QUESTION : How do you take maintenance of cabbage plants ? Do they need a peculiar plant food and how do you apply it ? -Frank roentgen
ANSWER : Improve the stain before planting by mixing in an elderly compost or manure that is completely decomposed to annul burning the plant . Till the soil to ensure that it is well - draining , as root that stand in water will cause the heads to split or waste . If starting seeds indoors , sow one - fourth part of an inch rich about six to eight week before the last spring frost .
Before moving the seedling outdoors , indurate them off over the class of a week . Then , transplanting pocket-size plants outside on a murky good afternoon around two to three weeks before the last spring frost date in your geographical zone . Plant cabbage seedlings one to two feet aside in rows that are space look on the size of the head that you need to educate . The closer you constitute your cabbage plants together , the smaller the cabbages will be .
For fall harvest , directly sow your seeds out of doors or move your transplants in the mid to late summertime . If you experience in a climate that is peculiarly red-hot and dry , expect to implant until tardily in the summertime and check the land wet daily to make certain that the new plants do n’t dry out in the hot sun . In warm climate areas , you may have to render more than one in of water per hebdomad to keep the soil moist , just verify that it never becomes waterlogged or soggy from overwatering .
When seedling are about five inches tall , be sure to thin them out . Leave space between them based on the size cabbages you need to get . When you thin the seedlings , rather of jactitate them out , feel gratis to transplant them to another field of the garden .
Mulch around kale plants will avail keep on moisture and equilibrate land temperature . The well potential temperature for kale grow is 60 to 65 degree F.Young plants can boltor form loose heads if exhibit to temperature that are 45 degrees F or below . Water about one and a half inch per week , stay fresh the soil moist but never swampy at all times .
Do n’t leave to fertilize cabbage since they are dense feeders . Fertilize cabbage every two to three weeks . On the first alimentation , use a nitrogen rich plant food , as cabbage needs plenty of N early in the produce cycle . habituate a balanced 10 - 10 - 10 fertilizer for extra feedings , every two to three week . Try adding kelp meal to the soil just before implant to boost the micronutrient levels and delineate mineral content for level-headed clams . Also , be aware of harvest rotary motion when growing cabbages , never planting them in the same place where they were grown in the past few twelvemonth in gild to help prevent a buildup of territory - borne disease .
