EntranceWhat to do to prevent cabbage from cracking in the beds.
It happens that towards the end of summer you notice that the cabbage in your beds is cracking. Although at first they were happy when, after careful care, well-established seedlings, they saw well-tied forks. But suddenly you discover that the cabbage heads are cracked or even fall apart. Let’s try to figure out why cabbage cracks and how to avoid this problem.
To do something to correct the situation, you need to understand why this is happening.
Uneven watering
Uneven watering - main reason. This can happen when, after a long drought, heavy rains. Forks can crack if they haven't been watered for a long time. Arriving at the dacha on the weekend, they begin to water them abundantly, making up for lost time.
When too high temperature, that is, above 25º, the growth of the fork slows down, and with a lack of moisture, the development of the plant stops completely. By watering abundantly, the volume of water that is absorbed by the roots increases, and the growth of the fork resumes, but at an accelerated pace. And since the growth of the head begins with the inner leaves, the small inner leaves begin to grow rapidly. The mature, upper leaves simply cannot keep up with them. The result is obvious: the upper leaves cannot withstand the internal pressure and burst.
Sudden temperature fluctuations
The plant may crack if the time of filling the head of cabbage coincides with sudden changes in temperature and humidity. Optimal temperature height for cabbage – 20-22º. During changes in night and day temperatures, plant growth does not stop, especially when high humidity. This mainly applies to early varieties of cabbage.
Late varieties of cabbage grow slowly and in the hot summer they are just forming. Head filling of late-ripening varieties usually occurs in the fall. This favorable time for the formation of heads of cabbage, therefore late varieties crack less often. When purchasing seeds, always look at the packaging for the ripening dates of the variety. Usually they coincide with reality.
How to prevent cracking of heads of cabbage?
- Organize drip irrigation cabbage In this case, the cabbage will receive water constantly and evenly, and the forks will not crack during weather changes.
- If drip irrigation is not possible, try not to pour water under the root. It is better to water by sprinkling (from a watering can), then the whole plant will be moist and the moisture will be absorbed evenly.
- Ideally, to prevent cracking, stop watering the cabbage completely about 2 weeks before harvesting.
- If there are large differences in air temperature between day and night, cover the plantings non-woven material. This will protect the top leaves from drying out and yellowing of the tops at the fork.
- Early ripening varieties are harvested when the head of cabbage is still loose; try not to leave such cabbage in the garden for too long, and harvest it on time.
To prevent cracking of cabbage heads, you can use traditional methods.
- On one side of the head of cabbage, you need to cut the root system a little with a shovel;
- Or turn the head of cabbage a little along the axis along the top leaves;
- Or tilt the forks to one side 2-3 times.
In this way, some of the roots are damaged, the access of some moisture to the roots is reduced, and the rapid development of cabbage heads is reduced.
What to do with cracked heads of cabbage?
Cracked heads are removed as soon as they are noticed. Since such cabbage is not suitable for storage due to the high risk of rotting, put it into processing.
Cracked forks can be used for sourdough, canning, filling pies, used in salads, seasoning cabbage soup or borscht. This is how your work will not be wasted.
Dear readers, now you know the reasons why cabbage cracks and how to solve this problem. I hope these tips help you. I wish you good harvests!
Head cracking is a major and very common problem. early varieties cabbage (and early cabbage is grown by many gardeners). Do they usually ripen? by mid to late summer, but their forks begin to crack by this time.
Unsightly appearance doesn't even appear at that main problem. These cracks are easily penetrated by slugs or caterpillars, which damage the crop.
Cause of cabbage cracking
This occurs due to excess moisture. The reason is either excessive abundant watering, or heavy precipitation. The inner part of the head of cabbage grows quickly, but the outer part does not have time and simply bursts.
If this has already happened, then we must accept it as a given and come to terms with it. But you can take measures in the future and protect yourself from this trouble.
What to do?
Uniform watering
Of course, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate the cause of cracking cabbage forks. It is necessary to monitor the uniformity of watering, avoiding long periods droughts alternating with heavy rainfall.
At air temperatures above 25 degrees, the growth of the cabbage slows down, and with a small amount of moisture, the development of cabbage stops altogether. With subsequent heavy watering, growth resumes at double the rate. This should not be allowed under any circumstances.
