Cabbage is one of the most popular vegetables. Many people use it for pickling and make pickles and salads from it. There are different varieties of cabbage that you can grow in your garden.
It contains a huge amount of vitamins and other useful substances that take part in metabolic processes and improve human immunity. It contains few calories, which is why it is often used to treat the gastrointestinal tract and during diets.
Main types
To find out what types of cabbage there are, you need to familiarize yourself with their main varieties and names. Types of cabbage and their characteristics will help people without experience to study in more detail the characteristics of these vegetables. There are three main types, which include:
- Headed. It is distinguished by a very overgrown and developed bud, based on a small head of cabbage. It is from this that the fruit begins to form. This species is very popular among vegetable growers and is grown much more often than all other varieties. The entire fruit, except the head, can be used for cooking.
- Colored. The formation of the head is carried out using overgrown shoots, which include a large number of formations that externally resemble an air soufflé. Cauliflower has an uneven surface and excellent taste.
- Leafy. The main fruit is formed by leaves that begin to grow from the stem itself. A distinctive feature of kale is that it has no core at all. This vegetable is eaten whole.
White cabbage
It is distinguished by its resistance to low temperatures and love of light and moisture. To grow white cabbage, you need to choose a site with the most fertile soil. The heads of the plant can have different sizes and shapes. They are conical, flat and round. The weight of the heads of cabbage depends on the variety and growing characteristics. It can vary from 0.5 kg to 10 kg.
Grow white cabbage recommended at a temperature of 20 degrees. Young shoots can withstand short-term frosts, but growing cabbage in low temperatures is not recommended.
Newly planted seedlings can withstand frosts around -5 degrees. The grown plant copes with temperatures of at least -8 degrees.
This variety of cabbage does not cope very well with high temperatures. If the temperature exceeds 30 degrees, the formation of new heads of cabbage will stop completely. To stimulate the appearance of fruits, it is necessary to water the plant regularly. In the first few weeks after planting, watering should be moderate. However, over time, the moisture supply will have to increase.
A distinctive feature of the white cabbage plant is its light-loving nature. If cabbage is planted in the shade, it may die over time. Therefore, you should not grow it near tall fruit trees that can cast a shadow.
Young seedlings actively suck nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium from the soil. After transplanting seedlings into open ground, it consumes only nitrogen, and during the formation of heads of cabbage it consumes phosphorus and potassium.
Bushes need to be fed if they are grown in peat or sandy soils. If it was planted in loamy soil, then there is no need to fertilize it.
Red cabbage
If we compare it with white cabbage species, it is distinguished by its resistance to pests, diseases and extreme cold. Red cabbage is not very popular in our country. Most often it is grown in non-chernozem zones.
It has dense and small heads of cabbage with purple leaves. Sometimes there are varieties with leaves colored blue or purple. The color of the leaves depends on the coloring substance they contain – anthocyanin. In addition to color, it also affects the taste of the plant.
If the bushes are grown in acidic soil, their leaves will turn red. In alkaline soils they turn blue. In pictures of cabbage grown in different soils, you can see these differences.
Different varieties of red cabbage may ripen at different times. On average, the fruits take about 150 days to ripen. However, early varieties can ripen much earlier. It is planted in the same way as mid-late cabbage varieties.
It is mainly used in cooking when preparing salads and other healthy dishes. Its fruits are a little hard and therefore many people only consume it raw. To make cabbage less tough, you can pour boiled water over it.
Colored
Contains a huge amount of biological substances and vitamins. It also contains little fiber, so it is recommended for people with liver and gastrointestinal problems. Cauliflower is absorbed by the human body much better than other varieties of vegetables.
The bushes of the plant have a cylindrical stem that grows up to 70 cm. The leaves have a greenish tint and elongated petioles, with a waxy coating on their surface. Also, during growth, small yellow flowers appear on the bushes. Cauliflower fruits are presented in the form of a cylindrical pod with black or brown seeds. Mature cauliflower bushes look very beautiful. To verify this, just look at their photographs.
