How to grow seedlings of cabbage from seeds

White and cauliflower occupies a leading position among the most consumed vegetables. It is used for the preparation of salads and borsch at all times of the year. And there are broccoli, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts, from which diet stews and casseroles are obtained. All varieties can be grown on their own site, so as not to buy in the store. And so that the cabbage better takes root in the open ground, it is planted there not in the form of seeds, but already formed seedlings.

We select and prepare seeds

Home and purchased seed must meet the climatic conditions in which the plant is to develop. Some varieties do not tolerate heat, others die from frequent rains or during droughts. The information in which regions this cabbage can be grown is indicated on the packaging. If planting material came from a good neighbor, it is recommended that a hardening procedure be carried out.

Seed selection
Stage 1: pour the blank onto a sheet of paper, and separate the deformed specimens. Spoiled seeds can not be used for growing seedlings.

Stage 2: Immerse the remaining seed in a jar of water, and add a little salt there. Dissolve a tablespoon of the dry ingredient in 1 liter of liquid, mix thoroughly with the seeds. Wait until empty shells float up, and "live" cabbage sink to the bottom.

Step 3: Gently drain the solution with bad seeds, rinse the rest in plain water, and dry a little. You can begin to disinfect and harden. This step is skipped if the seeds were purchased from a reliable producer, and there is no doubt about their quality.

Treatment

• Dilute potassium permanganate in a cup of water to get a strong pink solution with a purple tint.
• Pour the seeds into a piece of gauze, tie a cloth, and immerse in a container for 20 minutes.
• Remove and rinse, dry on a piece of paper.

The second natural option:

• Peel 30 g of garlic, chop or grate to make slurry.
• Insist the resulting preparation in 100 ml of water for 3-4 hours.
• Submerge the bag of seeds in the solution for 50-60 minutes.
• Rinse seed under running water.

An easy way to disinfect is to buy Fitosporin or Maxim, Fundazol or Formalin in the store and treat them with seeds. Modern manufacturers usually pack up planting material in bags, which is enough to plant in the soil, and do not need to be disinfected with potassium permanganate or fungicides.

To activate the germination of future cabbage, you can immerse the workpiece in a container, and fill it with 100 ml of water. Add 5 ml of 3% peroxide, and stir the seeds with a wooden stick for 15 minutes. The seed should be covered with small bubbles. This means that oxygen has started the process of amylose cleavage, and the first seedlings will appear after 3-5 days.

Contrasting water treatments
Some summer residents believe that the plant should be protected from fungus by hardening. Boil water, and pour into a glass or a jar, put in the refrigerator, so that the temperature of the liquid drops to +2 degrees.

Fill another container with boiling water. Immerse a bag of seeds in it for 20 minutes. Take out and put in a glass of cold water. Hold for 2 minutes.

There is an alternative variant of hardening, when the seeds that have been in hot water are transferred to a saucer, sent by a damp cloth, and put in the refrigerator for a day. The ideal location is the lower shelf, away from the freezer.

The finishing touch that stimulates the growth of seeds is a solution with the addition of the Ideal preparation or nitrofoski. Soak literally for 15 minutes, rinse, and dried so that the planting material becomes friable. It is not necessary to use stimulants if the package indicates that the cabbage has been processed with nutritious mixtures.

Preparation of soil for planting cabbage

It is recommended to prepare the soil for planting cabbage in the fall. But you can prepare the mixture 2-3 weeks before sowing the seeds. There are several options for a base for strong and healthy seedlings.

1. In equal proportions, turfy earth and humus. The second component can be replaced with compost. River sand is sometimes added to such a soil - 5% of the total mass. Due to this component, chernozem becomes more friable.
2. Peat, earth and coarse sand in the same amount. Plus wood ash as a fertilizer (for 2 l of a mixture of 100 g of the additive).
3. The main part is turf land (75%). Sand (5%) for looseness of the soil, ash (15%) to nourish the seedlings with useful substances. If the soil has a high level of acidity, you can add 5% lime.
4. The option of humus and turf land (35% each) with peat (30%) has proven itself well. In some cases, alder or other small sawdust is added.

Tip: It is not recommended to take black soil from areas where cruciferous crops grew. Coconut or biohumus can be added to the ground.

Precautionary measures
The components are combined, and insisted for several weeks, so that the additives dissolve in the chernozem. The soil must be sieved before use in order to saturate it with oxygen. Be sure to steam, or pour plenty of steep boiling water. An alternative is to moisten the soil with water with the addition of fungicide or potassium permanganate (the liquid should be pink).

Tip: So that the soil remains loose, does not dry out, and constantly "breathes", it is recommended to add expanded perlite, or swollen balls of hydrogel to it.

Stages of growing seedlings

Picking helps to form a strong root system in cabbage, so it is preferable to plant the seeds in a box or small cassettes.

