Beijing cabbage contains many vitamins and minerals necessary for humans. In one season from the site you can collect several crops of this crop. However, some gardeners are faced with such a problem that the head of Beijing cabbage has not formed, and the culture itself has blossomed. Consider why bloom occurs, and how to prevent it.

The main causes of flowering cabbage

Peking cabbage is considered an unpretentious plant, but it has its own characteristics of cultivation. If they are not followed, then the plant will shoot. The main causes of premature flowering of Beijing cabbage are:

1. Landing place. This culture is short daylight and it is undesirable to plant in the sun. The best place would be penumbra.
2. Disembarkation time. If it is planted early in unprotected soil, then a cold snap can cause premature flowering and the head will not form. Strong summer heat also negatively affects the plant, slows its growth and causes darting.
3. Bad choice of variety. Not all varieties are recommended for cultivation in the climate of the Russian Federation. Many of them have a tendency to bloom.
4. Late harvest. Peking cabbage after the formation of a head of cabbage does not have a rest period, and immediately begins to prepare for flowering. It needs to be cleaned on time.
5. Damage to the root system. Usually, the roots are damaged when transplanting plants, planting seedlings, when loosening the beds. You should be careful with this culture and transplant it by transshipment (with an earthen lump).
6. Lack of nutrition. Lack of soil fertility and lack of top dressing creates a deficit of elements for the normal development of culture. The plant does not have enough nutrition to head out, but there will always be forces for flowering.
7. Lack of moisture. A lack of moisture causes the same situation as a lack of nutrition.

How to prevent flowering

There are simple agricultural techniques that will allow you to get a good harvest of Beijing cabbage and prevent early shooting.

Important! When choosing a variety, the ripening time should be considered. Later varieties are recommended to be planted in the second half of summer, since they can be stored, and the early ones in spring.

Grade selection

The easiest way to plant varieties resistant to flowering. These are mainly Dutch hybrids - Manoko, Starko, Optiko, Mirako, Taranco and Bilko. Relatively resistant to flowering, a half-rolled variety of domestic selection Khibinskaya 5. The Japanese variety Kyustar is not prone to flowering.

Temperature and light conditions

The optimum temperature regime for Beijing cabbage is the interval +13 ... + 20 ° С. Daylight hours for this crop should not exceed 12 hours, so it is planted at the beginning and at the end of the season, when daylight hours are not so long. And the most preferred landing closer to the fall. To maintain optimal daylight hours, plant a plant at the fence or next to shading crops.When cooling, planting is protected from temperature drop below + 13 ° C by agrofibre. They also protect them from excess sunlight. Above Beijing cabbage, you can make a shelter from arcs and light-transmitting material. It will grow this crop well in a greenhouse, it is well combined with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Fertilizer

Prepare the beds for this crop in advance. They should introduce rotted organic matter and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. For 1 m², add 20–25 g of superphosphate and potassium salt. During the growing season, water the plants in a timely manner and do complex dressings recommended for cabbage.

Important! Acidic soil must be deoxidized (with lime, dolomite flour), otherwise you can lose the whole crop due to keel. Peking cabbage also grows poorly in salt marshes. Optimally suitable for it is medium dense nutrient soil with a neutral reaction.

You can use natural fertilizers:

1. Mullein. Dilute with water in a ratio of 1:10.
2. Bird droppings. Divorced in a ratio of 1:20.
3. Herbal infusion. Bred in a ratio of 1: 9.

Such top dressing gives 3 times to spring plantings, and 2 times to summer plantings. It will be good to carry out foliar top dressing - dissolve 2 g of boric acid in a liter of boiling water, and then dilute in a 10-liter bucket with plain water.

How to grow cabbage for a good harvest

For early production in spring, it is best to use the seedling method.

Did you know? Chinese cabbage began to be grown in China, as stated in written sources dated V–VI centuries It is also called Chinese cabbage or petsai.

Growing seedlings

When growing this plant crop using seedlings, the crop can be harvested at the end of May. In this case, plant seed material on seedlings in early April. Soil for this purpose needs to be acquired on the basis of peat and sod land. Seeds are sown to a depth of 1 cm in separate containers, since this plant does not tolerate picking. Tanks with seedlings can be kept on the balcony, room or loggia with a temperature of at least + 8 ° C.

Video: sowing seeds of Beijing cabbage seedlings

7 days after the appearance of the sprouts, you need to make liquid nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Watering is carried out as the soil dries. At the time of planting in open ground, the age of the plant corresponds to 20–26 days.Plants are planted with an interval of 25 cm from each other, trying not to damage the roots

Planting seeds of Beijing cabbage in the open ground

Before planting the seed, prepare a site for planting. The soil must necessarily be loose, since the root system of this plant crop is very weak and does not tolerate dense soil. Seeds are planted with an interval of 25-30 cm from each other.

This culture loves short daylight hours, so there is no need to worry about its additional lighting. When there is an excess of light, the sprouts should be covered with dark covering material so that they do not stretch to the light source. 7-10 days after the appearance of the sprouts, the planting should be fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Video: sowing seeds of Beijing cabbage in the open ground

Is it possible to eat leaves of Beijing cabbage if it bloomed

Peking cabbage, which launched blooming arrows, is not suitable for use in culinary purposes. In this case, the taste of the vegetable becomes bitter and unpleasant, therefore, all dishes from it, even after heat treatment, will give bitterness. Some gardeners try to get rid of the bitter taste by soaking the cabbage in salted water. But here it must be taken into account that together with the bitterness this vegetable will lose the main part of useful substances.Peking cabbage, which has bloomed, can be used for compost or for pet food (birds, pigs, cows)

Tips from experienced gardeners

Experienced gardeners give the following tips to prevent the appearance of color in Beijing cabbage:

1. Planting this plant crop should be carried out closer to fences and structures, under canopies, so that there is good shading, which is so necessary for normal growth and development. If the beds are located in an open place under the sun, then a special agrofiber should be used for shelter.
2. Landing should be carried out early in the spring or later in the summer, when the weather is not very hot and arid. Recommended planting dates in spring are from late April to the first half of May. In the summer, sowing is carried out from late July to the first decade of August.
3. During spring cooling, the bed is covered with covering material. It should be noted that such a shelter can not be removed. This will not only protect against direct rays of the sun, but also allow you to maintain a constant temperature at the landing site all the time.
4. When loosening, do not deepen tools more than 2-3 cm.
5. The place of sowing or planting seedlings should be sprinkled with ash. This will not only scare away pests and feed the plant, but also prevent the appearance of arrows.
6. You can not plant petsai after other types of cabbage and cruciferous ones - radish, rape, mustard, turnip.

Did you know? Beijing cabbage is very similar to a head of lettuce, but contains 4–5 times more ascorbic acid. The high content of vitamins and low calorie content (16 kcal / 100 g) make this product dietary.

Peking cabbage will not bloom and will head out if you select a shoot-resistant variety, follow the recommended agricultural practices and create optimal growing conditions.