Japanese cabbage: Little Mermaid, Mizuna and Cyclops f1, cultivation and care with photo

Increasingly, vegetable crops appear on the seed market, whose names cause confusion. This also happened with Japanese cabbage. So on the package with the seeds of the cabbage "Cyclops f1" it is written - the Japanese line, which actually indicates not the type of cabbage, but the authorship of the Japanese company "Sakata". So Japanese-selected white cabbage is associated by buyers with one of the varieties of cabbage, called "Japanese", having nothing to do with it.

We are well acquainted with most varieties of cabbage that are part of the Mediterranean-European group: white cabbage, kohlrabi, Savoy, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli.But the vegetables of the East Asian group are rare guests. For an inexperienced buyer, the names of Beijing, Chinese, Japanese cabbage often do not have a difference. Therefore, they are called kale or lettuce, green mustard or green Japanese salad. Although there is no big trouble in this, because all these plants belong to the cruciferous or cabbage family.

But for gardeners who decide to plant a curiosity on their site, it is better to immediately understand the features of a salad vegetable crop. The choice is not great. Only Japanese Mizuna cabbage is found on store shelves, with different leaf colors and varieties "Mermaid", "Dude" and "Emerald Pattern".

Japanese cabbage has a unique set of vitamins and minerals, goes well with fish, meat, and complements vegetable dishes.

"Japanese" - a type of kale

Japanese cabbage is a vegetable crop of the cruciferous family. In the process of growth, it forms a spreading leaf rosette. There are two forms of Japanese cabbage: "Mibuna", with smooth narrow lanceolate leaves and "Mizuna", the leaves of which are dissected into lobes and have an uneven edge.

The plant is grown as an annual crop, but in a two-year growth cycle, cabbage forms a conical root crop with a diameter of up to 7 cm, resembling a turnip in taste. Leaves are used for food, which grow throughout the growing season, even after cutting.

Japanese tastes like Chinese and Beijing varieties, but does not contain as much mustard oil. Due to the unusual shape of the leaf, it looks very impressive on the beds; according to oriental tradition, it is used as an ornamental plant. For Russian growing conditions, the variety of Japanese cabbage "Mermaid" is adapted.

Japanese cabbage withstands spring frosts down to -4 °C, is unpretentious and very productive.

Japanese cabbage "Mermaid"

Japanese cabbage variety Mermaid is cold hardy and can be grown outdoors without any problems.

Variety description

This is how the main features look like:

• mid-season variety, with a growth period of 55-70 days before the first green harvest;
• due to the large number of awakened apical buds, it forms a spreading leaf rosette of 45-60 leaves;
• leaves are smooth or slightly wrinkled, green with a white thin petiole, dissected into lobes, lyre-pinnate with a serrated edge;
• leaf rosette horizontal or slightly raised, about 40 cm high, up to 75 cm in diameter;
• the taste of the leaves is pleasant, delicate, with a slight mustard accent for salad purposes;
• plant weight 1-1.7 kg, from a square meter of plantings you can get 5-6.5 kg of greenery for a growth period;
• the variety tolerates heat well, resistant to flowering.

The advantages of the "Mermaid" include high yields.After cutting the leaves, fresh foliage grows from the newly awakened buds. This allows you to get greens from spring to late autumn. The variety is unpretentious, resistant to adverse environmental conditions, cold-resistant, heat-resistant.

Japanese cabbage is used as an ornamental plant for decorating flowerbeds, alpine slides, as borders.

Features of variety care

The plant is extremely unpretentious, growing and caring for it does not require much time.

1. The variety can be grown both in seedlings and in open ground.
2. Seeds germinate already at 3-5 degrees. Seedlings are resistant to short-term spring frosts. The plant develops best at temperatures of 18-20 degrees.
3. To obtain early greenery, planting is carried out at several times, starting in early spring, from April 20 to September 1. In protected ground, plants are planted according to the scheme 20 x 15 x 20, or with ribbons as a seal to the main crops.
4. In open ground, plants are planted on standard ridges according to the scheme 25 x 1 cm or with line ribbons, but leaving a distance of 40 cm between the lines, and up to 60 cm between the ribbons.
5. Under the culture fit areas well warmed up, with little shading. Soils are preferred fertile, well-moistened, with a high content of organic and mineral fertilizers.
6. It is not advisable to plant a plant in areas where representatives of the cruciferous family used to grow. Best predecessors: legumes, nightshade, perennial herbs, cucumbers, onions.
7. Seed germination is expected in 3-4 days. As they grow, with the appearance of 3-4 true leaves, thickened areas of crops are thinned out.
8. Further care comes down to moderate watering, loosening the soil and weeding. Like all types of cruciferous, "Japanese" loves moisture, but is afraid of too much waterlogging of the soil.
9. You shouldn't overuse top dressing either. It is enough that it was brought in for digging before planting. If necessary, carry out no more than two supporting dressings. The plant is prone to the accumulation of nitrates, so you need to limit the content of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil.
10. It is important to cut the leaves in time, allowing the growth of young shoots. After all, the plant has a huge potential in the form of 18-40 buds of regrowth.

Japanese cabbage with a pleasant refreshing taste is suitable for the very first vitamin salads of the season, being a real storehouse of nutrients. It complements meat and fish dishes well, goes well with some types of cheeses.

Because of its light peppery flavor, it is added to spicy stews, soups, marinades, pickles.

Unusual vegetable culture is also distinguished by its decorative appeal. It can be grown as a border, along a garden path. With its elegant greenery, the plant will emphasize simpler and taller crops. Cabbage "Mermaid" will perfectly complement the set of spicy plants and vitamin salads in any area, decorating it with its beautiful foliage.

Recommended