The inner leaves begin to grow vigorously, outer part He can’t keep up with them, and the head of cabbage cracks, simply tears.
This is what needs to be avoided. If we cannot stop the rain pouring from the sky, then we are quite capable of providing good, complete watering in dry weather.
If you do not have the opportunity to visit the garden every day, as an option, you can organize drip irrigation.
And half a month before harvesting, it is better to stop watering cabbage altogether. And cover the heads of cabbage with something on top to protect the top leaves from drying out and turning yellow.
Root damage
If, however, you have allowed the soil under the cabbage to dry out excessively, and you are afraid that heavy rainfall may lead to cracking of the cabbage, then you can use old way. It consists of some damage to the cabbage root system.
You can cut the root of the plant a little with a shovel, or you can turn the entire cabbage stalk 90 degrees. Thus, we damage some of the roots and reduce the amount of moisture reaching the top of the plant. Eventually rapid growth does not occur after drought, and the cabbage will not crack.
Rotate the rocker to damage some of the roots and reduce the flow of moisture to it from the soil Timely harvesting
As already mentioned, cracking of heads of cabbage is a common problem in early varieties of cabbage. This happens when they “stay” in the garden longer than expected. Therefore, pay attention to the ripening time of the planted variety, and try to prevent overgrowth.
Remove the heads of cabbage when they are still loose; do not wait for them to fill up and become dense and elastic.
Unless, of course, you took a variety that is resistant to cracking, but more on that below.
Choosing the right variety
If sharp changes in temperature or periods of drought with heavy rainfall occur regularly in your area, then it is better to plant the appropriate varieties of early cabbage. There are modern hybrids that do not crack due to the fact that they grow evenly. By themselves, they have a very neat appearance, and the cabbage tastes great.
"Pandion F1"
This is the variety “Pandion F1”. Heads of cabbage grow weighing about 2 kilograms. They are quite loose to the touch. But after gaining marketable weight and size, it can stand for two to three weeks, or even a month, without cracking. Distinctive feature“Pandiona F1” is precisely a loose head of cabbage - small, but very juicy.
Cabbage variety "Pandion F1" "Champ F1"
Another hybrid of early ripening cabbage is “Champ F1”. He has unique features. It grows quite wide and large due to its leaves. But the head of cabbage itself is small. Has a small stalk. The heads of cabbage are dense to the touch, like late-ripening varieties. The leaves wrap around one another, intertwine tightly, and when small size weight reaches 3 kilograms.
"Champ F1" What distinguishes it from other varieties is that caterpillars practically do not eat it; cruciferous flea beetle. This is due to the fact that it has a strong waxy coating. That's why"Champ F1" it's simply a favorite in the early-ripening cabbage market.
Cabbage variety "Champ F1" "Green Flash F1"
Another variety is"Green Flash F1". It is very different from other varieties in that it grows large, sometimes up to five kilograms. Very sugary, very dense. The bush is compact and has a strong waxy coating, so the cruciferous flea beetle does not damage it either. The stalk is small.
But most importantly,"Green Flash F1" same as "Champ F1" you can sow seeds directly into open ground. Yes, in order to get a harvest of an early variety of cabbage, but at the same time late in time - around the beginning of September, they can be planted immediately in open ground.
Cabbage variety "Green Flash F1" Well, if you do this through seedlings, then you will have fresh cabbage within 45-50 days after planting it in the ground. But even if you don’t do this and don’t harvest within the specified period, it’s okay, since they don’t crack.
What to do with cracked cabbage heads
Of course, cracked forks are not suitable for storage. But they can be used without any problems for homemade preparations - they can be fermented, canned, pickled, etc. Use them fresh in salads, soups, and pie fillings.
And then your work will not be in vain.
White cabbage is a permanent resident of the plots of Russian summer residents. At proper agricultural technology she will always reward you bountiful harvest. I'm growing white cabbage I have studied the character of this vegetable inside and out for more than one year.
But every season I am haunted by one small trouble. Part of the harvest is lost due to cracking of cabbage heads. This year I intend to harvest ALL the cabbage without any offensive losses. How I can make sure that the cabbage does not spoil while still in the garden, I will tell you in the article.
