Feeding cabbage in open ground is necessary for easy cultivation of all types of vegetables and harvesting a large harvest. Cabbage is known for its beneficial properties - this product is found on the kitchen table in almost every home. It is stewed, boiled, added to salads, and pickled. But for the quality to be at the highest level, you need to know some care features.
Required Components
How to feed cabbage after planting in the ground? Cabbage loves phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Mullein, bird droppings, nitrophoska, ash, and urea are suitable. But all fertilizers for cabbage must be applied in accordance with the growth and stages of development of the crop.
It is necessary to feed cabbage phosphorus fertilizers, which make cabbage sweet and juicy. Most of this component is needed in July and August. With a lack of phosphorus, the leaves darken, curl, and the taste of the vegetable becomes bitter. If phosphorus is added to the second fertilizing, then the root should not be watered. The space between the beds is being cultivated.
In order for cabbage to grow large, dense and healthy, boron and molybdenum are needed. Their use increases the density of the head of cabbage, increases resistance to various insect pests and immunity from many diseases.
Weight gain accelerates. When there is not enough molybdenum in the soil, the leaves become deformed and the tops begin to rot. A lack of boron is manifested by brown spots on the leaves.
It is recommended to apply boron and molybdenum for the first time when a couple of leaves appear on the sprouts. Molybdenum fertilizers are used ammonium molybdate and superphosphate containing molybdenum.
To spray the upper part of the plant, you can add boric acid and ammonium molybdate to a bucket of water. Molybdenum and phosphorus are added when sowing seeds in open ground.
For rapid growth, you can feed cabbage with urea. The vegetable becomes a source of nitrogen and improves the development of green leaves. If the leaves have become yellow and thin, urea is especially necessary: a solution based on it must be watered at the base.
Stages of adding nutrients
How to feed cabbage seedlings depends on many factors. The first fertilizing involves adding a nutrient composition to the soil before planting or after the picking procedure.
What fertilizers do you choose before planting vegetables? If the soil does not meet all the requirements, then it should be planted in a hole with wood ash, humus and superphosphate. Then, after 1.5 weeks, the planted seedlings are treated with chicken droppings, mullein and herbal infusions.
If the soil is rich in nutritional components, then the initial fertilizing is carried out 12 days after planting the seedlings. In this case, potassium chloride, ammonium nitrate and superphosphate are added to the water for irrigation.
Cabbage seeds begin to be planted in March in a greenhouse or in pots at home. In this case, feeding is indicated after picking. Additional nutrition in this case will help the leaves develop better.
For cabbage to grow, it is recommended to water it with a solution based on chicken manure and water in a ratio of 1:20. The second time you can use wood ash and superphosphate, previously diluted in water.
When all these stages of feeding have been skipped, it is not too late to apply fertilizer even in the third week of seedling growth. A recipe based on manure is suitable: add water and let it brew for 24 hours. The resulting solution is used to treat each root planted in the garden bed.
Manure as a feed must be mixed with water in a ratio of 1:5. Before watering, a glass of the resulting solution is diluted with a bucket of water and 30 g of superphosphate is added. You need to water at the base, calculating a liter per root.
You can feed cabbage in open ground with urea. Urea is allowed to be applied immediately after planting the vegetable. After two weeks, when the plant has taken root and gained strength. Urea, potassium and superphosphate are diluted with water. Urea can repel insect pests. To combat insects, it is recommended to sprinkle the ground with urea in the spring.
How to feed the vegetable for the third time? When head formation begins, cabbage needs special additional feeding. The third top dressing is prepared on the basis of mullein and superphosphate. We must not forget that at this time the vegetable needs abundant watering. If the summer is characterized by prolonged rains, then limit the cabbage’s consumption of liquid to avoid cracking.
To form a head of cabbage and increase its weight and to protect it from diseases and pests, cabbage must be hilled. We hill first when the head of cabbage is setting, the second time is recommended during the rapid growth of the vegetable. Hilling is carried out in rainy weather. If there has been no rain for a long time, then abundant watering of the soil is recommended before hilling.
Ready-made formulations
What fertilizers can you choose in the store? Store shelves offer many ready-made fertilizers rich in nutritional components necessary for the development of cultivated plants. The following fertilizing may be useful for cabbage after planting in the ground.
