Many inexperienced vegetable growers do not know whether to pick off the lower leaves of cabbage. The opinions of summer residents on this matter differ. Some of them claim that people eat the heads, not the leaves, and therefore they can be cut off.
Others say that the lower leaves are needed to form young cabbage bushes. It is quite difficult to find information on this matter in the specialized literature, so each gardener will have to decide everything on his own.
Landing in the ground
Before you think about whether you need to pick off the lower leaves of cabbage, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with tips for planting it. It is recommended to plant when the seedlings have more than five leaves and their height is about 15 cm. Quite often it grows to this size in mid-May. Some mid-season varieties have to be planted in early June.
To begin with, it is recommended to select a suitable site. A place that will be illuminated by the sun throughout the day is ideal. It is advisable that the site have sandy soil, which is better suited than others for growing cabbage. Before planting, the acidity of the soil must be checked, the value of which should not exceed 7 pH. Site preparation should be done in the fall. At this time, you should carefully dig up the soil so that in the spring it can better absorb moisture.
The soil also needs to be leveled using a rake. This is done so that the soil retains water longer. Before planting, weeds may appear on the site, which should be removed immediately.
At the end of spring, holes are made on the site for seedlings. Their size depends on the size of the root system of young seedlings. 100 g of ash, a handful of sand and humus are placed in each hole. Then a spoonful of nitrophoska and a glass of water are added to them. Having prepared all the holes, you can begin planting. The seedlings are lowered into the ground and sprinkled with dry soil on top. Seedlings that are too tall are planted so that the cabbage leaves below are flush with the surface of the ground.
Features of cultivation
The first few weeks it is necessary to carefully care for the young seedlings. Young seedlings are not yet accustomed to the sun's rays, so during the day they need to be covered with newspapers or cloth.Further care for cabbage is as follows:
- Watering. It is recommended to water the plant on cloudy days or in the evening so as not to harm the bushes. It is enough to do this once a week. In summer, the amount of watering can be increased several times so that the cabbage has enough moisture. To keep water in the soil longer, it is recommended to create a peat mulch layer.
- Feeding. The first feeding is carried out 10-15 days after planting the seedlings in the soil. During this period, a mixture prepared from nitrate, potassium, superphosphate and water is added to the ground. Fertilizers should be applied only to moist soil so as not to accidentally damage the plant. The second is applied a few weeks later and consists of the same fertilizers as the previous one.
- Treatment. To protect the bushes from diseases and insects, it is recommended to treat them. First, the cabbage is treated with ash, which can protect young seedlings from fleas and slugs. Then you can use an infusion of tomato tops or onion peels. There are also special preparations that can be used to protect cabbage from most diseases.
Is it worth plucking the lower leaves?
Not all vegetable growers know whether it is possible to tear off the bottom leaves of cabbage when growing. Most gardeners prefer to trim them. They claim that this helps to accelerate the growth of the plant, since now it does not need to waste its energy on the lower shoots. Also, many people prefer to remove the lower leaves because over time they begin to rot and the bush loses its attractiveness.
It must be remembered that tearing off leaves is quite a serious stress for the bushes. Because of this, the ripening time of the head of cabbage can seriously increase.Therefore, picking off leaves on very young seedlings is not recommended. Many people immediately wonder whether the lower leaves of cabbage are removed if the head of cabbage is almost ripe.
Agricultural rules prohibit doing this, since open wounds remain on a bush with a torn leaf, due to which the plant can become infected with various diseases.
However, there are still a lot of supporters of breaking off shoots. The main thing is that the head of cabbage is fully ripe and the procedure is performed correctly. Also, before carrying out work, you need to pay attention to the condition of the sheets. If they are green and fresh, then there is no need to prune them. They are torn off only if they begin to rot and dry out.
When to tear off leaves
Not all gardeners know when to pick off cabbage leaves. There are several most common reasons why you have to do this.
Vascular bacteriosis
It is quite simple to determine that a plant has become ill with vascular bacteriosis. The bushes immediately begin to turn yellow below, and black spots appear on the leaves. In this case, you need to pick off not only the leaves, but also get rid of the entire bush. If you do not trim them in a timely manner, the disease will quickly spread to neighboring cabbage.
Cracking of heads of cabbage
Heads of early varieties often begin to crack if the lower leaves are not trimmed off in a timely manner. If we tear them off, the development of the head of cabbage slows down and it stops cracking. However, some experts argue that this method is not very effective. Instead, they advise pulling the plant out of the ground a little and turning it. Using this method, you can also slow down the growth of the plant so that the heads of cabbage do not crack.
Pest protection
Not everyone knows why to remove the lower leaves of cabbage. Quite often, cabbage plants need to be removed to protect the bushes from insects. For example, cutworm or cabbage flies most often settle in the lower part of the bushes. Insect pupae overwinter in the soil and, after warming, move to the lower leaves, where they will lay eggs in the future. If pest eggs were found on their surface, the leaves should be removed.
However, this does not always help get rid of dangerous insects. Sometimes you have to use special protective equipment that is more effective. To do this, you can treat the cabbage bushes with Agrofit or any other anti-insect preparation.
Increasing the mass of heads of cabbage
Many gardeners prefer to pick off the lower leaves of cabbage when they need to increase the weight of the cabbage heads. It is recommended to do this at the end of summer or early September. It is during this period that rapid growth of young heads of cabbage is observed. Most often, people plan to tear off the lower leaves before harvesting. However, it is recommended to collect the heads of cabbage along with them. In this case, the cut crop will continue to develop until the supply of nutrients in the leaves runs out.
Conclusion
It is quite difficult to determine unambiguously whether leaves need to be plucked. However, every gardener must make this choice for himself. To do this, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the positive and negative aspects of this procedure. You should familiarize yourself in advance with situations where you simply cannot do without removing leaves. It is also recommended to familiarize yourself with when you can pick off leaves and when you should not do this.