First of all, I will buy a crack-resistant variety of white cabbage. The varieties and hybrids of this crop have such resistance: Rusinovka, Belorusskaya 85, Amager 611, F1 Albatross, F1 Kolobok, F1 Krumont, and among the hybrid new products - F1 Anton, F1 Karamba, F1 Cortina, F1 Marathon, F1 Ramada. Unfortunately, not all seed packages contain this information, but I still advise you to look for such a variety and buy it.
Harvesting of white cabbage begins in the harvesting ripeness phase. Cutting heads of cabbage too early leads to rapid deterioration and wilting, and cutting them too late leads to cracking.
Experienced summer residents determine the level of maturity of heads of cabbage by density and appearance.
The tighter the head of cabbage is “wrapped”, the more ripe it is. This is easy to check by touch.
The second sign that the heads of cabbage are ready for harvesting is their color under the 2-4 outer “covering” leaves. White cabbage can be harvested if it is ivory in color.
When calculating, make allowances for weather and growth delays after planting seedlings. In general, this method is not very accurate.
I plant white cabbage of all ripening periods at the same time. Sometimes it turns out that the harvest of early varieties ripens together and requires simultaneous cutting. This is profitable only if you sell the crop on the market, because early cabbage cannot be stored for long.
Alternatively, you can sow cabbage early ripening varieties over several periods, or simply reduce the number grown.
Late-ripening cabbage is a different story. The following principle applies to it: the later you harvest (before the first frost, of course), the better the harvest will be stored.
To prevent heads of late-ripening white cabbage from bursting in the garden, try using.
Seeds are sown in open ground in early May. They are first soaked for a day in water, then sown to a depth of 0.5-1 centimeters. Cabbage grown using this technology quickly catches up with its seedling friend. After all, its roots are not injured during transplantation, so there is no need for an adaptation period due to changes in growing conditions.
There is another one folk method preventing cracking of heads of cabbage. It is used if autumn is rainy and you need to wait a while with harvesting, but the heads of cabbage are already asking to be left in the garden. Then their development is inhibited by slight damage to the adventitious roots. To do this, each head of cabbage is rotated around its axis on the stalk by 60-90 degrees.
To get the most early harvest. This allows you to harvest the crop before the rainy season and protect against cracking.
I hope this information is useful to you and you will enjoy a super harvest of white cabbage this year.
I also suggest watching a video that explains the main causes of cracking and provides tips for preventing this disaster.
Cracked heads of white cabbage in the beds pose a certain problem for summer residents and gardeners, because they spoil quickly, are unsuitable for storage, and are also not always suitable for home processing.
For what reasons does white cabbage crack in the garden?
Cracking of cabbage heads in the vast majority of cases occurs due to excessive amounts of moisture entering the vegetable.
Cabbage cracks from excess moisture
The reasons for this are the following factors:
- uneven and untimely watering;
- prolonged rainy and damp weather;
- sudden temperature changes;
- delaying the collection of ripened heads of cabbage.
Cabbage is a moisture-loving crop, so it requires constant, even moisture. After a long break and drying out of the soil, cabbage leaves tend to absorb as much as possible large quantity liquids immediately. When they gain moisture, they begin to grow quickly. But the growth rate of leaves is different. The tender, juicy young leaves located inside the head of cabbage develop much faster than the older and coarser upper leaves that cover the outside of the vegetable. Therefore, the head, under the pressure of the growing internal leaf layers, is torn from the inside.
Rapidly growing inner leaves tear the head of cabbage from the inside
At low temperatures(less than +20 °C) the growth of the vegetable slows down significantly. With a sharp increase in temperature, it begins to grow rapidly again. Again, the upper leaves do not keep up with the lower ones and cracks appear on the surface of the head of cabbage.
Heads of cabbage may crack during sudden warming
Overripe vegetables are prone to cracking. This is especially true early ripening varieties cabbage The mature heads stop growing, but the roots continue to supply moisture, which leads to rupture of the leaf layers.
Most often, cabbage of early ripening varieties cracks.
Video: an original way to use cracked cabbage
How to avoid white cabbage cracking in the garden
There is nothing you can do about already cracked cabbage.
