Do I need to pick off the lower leaves of the cabbage and when to do it video

Many inexperienced vegetable growers do not know whether to cut off the lower leaves of the cabbage. The opinions of summer residents on this matter differ. Some of them claim that people eat heads of cabbage, not leaves, and therefore they can be cut.

Others say that the lower leaves are needed to form young cabbage bushes. It is quite difficult to find information about this in the specialized literature, so each gardener will have to decide everything on his own.

Ground landing

Before you think about whether to cut off the lower leaves of cabbage, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the tips for planting it.Planting is recommended when more than five leaves appear on the seedlings, and its height will be 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 choose a suitable site. A place that will be illuminated by the sun throughout the day is perfect. It is desirable that the site has sandy soil, which is better than others for growing cabbage. Before planting, the acidity of the soil must be checked, the indicator of which should not exceed 7 pH. Site preparation should be done in the fall. At this time, you should carefully dig the ground so that in the spring it can better absorb moisture.

Also, the soil must be leveled with 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 for seedlings are made on the site.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 well. Then a spoonful of nitrophoska and a glass of water are added to them. Having prepared all the holes, you can start landing. Seedlings are lowered into the ground and sprinkled with dry soil on top. Seedlings that are too tall are planted in such a way that the cabbage leaves below are flush with the ground.

Features of cultivation

The first few weeks you need to carefully care for 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:

1. Water. 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 ground longer, it is recommended to create a peat mulch layer.
2. Feeding. The first top dressing is carried out 10-15 days after planting the seedlings in the soil. During this period, a mixture prepared from s altpeter, potassium, superphosphate and water is added to the ground. Fertilizers must be applied only to moist soil, so as not to accidentally damage the plant. The second is applied after a few weeks and consists of the same fertilizers as the previous one.
3. Processing. To protect the bushes from diseases and insects, it is recommended to start processing 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 leaves or onion peel. There are also special preparations with which you can protect cabbage from most diseases.

Should I pick the bottom leaves

Not all vegetable growers know whether it is possible to cut off the lower leaves of cabbage when growing. Most gardeners prefer to prune them. They claim that this helps to accelerate the growth of the plant, since now it does not need to spend its strength on the lower shoots. Also, many prefer to remove the lower leaves due to the fact that over time they begin to rot and the bush loses its attractiveness.

It must be remembered that leaf picking is quite a serious stress for the bushes. Because of this, the ripening period of a head of cabbage can seriously increase. Therefore, cutting leaves on very young seedlings is not recommended. Many people immediately wonder if the bottom leaves of the cabbage are removed if the head is almost ripe.

The rules of agricultural technology prohibit doing this, as 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 shoots.The main thing is that the head of cabbage is fully ripe, and the procedure is performed correctly. Also, before carrying out work, it is necessary 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 plucked only if they have begun to rot and dry.

When to cut the leaves

Not all gardeners know when to pick cabbage leaves. There are some of the most common reasons for doing 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 from below, and black spots appear on the leaves. In this case, you need to cut off not only the leaves, but also get rid of the entire bush. If you do not cut them off in a timely manner, the disease will quickly spread to neighboring cabbages.

Cracking heads

Heads of early varieties often begin to crack if the lower leaves are not cut off in a timely manner. If we tear them off, then the development of the head slows down, and it stops cracking. However, some experts argue that this method is not very effective. Instead, they advise to pull the plant out of the ground a little and rotate it. Using this method, you can also slow down the growth of the plant so that the heads do not crack.

Pest Protection

Not everyone knows why to remove the lower leaves of cabbage. Quite often, cabbages need to be removed to protect the bushes from insects. For example, scoop 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, then the leaves must be removed.

However, this does not always help to 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 insecticide.

Increase in head weight

Many gardeners prefer to cut off the lower leaves of cabbages when they need to increase the weight of heads. It is recommended to do this at the end of summer or at the beginning of September. It is during this period that the rapid growth of young heads of cabbage is observed. Most often, people plan to tear off the bottom leaves before harvesting. However, it is recommended to collect heads of cabbage 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 unequivocally whether it is necessary to cut off the leaves. However, every gardener must make such a choice for himself. To do this, it is enough to get acquainted with what positive and negative sides this procedure has. You should familiarize yourself in advance with situations where you simply cannot do without removing the leaves. It is also recommended that you familiarize yourself with when you can cut off the leaves and when you should not do this.

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