Why doesn't cabbage grow if the flashy, bright wrapper in which the seeds were packaged guaranteed you the best results? The development of the head of cabbage stops, or there is a rotten smell from the garden for several meters around - what are the causes of these troubles when planting in open ground?
Let's understand the reasons
Let's figure out why cabbage grows poorly only in our country, and not in our neighbors in the country? The very first condition for normal cabbage growth is quality seeds.Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to check this factor when purchasing, since the only reference point that you can focus on when paying money is the expiration date of the seeds, accurate to within a month. However, there is no guarantee that the date printed is true. You can protect yourself from purchasing poor quality only with a greater degree of probability by turning to experienced gardeners for seed material, or by purchasing these funds in a specialized retail outlet that competently updates the assortment.
So, you are more or less confident in good material, but the plants, after being planted in the soil, do not want to behave as a decent cabbage should and all the time show one developmental defect, then another.
Let's analyze all the possible options and reasons for this problem and still figure out what to do if the cabbage does not grow?
Soil inconsistency
The truism is that biennial cruciferous vegetables do not tolerate high acidity of the soil - it simply cannot grow on such soil, no matter how well it is fed. In the best case, the cabbage seedlings will produce several large leaves, but at this point the cabbage power will dry up, the leaves will begin to fall, and you will get nothing but a lush bouquet.
You need to find out the acidity of the soil in advance, simply by observing which plants have chosen the selected area. If sorrel, mint, plantain or buttercup grow in the future garden beds, then the soil is definitely acidic and will cause the death of your crop.
You can do another simple diagnosis of soil oxidation - using table vinegar. Make a small ball of soil and drop some vinegar on it. It is clear that an acidic environment will not give any reaction and seedlings planted in such soil will die very quickly.
Extinguishing excess acid is the first measure to save the future harvest. The most traditional way to turn the acidic environment of a future bed into an alkaline one is to introduce lime and chalk powder into it when plowing before the winter period, at the rate of ½ kg per 1 m2 cultivated land. What else can you feed the soil to maintain its alkaline balance? Egg shells are also one of the best fertilizers in open ground.
Lack of light
A mistake many novice gardeners make is the desire to plant as many seedlings as possible in a small area. The optimal distance between future heads of cabbage in the garden is 45-50 cm with a row spacing of 70 cm. Some cabbage heads will have a higher ripening rate, others will have a lower ripening rate, but not a single sprout should die from such natural unevenness.
If the planting was done more densely than expected, the excess seedling material must be removed.
The same problem - poor access to sunlight - can also come from other plants located next to the cabbage bed. As a rule, these are tall crops with deep roots that cause deep shade - sunflowers, corn stalks.
In cabbage, which suffers from a lack of light, growth increases, and it begins to grow, stretching out from the roots, and at the stage of the third full leaf, it suddenly stops developing and begins to dry out. No matter what you do, at this stage it will no longer be possible to save the cabbage and you can only take into account mistakes for the future.
At the very beginning of deformation or yellowing of the sprout, you can try to rehabilitate the cabbage using Zircon or Epin-Extra solutions. And of course, if the importance of cabbage for you is higher than the plants shading it, you should get rid of them.
Weather conditions
At temperatures above 250With cabbage, miracles begin to happen - the successfully grown green mass and the already established rosette suddenly dries out, and the raised leaf turns yellow and falls. The future head of cabbage stops growing, no matter how well the soil is fertilized. Why does cabbage die under such seemingly favorable conditions?
The reason is the exceptional heat-loving culture. If the open ground is not sufficiently moistened and the ambient temperature is above what is comfortable for the crop 180C, cabbage dies, simply dehydrating. Severe cold spells have no less detrimental effect on seedlings.
Even minor frosts provoke rotting of the sprout, and the roots are the first to suffer. This is one of the answers to the question of why standing cabbage rots, but, of course, not the only reason.
Improper watering
The conditions for proper watering must be observed even before young plants are planted in the ground. In room conditions, it is not easy to create the necessary temperature conditions and ventilation; in addition, cabbage seedlings need to be watered frequently and protected from direct sunlight. Often, a place on a windowsill with a seedling box is the only option where it is possible to germinate seeds. Seedlings die before planting, mainly due to drying out.