Often nothing can be done about cracked cabbage.
Only preventive measures are effective against cracking of cabbage heads:
- Organization of a uniform watering regime. Long breaks between moisturizing should not be allowed. If this is not possible, a drip irrigation system or planting cabbage in a wetter, close-lying area will help. groundwater, near a body of water (pond, lake, etc.) or a well.
It is best to organize drip watering of cabbage
- A device for draining water from cabbage beds in the event of a one-time loss large quantity atmospheric precipitation (ditches, ditches, etc.).
Special ditches are made to drain excess water from cabbage.
- Selection of cabbage varieties that are resistant to cracking.
It is necessary to select in advance varieties of white cabbage that are resistant to cracking
- Mulching. To retain moisture, cover the soil with a layer of straw or mown grass.
A thick layer (about 10 cm) of straw mulch will help retain moisture in cabbage beds
- Partial damage to the root system to reduce the flow of moisture to the leaves. Take the head of cabbage firmly with both hands, pull it up a little and turn it around its axis about a quarter of a turn, then back. The same effect can be achieved by cutting off the roots on one side with a shovel.
Cabbage is one of the main “water feeders” in the garden. And we, knowing this, sometimes do her a disservice with our abundant, but irregular watering. As a result, the cabbage cracks.
We invite you to talk briefly about why cabbage bursts and how to avoid it.
Cabbage bursts: causes and control measures
Most often, this trouble happens with cabbage of early and medium ripening, less often with late cabbage. Cabbage cracks during the ripening of the heads of cabbage - when they are already full, but not yet ripe.
Early cabbage cannot be kept in the garden for long. That's why it's early, so you can pick it up and eat it right away. Otherwise, this fastidious and not at all drought-resistant culture begins to be capricious. And that's why.
Cabbage needs to be watered often - every two to three days, and in hot weather - every other day. But it happens that there is no time, or you didn’t come to the dacha. Or it seems that there was a good rain - after all, there are puddles, young weeds were “flooded”, but in fact this rain only wet the ground by 5 centimeters, and we already lowered our sleeves and did not water the cabbage...
These are the cases that play cruel jokes on us: cabbage, which was previously accustomed to drinking often and in large quantities and considered moisture a stimulus for growth, perceives a water-free diet as a signal for the end of the growing season and the transition to wintering. As a result top sheets the heads of cabbage become dense and thin, creating clothing for the cold weather. And then we appear again with a bucket of water. Inner sheets the cabbages begin to grow again, but the top ones no longer “let in” - and the cabbage cracks!
What can you do to prevent cabbage from cracking?
- Water the crop frequently and regularly , accustoming her to the regime (read about watering cabbage)
- control soil moisture : if a lump of earth from a depth of 10 cm does not stay in the lump when squeezed in your hand, you need to water it
- don't overfeed nitrogen fertilizers , apply them only during the period of growth and filling of heads of cabbage, otherwise the cabbage will crack (read about feeding cabbage)
When the heads of cabbage have formed, but you would like to keep them in the garden for ripening, grab the head of cabbage with your hands and rotate it left and right by 50 degrees, and then lift it up a little . Don’t be afraid - you won’t pull the cabbage out of the ground, but the small roots that supply the plant with water will be significantly reduced. If you are afraid to exercise this way - you can dig a shovel 20 centimeters into the ground to trim the roots .
Choose cabbage hybrids resistant to cracking
Do not keep cabbages in the garden for too long: ripe - remove
If the head of cabbage is cracked, the rest of the heads of cabbage of this variety will soon crack. That's why either remove all the cabbage, or “twist” according to the above method.
Of course, the whole thing can be ruined by the weather when it starts raining after a long drought. But more often than not, cabbage cracks precisely because of our negligence, because of incorrect agricultural practices. And it’s a shame - I cared for it, cherished it, and now the cabbage has burst, and now it’s only for salad, and even then - running, not to mention the caterpillars, slugs and rots that instantly climb into the cabbage through the “open gate”. Therefore, love your garden, read literature, don’t waste your time on it, and it will definitely repay you high yield. Best wishes!
Tatyana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board, correspondent of the online publication "AtmAgro. Agro-industrial Bulletin"