planting in the ground. The exact timing depends on what crop is planned to be harvested. For example, if we talk about early, then the landing is carried out at last days Martha, deadline– beginning of April. To obtain a late harvest suitable for winter consumption, the procedure is carried out in the last days of June.

How to grow Chinese cabbage seedlings

For growing Chinese cabbage from seeds, loose soil is preferable. For example, it could be a mixture of two parts coconut substrate and one part humus. The seeds are not pre-soaked. The depth to which the seed is planted should not exceed 1.5 cm. Peat pots, which are best suited for germinating Chinese cabbage seeds, should be kept in a warm, unlit room until the first shoots appear.

The containers are brought to the light a few days after the first shoots appear. The optimal temperature range is from 7 to 8°C. As the substrate dries, it is watered with settled water at room temperature and carefully loosened.

After 2 to 3 true leaves appear on the seedlings, a false pick is carried out. This means that weak seedlings are not pulled out, but pinched off.

Is picking Chinese cabbage carried out?

Such a procedure as picking with regard to Chinese cabbage seedlings is not applicable. Root system sensitive to damage that is inevitable when transplanting seedlings from a common container into individual pots.

Planting a plant in open ground

The seedlings obtained as a result of seed germination can be planted both in a greenhouse and in open ground. Growing Chinese cabbage in open ground begins immediately after the seedlings reach maturity in three days.

Advice. 10 days before planting, seedlings undergo hardening. To do this, the seedlings are taken out of the room for a while. familiar conditions. Every day, the time spent on the street increases and as soon as the period reaches a day, disembarkation is carried out.

Soil needed for Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage is a light-loving crop. Therefore, areas that are sufficiently illuminated are suitable for growing it. The soil should be neutral, light, and fairly loose. The soil should be moderately moist and have good drainage so that water does not stagnate.

Precursors for Chinese cabbage can be carrots, potatoes, any grains, cucumbers, and garlic.

Planting seedlings in areas that were previously planted with any cruciferous plants risks infection common pests and diseases.

How to plant Chinese cabbage correctly

The success of growing Chinese cabbage depends on many factors. One of them is proper preparation soil.

In some cases, liming of the soil may be required. This should be done in the fall before the final digging. With the onset of spring, the selected area is dug up and a bucket of humus (compost) is added to each square meter. Then holes are made at a distance of 10-15 cm. The distance between rows should not exceed 50 cm.

The bottom of each hole is fertilized with superphosphate, wood ash and urea, thoroughly mixed with soil and a small amount of water. The peat pot is placed in the center of the hole and carefully added dropwise.

How to plant a plant in the garden

Planting and caring for Chinese cabbage is not very difficult, provided that certain rules are followed. One of them concerns the fact that some time after planting, seedlings must be covered with non-woven material.

This is done to solve the following problems:

• protection of young plants from temperature changes;
• sheltering seedlings from direct sunlight at the time of rooting;
• protection of the root system from possible rotting due to abundant moisture during heavy rainfall;
• protection against cruciferous flea beetle;
• accelerating the process of head formation.

After two weeks from the moment of planting in open ground, the area must be mulched with peat or straw. Loosening the soil around the emerging heads of cabbage is done with great care.

Watering

Chinese cabbage requires abundant and regular watering. This is done at least once a week. Water should be poured directly under the root, avoiding contact with the leaves. The procedure is carried out either early in the morning or immediately after the sun sets. Mulching allows you to avoid accelerated evaporation of moisture.

Top dressing

Chinese cabbage is fed for the first time two weeks after planting in the ground. The basis of feeding should be organic fertilizers. One plant will require no more than a liter ready solution.
Plants that were planted in the spring should be fertilized at least three times throughout the growing season. Summer plantings are fertilized twice.

Variety of types of Chinese cabbage

The science of selection does not stand still. Today, thanks to the efforts of specialists, many vegetable crops can be grown not only in Asia, for example, but also in the climate of most regions of Russia. Today there are many types of Chinese cabbage. The following are the most common varieties in our country.

Sheet

This variety is nothing more than Chinese cabbage itself or pak choi. The plant is distinguished by succulent petioles, which are eaten. Foliage has oval shape, it is pressed tightly to the middle. Bok choy stores well, keeping presentation over a long period of time.

