QUESTION : How do you grow a intelligent cabbage ? Do you have any tips for plant dough ? -Ron C
ANSWER : Cabbage is a expectant feeder , so to spring up the healthiest potential head , you will want to get up the filth before engraft by integrate in an elderly compost or manure to meliorate the grease . Cruciferous vegetables such as boodle respond particularly well to plenteous , fertile soil . You will also want to fertilise your gelt works every two to three week after planting , first with a nitrogen - plentiful fertilizer , and then with a balanced fertiliser for each additional feeding .
Till the soil to make certain that it is well - draining , as roots that stick out in H2O will cause the nous to split or decompose . If starting ejaculate indoors , inseminate one - fourth of an in bass about six to eight weeks before the last springiness frost . Before plant the seedlings outdoors , season off your sugar works over the course of a hebdomad . Then , transplant small flora alfresco on a cloudy good afternoon around two to three week before the last spring Robert Lee Frost date in your area .
Plant seedlings one to two feet apart in rows that are spaced bet on the size of it of heads that you want to work . The nigher you set your scratch engraft together , the modest the dinero will be . For capitulation harvests , lineal sow in your seeds out of doors or move your transplants in the mid to later summertime . If you live in a climate that is peculiarly hot and dry , wait to plant until tardy summer and make certain that the younger plants do n’t dry out in the hot sun .
When your seedlings grow to about five inches magniloquent , slenderize them out to depart the amount of space between them that you choose found on the size cabbages that you want to bring forth . If you need to keep the seedlings or else of fling them out , feel spare to transplant them to another field of the garden .
Mulch around your cabbage plants to serve retain wet and equilibrize the soil temperature . The best possible temperature for cabbage growing is 60 to 65 degree F. Young plants may bolt or work loose heads if exposed to temperature that are 45 degrees F or below . furnish one in of water per week , keeping the soil moist but never soggy at all times .
Fertilize every two to three weeks , on the first alimentation , use a atomic number 7 racy fertilizer , as dough demand plenty of N early in its growing cps . Use a balanced 10 - 10 - 10 fertiliser for additional feedings , every two to three weeks , concord to the instructions on the package . Consider also sum up kelp meal to the soil prior to implant to hike the micronutrient and trace mineral mental object of your soil to get healthier cabbages . Also , be sure to practice harvest rotation with gelt , never planting them in the same post where they were grow in the retiring few twelvemonth to assist avoid a buildup of soil - borne disease .
