Chinese cabbage leaves. How to grow Chinese cabbage in open ground

Chinese cabbage, or pak choi, for Russian market a little-known Asian crop that has excellent taste, and simple agricultural technology contributes to its increasing popularity on the agricultural market. The vegetable plant is grown to produce white fleshy petioles and green leafy matter.

An example of growing Chinese cabbage. Its main difference from Beijing is that it has a rosette with erect leaves.

Very often, gardeners confuse Chinese cabbage with Chinese cabbage, although growing Chinese cabbage is almost the same as its relative. Distinctive Features The pak choi species differs from other species in the formation of a rosette with erect leaves, having succulent petioles up to 30 cm in height, which do not form a head of cabbage. There are several species, differing in the color of the leaves and the shape of the petioles.

Characteristics of culture

Chinese cabbage, also called mustard cabbage or celery cabbage, is an early-ripening vegetable crop and has a growing season of 50...55 days. Agricultural technology of this type is not particularly difficult, and even an inexperienced vegetable grower can cope with it. However, the peculiarities of growing Chinese cabbage are that these two varieties should under no circumstances be planted side by side. Since if you plan to collect seeds, cross-pollination may affect their quality.

Pak choy has a peculiar spicy taste with a delicate bitterness, slightly reminiscent of chard and spinach salad. By nutritional value and the content of vitamins and minerals is ahead of many other varieties.

Chinese cabbage reaches a height of 40 cm as it grows. The color of the leaves, depending on the variety, can be light gray and reach rich green.

Harvesting begins when the fleshy roots of the cabbage form a dense rosette with a diameter of 40...50 cm. Grow leaf type pak choi cabbage can be open ground, and in greenhouse conditions. Good yield Chinese cabbage thrives on fertile, non-acidic soils.

Vegetable crops are very difficult to tolerate prolonged cold spells, which leads to bolting. As for temperatures above 25° C, dry and hot weather can lead to burns on the leaves. The most acceptable temperature for growing mustard cabbage is within 15...25ºС with air humidity of about 80%.

You should also consider its sensitivity to light. Short daylight (less than 14 hours) allows you to grow a full-fledged plant, and long-term lighting (over 16 hours) encourages the appearance of a peduncle, which leads to complete loss of the crop.

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Soil preparation

The crop is unpretentious in terms of soil composition. But the agricultural technology for growing celery cabbage will be much more successful if the beds for it are prepared in the fall. To do this, soils that are too acidic are limed, and then manure or compost 4...5 kg per 1 m² is added and dug up. You can use humus or well-ripened compost to sprinkle rows of seeds (seedlings) in the spring. In the absence of the above components, you can take a mixture mineral fertilizers in finished form or prepare it yourself and add it to the soil at the rate of 60 g per 1 m².

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Sowing

The agricultural technology of this crop involves sowing both by seedlings and by planting seeds in the ground.

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Sowing seeds in the ground

Seeds are sown in the ground from late April to mid-June and from mid-July to mid-August. Planting depth - no more than 2 cm, maintaining a distance between holes of 15...25 cm. If the bed is not wide enough, sow planting material possible in two ways.

With the strip-line method, sowing is done in strips (in 2-3 rows), the distance between which is 50...60 cm, and in rows - up to 30 cm. Thinning will be required during the growth process. The next method involves planting 3...4 seeds per hole. The distance between nests should be 30-35 cm. During the thinning process, in this case, the weakest plants are removed.

Having completed the process, the beds are sprinkled with ash to avoid the appearance of cruciferous flea beetles. If there is a threat of frost, crops can be protected plastic film. The first shoots of Chinese cabbage can be seen on days 3-10, depending on the air temperature.

Agricultural technology for growing pak choy involves several stages of seedling thinning. When the first leaf appears, it is done the first time, leaving stronger plants with a distance between them of 8...10 cm. When the leaves close, a second thinning is carried out, maintaining at least 20...25 cm between crops.

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Seedling method

Scheme for picking Chinese cabbage seedlings

Chinese cabbage is very difficult to tolerate root damage, so its cultivation in this case should be done only in peat cups, which can be purchased in specialized stores. The advantage of this method is that the ripening period is significantly reduced and it is possible to grow a full-fledged crop after planting the seedlings in the ground in 20...35 days.

Sowing seeds in open ground is done with last days March to the end of April, and if you plan to plant seedlings in protected soil, then from the end of January to the beginning of February. It is possible to grow strong seedlings provided good quality land. Coconut substrate is very suitable for such purposes, as it fully meets all the requirements. Seed the seeds in a pot to a depth of 1 cm and when 4-5 full-fledged leaves appear, they are planted in the ground without removing them from it.

A well-lit area is allocated for Chinese cabbage seedlings. Planted according to the scheme in open ground 30x25 cm, in protected ground - 10x10 cm.