Today the market offers varieties adapted to Russian conditions. However, those species that grow in China easily tolerate the climatic conditions of most latitudes of Russia.

The domestic variety of Chinese cabbage, which has become widespread, is “Alyonushka”. It is valued for its early ripening - only 45 days pass from the moment the first shoots appear to the harvest. And also for high content Lysine is an amino acid that is extremely important for the body and is very rarely found in vegetables.

Plants of this variety form a rosette of leaves, the diameter of which reaches 20-30 cm. All parts of the plant are eaten in any form - fried, raw, stewed, pickled. The leaves are small and have a round-oval shape.

The petioles are quite fleshy. One plant can reach a weight of 1.8 kg. From one square meter It is possible to collect about 9 kg of plantings. The taste of the Alyonushka cabbage, although it has a spicy pungency, is quite pleasant.

Another type of Chinese cabbage that is popular is Swallow. Its value lies in the fact that the first harvest is harvested two weeks after the appearance of the first shoots.

Plants of this variety weigh up to 3 kg. The petioles are quite fleshy and juicy. All parts contain large amounts of ascorbic acid.

Half-headed and cabbage variety

Introduced by the well-known Chinese cabbage. Due to the fact that the crop does not tolerate temperature changes quite well, it is grown mainly in greenhouse conditions.

Today breeders offer early ripening varieties, which are suitable for growing in open ground. For example, Khibinskaya and Optiko.

Today in Russia the most common variety of Chinese cabbage is “Bokal”. This is a representative of the cabbage species. Dense, completely closed heads of cabbage guarantee that fungal spores and larvae cannot penetrate inside. The taste qualities allow the plant to be used as a salad additive.

Possible diseases and pests of Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage is a frost-resistant crop. However, this quality applies exclusively to adult plants. The seedlings are extremely poorly tolerated low temperatures, their differences.

Regarding pests that can cause damage to Chinese cabbage seedlings. Experts name among them - all lovers of cruciferous vegetables, for example, cruciferous flea beetles. To reduce the damage they cause, it is recommended to water the plant abundantly and often. Chemicals should be connected when the number of pests increases sharply.

Naked slugs and cabbage whites are the main enemies of Chinese cabbage. If measures are not taken in a timely manner, pests can completely destroy the plant seedlings.

Advantages and disadvantages

Chinese cabbage has many benefits. Namely:

• pronounced, unparalleled taste;
• the ability to get a harvest in a short time;
• unpretentiousness - the culture easily adapts to any climatic conditions;
• resistance to known diseases and pests;
• high volume of harvest;
• long shelf life.

The advantages of Chinese cabbage include its rich composition. The leaves contain a large amount of substances necessary for the human body.

Despite such an extensive list of benefits, Chinese cabbage has a small drawback - if you miss the harvest time, the leaves become rough.

Harvest

Chinese pak choi cabbage is ready for harvesting when the plant has formed at least 9-10 full leaves. A plant that has formed fleshy petioles on a dense rosette is also considered mature.

Fact. One plant produces several harvests. This is possible due to the rapid formation of new leaf shoots.
Chinese cabbage tolerates frost well when the temperature drops to -10°C, which allows the plant to be preserved for a long time.

Provided there are no so-called “windows” when the temperature varies between minus and plus, the Chinese one can be left in the garden until December.

Fact. If you strictly follow the rules for growing Chinese cabbage, the yield can reach 15 kg per 1 square of sowing.

Once the plant reaches maturity, experienced gardeners It is recommended to dig it up by the roots. Then, to preserve the taste, it should be buried in damp sand and placed in basement with high quality ventilation. The moisture in the sand will not allow the cabbage to wither.

General information:

The homeland of this type of cabbage is China;
. it is cultivated mostly in China and the Korean Peninsula, and in Russia mainly on Far East, successfully grown on personal plots;
. its agricultural technology is the same as for Chinese cabbage;
. The value of Chinese cabbage is that it can be grown all year round(in open and protected ground). It is rich in vitamins B1, B2, PP, carotene, and it contains 2 times more vitamin C than in salad. Of the organic acids, citric acid predominates;
. eaten like Chinese cabbage - fresh, boiled and stewed, fermented and dried

Soil:

optimal reaction of the soil environment pH 6.5-7.2

mechanical composition of the soil: light soils

predecessor:

Good predecessors are legumes, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, beets, tomatoes and perennial herbs;
. You can’t grow cabbage after cabbage and other vegetable crops of the same family - radishes, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, turnips, watercress

specific cultural requirements:

Rich in organic matter, well-drained medium loamy soils are most suitable for cultivation. Waterlogged, organic-poor soils are of little use;
. the area must be fully illuminated, shading is allowed for no more than 3 hours a day. It should be taken into account that in conditions of long daylight hours and moderate temperatures, Chinese cabbage is prone to bolting;
. for autumn digging per 1 m2 add: 4-5 kg ​​of humus or compost, 20-25 g of superphosphate, 10-15 g of potassium sulfate, and in the spring before sowing or planting seedlings 15-20 g of ammonium nitrate

Landing:

planting method: seedlings / non-seedlings

seedling age:

25-30 days (seedlings ready for planting should have 4-5 leaves)

time for sowing seeds in open ground:

V middle lane In Russia, seeds are sown in the first ten days of May to mid-June with an interval of 10-15 days, as well as from July 20 to August 10

time for sowing seeds for seedlings:

If cabbage is grown in protected soil, seedlings are sown in late January-early February;
. when grown in open ground, sowing is carried out in April;
. It is better to grow seedlings in pots, since seedlings grown without pots do not tolerate transplantation as well

sowing depth:

To a depth of 1-2 cm when sowing in open ground;
. to a depth of 0.5-1 cm, mixing seeds with sand, when growing through seedlings

sowing/planting scheme:

sowing in open ground is carried out with 2 or 3 line tapes (50-60 cm between tapes, 20-30 cm between lines, 15-25 cm between plants)

Care and problems with growing:

feeding:

During the season, 1-2 feedings are carried out;
. in fertilizing should prevail phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, since Chinese cabbage is also capable of accumulating a lot of nitrates, like Chinese cabbage

watering:

moisture-loving, but waterlogging significantly reduces yield and product quality

temperature:

more frost-resistant than Chinese cabbage, plants can withstand frosts down to -6°C, the most favorable temperature for growth and development is +15-22°C;
. hot sunny weather causes leaf burns, and at temperatures below 13°C premature bolting is possible

Growing Chinese cabbage has its own characteristics compared to its ordinary white cabbage relative. Today I’ll talk about how to grow Chinese cabbage in your garden, as well as about growing Chinese cabbage.

These ancient cultures China is actively conquering the expanses of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other CIS countries. And this is not surprising, because the technology for growing Chinese cabbage and its Chinese “relative” is quite simple and even with non-seedling cultivation in the northern regions you can get a good harvest. What can we say about warmer regions? So, get acquainted with how to grow Chinese cabbage, and Chinese cabbage to boot.

First, let me remind you how these two types differ. Quite often these types are combined common name– Chinese cabbage, which is completely wrong from a botanical point of view. Chinese cabbage (salad cabbage, or petsai) and Chinese cabbage (mustard cabbage, or pak choi) are close relatives. The homeland of the two species is indeed China, but they differ in appearance and some features.

Chinese cabbage has very tender, whole, sessile leaves with a wrinkled, swollen leaf blade, 15-35 cm high. There are varieties in which the leaves form a rosette or head of cabbage various shapes and density.

Chinese cabbage forms a rosette of erect leaves with succulent petioles up to 30 cm high, which do not form a head. Two varieties are grown, differing in the color of the leaves and petioles.

Features of growing Chinese and Chinese cabbage

• Beijing and Chinese cabbage are early ripening crops. Ripening time (from germination to ripeness) early varieties– 40-55 days, medium – 55-60, late – 60-80. This allows you to get 2 or even 3 harvests in one season.
• When certain conditions are created, they are grown year-round.
• Long daylight hours and moderate temperatures (below 13°C) cause bolting and flowering of cabbage.
• The most optimal temperature for growing Chinese and Chinese cabbage - 15-22°C.

To prevent bolting and flowering of cabbage you need to:

1. choose varieties that are resistant to flowering;
2. do not thicken the crops;
3. grow in short daylight hours (sow in April, cover late sowings from light in the evening and open in the morning).

Technology for growing Chinese and Chinese cabbage

Both Chinese and Chinese cabbage can be grown either without seedlings or through seedlings.