Another mistake, from the opposite extreme, awaits inexperienced gardeners when the seedlings are already sitting in open ground.As soon as the hot weather sets in, the zealous owner, caring about the beds, begins to literally flood the area with the seedlings with water, and then wonders why the cabbage is rotting on the vine.
Lack of essential nutrients
The explanation for why cabbage dies may be even simpler - the ovaries often simply starve. You can feed plants already at the stage of rapid growth, but fertilizer must be selected with a minimum nitrogen content. How to feed young cabbage?
Most experienced owners prefer feeding Kemira Combi, which has a cumulative and gentle effect on seedlings shortly after they are transplanted into open ground.
If the cabbage has stopped growing due to weather changes, or has begun to rot or dry out in the socket, try choosing one of the recipes that have been made for several decades:
- 0.5 tbsp. spoons of magnesium, 0.5 tbsp. spoons of boron, 1 tbsp. dilute a spoonful of “crystallin” in a 10-liter bucket of water;
- 3 drops of iodine, 10 g of boron, magnesium sulfate – 2 teaspoons, superphosphate – 3 teaspoons diluted in 10 liters of water.
Cabbage is fed with any chosen mixture in the form of abundant irrigation.
Poor growth condition - pests
One of the reasons why cabbage, which previously grew and developed well, suddenly shows signs of rotting is due to parasitic creatures or insects. Among insects, the worst characteristics are:
- Cruciferous flea beetles, which damage young plants immediately after they are planted in the ground;
- Cabbage moth, more precisely, the caterpillars of this insect, destroying the core of the ovary, as a result of which the entire inflorescence rots;
- Cabbage aphids attacking the garden bed with the first warmth of spring.The danger of this harmful insect is not only that it dehydrates the cabbage leaf, depriving it of juice, but also that within 1-2 months from the activity of this insect, mold, carried by these pests, can spread throughout the planting.
Each insect has its own methods of control. If the affected plant has already shown all signs of rot, you will have to get rid of it. Cut cabbage should be destroyed along with any parasites that have adhered to the head of cabbage. Try to immediately get rid of all cut cabbage heads, as insects quickly change their location to healthy vegetables.
The following spray compositions will help against cabbage moths:
- Dilute calcium arsenate, from 10 to 15 g. This solution can fertilize 100 m2;
- Dilute Entobacterin to a concentration of approximately 0.3%. One liter of composition is enough to treat 10 m2.
Cabbage aphids are traditionally expelled with soapy water, tobacco infusion or diluted ash. Before the bed is processed, it is necessary to inspect the root of each head of cabbage and, without regret, remove those inflorescences that are badly rotting. It is also advisable to get rid of all weeds in which pests may be hiding - if you do this regularly when growing this crop, there will be fewer problems with the harvest.
Cabbage diseases
There are also plenty of diseases that kill cabbage, but let’s highlight a few that almost every gardener encounters sooner or later:
- Downy mildew. A disease that kills plants grown from seeds at home. Planting in open ground, as a rule, retards the development of the fungus, but the disease can be completely eliminated only by drastic measures or the complete removal of affected plants.
- White rot and gray rot. Cabbage heads must be stored at a lower temperature than the one at which they grew and felt comfortable in the garden - only within 2-30. If this storage condition is not met, the head of cabbage quickly rots, becoming covered with a slimy coating. If we are talking about warehouses with cabbage, where the inflorescences are in close contact, the disease in just a month can affect up to several square meters of vegetables piled into a common heap.
In order to protect future plants from powdery mildew, the seeds undergo a specific “hardening” - before planting, they are soaked in water at 500 for 15 minutes, and then transfer to a container with very cold water for a minute.
To attack both types of rot, preventative heating also begins to work even before the seeds are lowered into the ground. Later, in order to prevent the heads of cabbage from rotting, you need to carefully place them in the storage area, without damaging the leaves and be sure to maintain the required temperature. Rotten cabbage found in a mass of other vegetables should be isolated immediately.