The first layer is drainage. You can pour:

• sunflower husk;
• small pebbles, such as pebbles or gravel;
• coarse sand;
• sawdust that absorbs moisture well;
• crushed brick;
• crushed clay shards;
• grated foam.

The second layer is soil. It is densely compacted, and a little more earth is poured on top, into which cabbage is planted. You can make beds or holes with a depth of 1.5 cm. Pour with ordinary water, or make a solution with the addition of fertilizers that stimulate growth.

The distance between future bushes of cabbage is at least 1 cm, otherwise the plants begin to take away food from the neighbors.

Landing
Use a match or wooden stick, the tip of which is dipped in water. Glue the seed to a damp fixture, and gently place it in the ground, but do not push it. Seed should remain on the surface. With a spatula, it is sprinkled with soil. The thickness of the top layer is about 1.5 cm. Sprinkle the earth from the spray gun and cover with a film.

If small cassettes were used for planting seeds, they can be inserted into plastic bags that are tightly tied. Shoots appear on about 7 days, sometimes earlier, or later on 2-4 days. If the sprouts are not visible after 2 weeks, then the seeds are gone.

Tip: Some summer residents do not bury the seeds deep enough, which is why they germinate with a “cap” that prevents the shoot from developing. The shell needs to be moistened from the spray gun several times during the day, and then pry off with a needle, and carefully remove without damaging the cabbage.

Temperature and watering
In a room with future seedlings should be warm. Within + 20–18, it is impossible below, otherwise it slows down the growth of shoots. When the first sprouts hatch, the cabbage needs to be cooled slightly.The best option is + 6-10 degrees for 6 days. Thanks to this, the seedlings do not stretch, and become resistant to night frosts.

3-4 days after hatching the seeds, the film must be removed and the box covered with glass. Put on a well-lit window, and ventilate daily by lifting the edge of the lid with a matchbox.

In the daytime, cabbage feels comfortable at a temperature of 16–18º with the mark “+”. At night, you can lower to 10, and even +6. On cloudy weekdays, the room should be no more than +16, and better within + 14-12, otherwise the seedlings will become pampered.

Watering the soil before emergence is prohibited. Young shoots are fed with a solution of potassium permanganate: 5 g of powder per 1 liter of warm liquid. Liquid cannot stagnate in the soil, otherwise the root system suffers from a fungus called the "black leg".

The important stage: pick

Seedlings, which turned 11 days old, need to be planted in pots or plastic cups.

Ground recipe and dive rules
It is recommended to prepare the base from peat and sod land (2 kg each) with humus (1 kg) and sand (0.5 kg). So many components will require a glass of wood ash.

Pour pots with a layer of drainage into 2/3 of the prepared mixture, and carefully pack it. Form a deep hole in the center of each cup. Cabbage roots should fit freely in the pit. They must not be bent or pinched. Too long roots can be shortened by a third.

Place a sprout in each pot, cover it with earth, and ram the soil around the seedlings with a spatula. Pour the cabbage with water, wait until it is absorbed, and add earth. Outside, only cotyledon leaves should remain.

Comfortable conditions
Pots with cabbage put on the most lighted window, because for normal development, the plant needs ultraviolet light. The temperature in the room should not rise above +17, but should not fall below +14.

Water every 7 days, trying to get moisture only on the ground. The optimal time for water procedures is 7-10 in the morning. It is impossible that the cabbage “fell asleep” with wet leaves.

For the first time, top dressing is introduced into the soil after the appearance of 3 cotyledon leaves. It will take 10 liters of distilled water, in which 40 g of superphosphate is diluted with 20 g of nitrate and 10 g of potassium sulfate is added. Feeding can be repeated after 10 days.

You can also use a solution with the addition of:

• liquid cow dung with superphosphate;
• chicken droppings diluted with hot water;
• boric acid with copper sulfate;
• potassium permanganate or zinc sulfate;

Tip: After applying the solution with fertilizers, it is better to pour the seedlings with plain water so that the chemical components do not burn the root system.

Preparing for adulthood
The grown seedlings begin to harden 2 weeks before planting. Pots with cabbage need to be taken out to the balcony, you can even leave to spend the night if the temperature drops below -5. It is recommended to be treated with Intavir to prevent the appearance of a cruciferous flea.

Information in the piggy bank

Seeds of early varieties are planted in pots in early March, and in open ground in early May. Such cabbage has small heads that weigh no more than 1.5 kg.

Mid-season varieties have been prepared since the third week of April. They get to the garden in the last days of May - closer to the beginning of July. This variety is ideal for making fresh salads and sauerkraut.

Late-ripening options are planted in pots in early April, and taken out to the garden in mid-May. This grade has large heads that are suitable for long-term storage in the cellar.

Cabbage is not very whimsical. It is enough to observe the temperature regime, not to overdo it with water, and to fertilize on time, so that the seedlings quickly take root in a new place, and give a rich harvest.

Video: all about growing cabbage