Chinese kale is one of the oldest vegetable crops in China. It is not widespread in our country.
Obviously, the low general level of information in collective gardens and vegetable gardens on the species and varietal composition of the most common cabbage crops in the West - Savoy, Brussels sprouts and broccoli and in the East - Chinese and Chinese cabbage - is the main reason that these crops are rarely found on amateur plots , although for medicinal and dietary properties they are healthier than white cabbage, and in terms of cold resistance they are not inferior to cabbage, some varieties are even significantly superior.
Chinese cabbage is extremely healthy. Like Chinese cabbage, it is very rich in vitamins: C - up to 130 mg%, P - up to 180 mg%, carotene - up to 2 mg%. It contains up to 90 mg% chlorophyll and is exceptionally rich in potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium salts. But its main wealth is the high content of lysine - indispensable for human body an amino acid that is rarely found in vegetable plants at all. And lysine sharply increases the human body’s resistance to diseases and has the ability to dissolve foreign proteins that enter the human blood.
There are two varieties of Chinese cabbage. One has dark green leaves and bright white petioles. The other has both leaves and petioles light green. This is the famous Chinese Pak Choy.
It forms an erect rosette of leaves up to 35 cm in diameter. The leaves are on thick, succulent petioles, smooth or bubbly, and the color ranges from grayish to light blue-green. The leaves have wide, succulent petioles. Compared to Chinese cabbage, this plant is more winter-hardy, shorter in growth and does not form a head of cabbage.
Root system located in the surface layer of soil 10-15 cm thick, the roots are thin, highly branched. Chinese kale is an annual plant that blooms like white cabbage; cross-pollination is possible only with Chinese cabbage.
The leaves of Chinese cabbage are coarser than those of Chinese cabbage, but it does not tolerate air temperatures above 25°C and can cause burns. Loves fertile, rich nutrients soil, cool climate, high humidity soil and air. The plant retains its commercial qualities for a long time, and it can be gradually, as needed, eaten.
With early sowings in early April, only a small part of the plants bloom. When sown at the end of April - beginning of May, when the day length approaches its maximum, the plants throw out a flowering stem and bloom. At autumn growing Chinese cabbage seeds are sown at the end of July. On average, 45-50 days pass from sowing to harvesting
The soil for Chinese kale, as for other cabbage plants, must be prepared in the fall. Before digging, add to the soil organic fertilizers– 1 bucket per 1 sq.m., 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate and potash fertilizers and lime (if required).
In the spring, as soon as the soil allows, it is loosened to reduce moisture evaporation. On the eve of sowing cabbage, the soil is loosened or dug to a depth of 12-15 cm without turning the layer, after adding urea - 1 teaspoon per 1 square meter. meter. If organic fertilizers were not applied during autumn digging, then during spring digging it is necessary to add humus at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 sq.m.
Chinese cabbage is most often grown by sowing seeds in the ground in early May or by seedlings in pots, because... She does not tolerate the transplant well. After sowing the seeds, the bed is covered with film.
When growing seedlings in pots soil mixture make it very loose. Seeds begin to be sown from the end of March at several times with an interval of 10 days. Seedlings ready for planting at the age of 20-25 days should have 4-5 true leaves.
When sown in the ground, seeds are sown in rows with a distance of 30 cm between them or in nests. Shoots appear on the 7-10th day. At this time, their main enemy is the cruciferous flea beetle, which can turn seedlings into lace. Therefore, the bed must be pollinated with ash even before germination. In the phase of the first true leaf, plants are thinned to a distance of 15-20 cm.
A higher yield is obtained by sowing seeds in late July-early August. Seeds are sown in rows with row spacing up to 40 cm; after the first thinning, 20-25 cm are left between plants. At this time, as a rule, there is not enough moisture in the soil, so to obtain a good harvest, abundant watering is required, followed by shallow loosening. In dry weather, refreshing watering of the leaves is also required. better method sprinkling.
During the growing season, Chinese cabbage must be fed twice with a solution of mullein (1:8) or bird droppings (1:12), and in their absence - with nitrophoska (30 g per 10 liters of water).
When harvesting, the plants must be pulled out by the roots, which should then be cut off at the base of the petioles, and the outer leaves removed. If you remove the plants before frost and bury them in damp sand in the basement, then Chinese cabbage can be stored under these conditions for 2-3 months.

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 when grown without seedlings in northern regions available 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 species are united by a common name - Chinese cabbage, which is completely incorrect from a botanical point of view. Chinese cabbage (salad cabbage, or petsai) and Chinese cabbage (mustard cabbage, or pak choi) are close relatives. The two species are indeed native to China, but they are different 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. The ripening time (from germination to ripeness) of early varieties is 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, late sowings close 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 in spring, it is better to sow leaf varieties, and in the summer - varieties that form a head of cabbage.

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 choose 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 with plastic film, especially if it is 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 by seedlings, as well as Chinese cabbage, 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’s still better to “give it out” 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 apical bud Do not cover the cabbage 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 terms of their beneficial properties, Chinese 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.

General information:

The homeland of this type of cabbage is China;
. it is cultivated for the most part 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

The 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 ground, 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;
. phosphorus-potassium fertilizers should predominate in fertilizing, 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 regime:

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

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. Both of them are widely used in Chinese cuisine. The vegetable is a variety of turnip and belongs to the same genus as cauliflower, broccoli.

Fact. For quite a long time, 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, and are 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 the maturity stage in an average of 40-55 days, late - 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 planting takes place in the last days of March, the deadline is the 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, the best way Suitable for germinating Chinese cabbage seeds, until the first shoots appear, they should be kept in a warm, unlit room.

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. room temperature and loosen with caution.

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. The root system is sensitive to damage, which 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 their usual conditions for a while. 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, have good drainage so that the 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 becoming infected with common pests and diseases.

How to plant Chinese cabbage correctly

The success of growing Chinese cabbage depends on many factors. One of them - 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. peat pot 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 for 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 getting on 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 fertilizing should be organic fertilizers. One plant will require no more than a liter of ready-made solution.
Plants that were planted in the spring should be fertilized at least three times throughout the growing season. Summer plantings 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 It is possible to grow not only in Asian conditions, 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, maintaining its presentation for 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 the high content of lysine - this amino acid, which 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 a large number 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 that 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 are a guarantee that fungal spores and larvae will not be able to 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;
• opportunity to get a harvest for short term;
• unpretentiousness - the culture easily adapts to any climatic conditions;
• resistance to known diseases and pests;
• high volume of harvest obtained;
• 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.

Harvesting

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 save taste qualities, 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.