Seedless growing method
Seeds of Chinese and Chinese cabbage are sown in open ground:

• from the first ten days of May (or even the end of April) to June 15, intervals of 10-15 days are made between sowings;
• from July 20 to August 10.

When growing Chinese cabbage, it is better to sow leafy varieties in the spring, and head-forming varieties in the summer.

The distance between plants should be 15-25 cm. This can be achieved by sowing seeds in the following ways:

1. Using the tape-line method with subsequent thinning of the plants. To do this, sowing the seeds of Chinese or Chinese cabbage is done using tapes (two- or three-line). Distance – 50-60 cm (between ribbons), 20-30 cm (between lines).
2. Planting seeds in holes in groups of 3-4 pieces. at a distance between holes of about 30-35 cm. Thinning will also be necessary, but in this case you will already be choosing the “weakest link” in a group of 3-4 plants.

As an experiment, try both sowing methods and choose the one that you find more convenient and effective.

The sowing depth of Chinese and Chinese cabbage seeds when grown directly in open ground is 1-2 cm. The bed with the crops is covered plastic film, especially if it’s still cool outside. Seedlings do not like frosts, unlike adult plants.

The first shoots appear in about 3-10 days, depending on the temperature.

To protect plants from cruciferous flea beetle, the soil is sprinkled with ash before germination. This pest is one of the reasons why Chinese and Chinese cabbage cannot be grown after radishes, mustard and other cruciferous crops. By the way, take this point into account when choosing green manure for the garden bed where you plan to plant any cabbage.

With the first (tape-line) sowing method, two thinnings are carried out during cultivation. With the appearance of one true leaf, the cabbage is thinned out for the first time, leaving the plants every 8-10 cm. When the leaves of neighboring plants begin to close together, a second thinning is carried out, leaving the plants every 20-25 cm.

With the second sowing method, also remove the weakest plants in the group after one or two true leaves appear.

Seedling method
Growing Chinese cabbage seedling method, as well as Chinese, should be done with an eye on their “capriciousness” to transplantation and damage to the roots. They cannot be grown using picks. Chinese cabbage is more capricious, so its seedlings need to be grown in and then planted together with them in open ground or a greenhouse. Chinese cabbage is less picky and can be grown in cassettes, but it is still better to “give” it peat pots or peat tablets.

The advantage of growing cabbage through seedlings is the reduction in ripening time. Using seedlings, you can get the first harvest within 20-35 days after planting the seedlings in the garden.

The timing of sowing Chinese and Chinese cabbage seeds for seedlings depends on the type of soil. When grown in:

• protected ground - from late January to early February;
• open ground - from late March to April.

The area allocated for Chinese or Chinese cabbage should be well lit.

Chinese cabbage should be grown separately from Chinese cabbage, since cross-pollination between these species is possible. This is especially true if you want to collect your own seeds of these crops.

Seedlings are planted according to the following scheme:

• in protected ground – 10×10 cm (leaf forms) and 20×20 cm (head forms);
• in open ground 30×25 cm.

Cabbage care
Both types of cabbage are cold-resistant, light- and moisture-loving crops.

Chinese cabbage can withstand frosts down to -4°C, Chinese cabbage up to -6°C. Temperature +15…+22°C is optimal for plants. Temperatures above +25°C can cause burns on plant leaves (Chinese cabbage especially suffers from this).

Care consists of abundant watering, shallow loosening of the soil and control of weeds and pests (Chinese cabbage is more resistant to pests, since it has essential oils). It can save you from weeds, giving you more time to relax.

If it rains often in your region, then you will have to protect the Chinese cabbage from it, otherwise it will begin to rot. You can protect yourself with ordinary shelter transparent film or agrofibre.

During the growing season, it is good to fertilize twice with mullein solution (1:8).

ATTENTION! When weeding, make sure that the apical bud of the cabbage is not covered with soil.

Beijing cabbage stores better than Chinese cabbage. I have already written about how to harvest them and her Chinese “girlfriend”.

Well, you now know how to grow Chinese or Chinese cabbage. Make friends with these Asian representatives and you will be pleased with the result, because growing Chinese cabbage, as well as Chinese cabbage, is quite a feasible task even for a beginner. By the way, in my own way beneficial properties Peking and Chinese cabbage are superior to our original Russian culture - white cabbage.

And finally interesting video about growing Chinese cabbage:

I advise, dear readers, not to miss the publication of new materials on this blog.