Zdraven turbo fertilizer for cabbage has a good composition. Can increase the density of the head of cabbage and increase its weight. Improves taste and makes it possible to store vegetables for a long time. The Zdraven fertilizer contains all the important microelements, including molybdenum, boron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium.
It is better to dissolve the required dosage in warm water (the standard dosage is 15 g per 10 liters). Root feeding can be accompanied by a similar solution on the 12th day after planting in the ground. Foliar feeding of cabbage is carried out every two weeks.
Agricola - fertilizer No. 1 - is used for root feeding and spraying leaves.Thanks to this feeding, cabbage grows and gains strength faster, resistance to diseases increases, and promotes better absorption of nutrients and vitamins by vegetables.
Is it possible to use colloidal sulfur fertilizer? Many summer residents advise: “Use the composition to combat fungal and other diseases, insect pests among vegetables.” It is advisable to use the solution for spraying leaves in the morning and evening. It is not recommended to use the composition in rainy weather. Leaves must be processed on both sides.
Colloidal sulfur is non-toxic to plants, can be combined with other pest control agents, does not affect the composition of the soil. It begins to act 3-4 hours after treatment. Colloidal sulfur protects against infection for up to 10 days. Repeated application of fertilizer is carried out no earlier than two weeks later.
Colloidal sulfur can be added to the soil several days before planting seedlings. 50 g of solution is gradually dissolved in 10 liters of water until a homogeneous suspension is obtained. Colloidal sulfur requires caution. Do not smoke or eat during use. After the procedure, exposed areas of the body are washed with soap and water.
Dolomite flour is a mineral fertilizer often used for cabbage growth. Dolomite is used to combat pests and diseases. How to use it correctly? Best used at the preparatory stage. Dolomite flour can be added to the soil in the spring, but most often the treatment is carried out in September. After harvesting, the powder is scattered into open ground.
Dolomite flour nourishes the root system, saturates it with nutritional components, improves taste, and is used as a growth stimulator.
Dolomite flour is added to the soil only after the acidity level has been determined. The dosage is calculated based on the acidity level. Dolomite flour can be used simultaneously with compost, boric acid, and copper sulfate.
Folk recipes
Many gardeners prefer natural ingredients to chemical fertilizers. The use of home recipes requires the correct calculation of the dosage of each component. How to fertilize the beds:
- In June, the soil and leaves can be treated with boric acid. The composition will accelerate the growth of the plant. To do this, dissolve 5 ml of boric acid in 250 ml of boiled water. Before watering, the resulting solution is diluted again with water.
- In order for cabbage to grow quickly, yeast is used, which contains phosphorus, nitrogen and vitamin-mineral complexes. They cultivate the land twice a summer with an interval of one month. Fresh yeast is dissolved in water and left to ferment for a day. You need to water it in the warm evening, after diluting it in water (1:10). Since yeast stops the absorption of potassium, it is recommended to treat the soil with wood ash after a couple of days.
- Baking soda is used as fertilizer. The composition is able to preserve the integrity of the formed heads of cabbage, prevents the appearance of cracks and prolongs the storage of the harvested crop. In addition, the soda solution acts as an antiseptic and prevents many diseases. Soda powder is diluted with water and the beds are watered using a watering can.
- Banana peels will help prevent potassium deficiency. Some gardeners can use it as fertilizer.The peel can be dried and crushed, and then sprinkled at the base of the cabbage. You can make a tincture. The peels of several bananas are soaked in water for three days. Then it is useful to water the beds with the resulting solution.
- The use of eggshells will help replenish the lack of calcium in the soil. The component contains many other microelements. The shells can be crushed and sprinkled on the ground, or you can make a tincture. The shells of three eggs are filled with water and left to infuse for three days.
- Good cabbage cannot grow without iodine, which improves the condition of the leaves and makes the head elastic. In addition, this component acts as an antiseptic and increases the vegetable’s resistance to many diseases. Two drops of iodine are dissolved in a liter of water. The resulting solution can be used for foliar feeding.
Before feeding cabbage in open ground, you should determine the composition of the soil and the appearance of the plant. Harm can be caused not only by a lack of certain nutrients, but also by their excess. By following the feeding schedule, you can achieve a large and healthy harvest.
