When is the best time to plant Chinese cabbage (when and how to plant Chinese cabbage in the open field)

Vegetables are essential foods on the table. There are vegetables in every season, it’s just a matter of more or less. Chinese cabbage is a must-have vegetable for families in winter.

Vegetables can be divided into four categories based on their production season: spring vegetables, summer vegetables, early autumn vegetables and autumn and winter vegetables. Chinese cabbage is an autumn and winter vegetable. It is a vegetable that likes cold weather and is sown in autumn and harvested in winter.

What is the best month to plant Chinese cabbage?

It is autumn now, which is the planting season for Chinese cabbage. Planting Chinese cabbage in autumn is conducive to the arrangement and operation of farming, and is also conducive to the growth of Chinese cabbage and good quality.

First, there are many diseases and insect pests

Any kind of vegetable has its own growth and development characteristics, and only the suitable ones are the best.

The characteristic of Chinese cabbage is that it likes a cool, humid climate. It is a cold-resistant vegetable with poor heat resistance. Except for heat-resistant summer Chinese cabbage varieties, it generally grows when the temperature remains above 25℃.

Chinese cabbage grows slowly, has a loose core, is easily infected by viral diseases, soft rot and downy mildew, and has reduced quality and is not tasty.

Second, easy to bolt

When Chinese cabbage is sown in spring, due to its strong winter properties, it will sprout and bloom as the temperature gradually rises, affecting its quality and making it unpalatable.

Because there are many local varieties of Chinese cabbage, such as Jingza and Jiaobai, they have strong adaptability to the local environment. In addition, with the development of greenhouse cultivation, such as summer vegetables planted in winter, spring is advanced and autumn is delayed.

There have been major adjustments in the production season, so we can eat fresh Chinese cabbage almost all year round.

But I always feel that it is not as delicious as the cabbage in autumn and winter, and it has a spicy taste.

Autumn and winter Chinese cabbage is usually sown in August, when the temperature will gradually drop . This is just right because Chinese cabbage requires a high temperature at the beginning and a low temperature at the end, as it has strong heat resistance in the seedling stage and requires a lower temperature in the heading stage.

As I said, the most suitable one is the best. A suitable growing environment is conducive to the growth of cabbage, the improvement of its quality, and the production of the most delicious cabbage.

How to grow delicious Chinese cabbage?

First, choose the variety

There are many varieties of Chinese cabbage, including extremely early-maturing varieties with a growing period of about 50 days, good heading, high temperature resistance, strong disease resistance, good quality and low yield.

There are early-maturing varieties with a growing period of 50-70 days, high yield, disease resistance, good quality, but low yield.

There are mid-ripening varieties with a growing period of about 90 days and an output of more than 8,000 catties per mu; late-ripening varieties have a growing period of more than 110 days and the highest yield, which can reach more than catties per mu.

Second, soil selection

Choose sandy loam or clay loam with a deep soil layer, strong water and fertilizer retention capacity, good drainage, fertile and loose soil, apply sufficient organic fertilizer, and cultivate in deep trenches and high ridges.

Generally speaking, early-maturing varieties have smaller plants and should be planted densely, with about 5,000 plants planted per mu. Mid-maturing varieties have about 2,500 plants planted per mu. Late-maturing varieties have larger plants and can be planted at about 2,000 plants per mu.

Third, water and fertilizer management

Chinese cabbage has a long growth period. In addition to applying sufficient basal fertilizer, topdressing with nitrogen fertilizer is the main method during the growth period, and topdressing with fertilizer for promoting seedlings, rosettes, and heart-forming fertilizers should be applied. The topdressing of Chinese cabbage should follow the principle of light application in the seedling stage, heavy application in the rosette stage and the head-forming stage. At least two topdressings should be applied, with emphasis on the key fertilizers for rosettes and before heart-forming.

The watering requirement is "three waterings for seedlings, five waterings for tree size" . During the rosette stage, water should be properly controlled to stunt the seedlings and promote root growth. Increase the amount of watering after the seedlings are stunted, and water more during the heart-forming stage. Keep the soil moist, otherwise it will cause dry heartburn.

However, it is not suitable to flood the plants with water, otherwise the accumulation of water will cause soft rot. Watering should be stopped 10 days before harvest, otherwise the excessive water will be difficult to store and will easily rot.

Fourth, pest control

The main diseases and pests of Chinese cabbage are aphids, cabbage loopers, noctuid pests, soft rot, downy mildew, viral diseases, etc. It is necessary to pay attention to prevention, strengthen field management, and avoid dryness or wetness, or alternating dryness and wetness.

For drug control, you can choose high-efficiency and low-toxic pesticides such as imidacloprid, Bacillus thuringiensis, and Agroantibiotic 120 to improve food safety.

In short, I think Chinese cabbage is still delicious in autumn and winter. After the experience of frost and low temperature, pick it home before the beginning of winter (or light snow) and store it. At this time, the Chinese cabbage tastes authentic and sweet. Whether it is fried, boiled, steamed, boiled, or made into dumplings or buns, it tastes delicious!