It is recommended to grow bushes at a temperature of about 20 degrees. If it drops below 10, they will develop more slowly. During the cultivation of this plant, it is necessary to carefully care for it. Cabbage loves moist soil, so you will have to water it every few days. If there is insufficient moisture in the soil for three days, the cabbage heads will begin to crumble. Each square meter of area with bushes needs to be filled with 20 liters of water.
It is recommended to feed the plant regularly.You need to fertilize the soil for the first time a week after planting the seedlings. For this, mullein, nitrophoska and other mineral fertilizers are used. The next feeding is carried out 2-3 weeks after the first.
Broccoli
It has a lot in common with cauliflower in terms of appearance and taste. The main differences include the amount of nutrients, which are several times greater than in other types.
The cabbage head comes in purple, green, white and sometimes blue. The largest head is located in the center of the stem. If you remove it, lateral heads of cabbage will begin to grow from the leaf axils. This technique is used to increase productivity and extend fruiting time.
The main advantages of broccoli are resistance to temperature changes and low soil requirements. The only soil that is not suitable for asparagus kaputa is acidic.
When planting seedlings, you must adhere to certain requirements. There should be a distance of 50-60 cm between the rows, and 30 cm between each bush. You also need to properly care for the cabbage. It needs regular watering, fertilizing and loosening the soil.
Mid-season varieties are especially popular among vegetable growers. These include Atlantic and Greenia with a ripening period of about 115 days.
Savoy
This plant is a type of cabbage. In the first year, seedlings form a small stem, which can be cylindrical or spindle-shaped. It is on it that the first heads of cabbage form. The leaves are colored green, sometimes a slight coating appears on them, causing the surface to become bubbly.Over time, yellow flowers and fruits appear on the bushes.
The taste and appearance are reminiscent of white cabbage. The only major differences include corrugated leaves without veins and loose heads.
There are various Savoy cabbage varieties, which differ from each other in terms of ripening. Early varieties ripen within three months after planting. Before planting, you need to carefully study their photos and names. These include:
- Golden - large heads of cabbage weighing more than one kilogram are formed on it;
- Jubilee - cabbage with this name has fruits that are prone to cracking and weigh about 750 grams;
- Julius is a hybrid that belongs to the ultra-early ripening varieties, ripens within 80-90 days.
Mid-season varieties may take more than 120 days to ripen. Recommended to grow:
- Melissa - characterized by high yield and large heads weighing about three kilograms;
- Sferu - the fruits of this variety do not crack over time and weigh 1-2 kilograms.
Late varieties ripen for quite a long time - about 150 days. Every lover of late varieties should study these types of cabbage with photos. Among them, the most common are:
- Verosa - a hybrid known for its resistance to low temperatures;
- Vertu is a variety with very large fruits weighing more than three kilograms;
- Morama bushes are distinguished by their large heads of cabbage and perfectly smooth leaves.
Beijing
It is the oldest type of cabbage, which is very popular due to its ease of cultivation. Even when growing a plant without seedlings, you can get a good harvest.
The bushes are covered with whole sessile leaves, the height of which reaches 30 cm.With their help, a rosette is formed, which has juicy and thick petioles.
It has good resistance to fairly low temperatures. It copes with light frosts down to -5 degrees without any problems. However, in such conditions the bushes will not be able to develop normally, so to grow them you need to maintain the temperature within 15-20 degrees. If it exceeds this indicator, then burns will appear on the leaves.
When caring for Chinese cabbage, it is necessary to regularly process the bushes, loosen and water the soil. You should also mulch the soil periodically to reduce the number of weeds.
Conclusion
There are a huge number of varieties of cabbage that you can grow yourself in your summer cottage. Before you start planting, it is recommended to study cabbage varieties with photos and descriptions in advance in order to choose the most suitable plant for yourself.
