There are a lot of cabbage varieties, but gardeners usually choose several for planting - early ripe and late ripe. If the early ripe ones are eaten quickly enough and do not put forward special requirements, in addition to good taste, then with the late ripening varieties everything is completely different - they must have good preservation, be resistant to pests and diseases that can affect the fruits during storage, and be resistant to cracking. One of these late-ripening varieties is the Sugarloaf, so we will consider a detailed description of cabbage, and the features of its cultivation at home.

Description and characteristic

The selection of Sugar Loaf varieties was carried out by the large Moscow selective company Zedek in 2008. The variety immediately became popular and was initially distributed in Russia, but soon large farms and agricultural companies around the world began to purchase the variety for local cultivation. The cabbage variety Sugarloaf is characterized by late ripening of fruits (from the first seedlings to harvest takes an average of 150 days), is popular for cultivation on an industrial scale and in small areas for domestic consumption. Sugarloaf has high yields - 300-550 kg / ha.

Did you know? The word "cabbage" comes from the ancient Greek "caputum", which means "head" and emphasizes the outward rounded appearance of the vegetable.

A mature plant has a wide and spreading rosette, the diameter of which is at least 80 cm, and 40 cm in height. A mature head of cabbage can weigh from 2 to 5 kg. Large cabbage leaves are light green in color with a light gray waxy coating, round and even in shape. The edge of each leaf is slightly wavy. Sheets of mature heads of cabbage differ in juiciness and softness of usually rough veins, which is very popular with consumers.Heads of cabbage have a rounded shape, if cut in half, the cut will be white and light green in color. The head of the head has an average length on the outside, inside the head is short - up to 7 cm. The leaves in the head are firmly adjacent to each other, without voids. The cabbage is crisp and sweet (it has a higher percentage of natural sugar compared to other well-known late-ripening varieties). With the consumption of freshly picked vegetables is worth the wait. A month later, the heads of cabbage will become much tastier - bitterness will go away, only a sweetish aftertaste and a pronounced cabbage flavor will remain.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

• Cabbage variety Sugarloaf has the following advantages:
• excellent taste;
• high in nutrients - thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, iodine, phosphorus, fluorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, manganese;
• good harvest keeping quality - easily stored until May – June, without losing appearance, density and taste; it does not rot;
• excellent preservation of appearance, resistance to cracking;
• good transportability;
• resistance to common diseases - keel, fusarium, bacteriosis;
• characterized by good germination of seeds.

The only drawback of the variety is the low yield indicators under adverse growing conditions.

Optimal landing times

Depending on the chosen method, the timing of planting cabbage will be different. If seedlings will be grown independently from seeds, then their sowing should be done in early April in containers that will be installed in a heated room. If you plan to grow cabbage from acquired seedlings, then it must be planted in open ground in late May - early June, at which time 4 true leaves will already be formed on each plant.

Cultivating varieties

To the process of growing cabbage varieties Sugarloaf was as simple and understandable as possible, consider the main nuances of germinating seeds for seedlings and planting them in open ground.

Seed preparation

The key to healthy seedlings, the further cultivation of which will make it possible to get a good harvest, is pre-sowing treatment of seed material. Acquired seeds are usually already processed, but excessive stimulation will not harm them. To do this, prepare a nutrient solution based on water (1 l) and potassium humate (1 g).

Important! If you are not sure about the quality of the purchased or personally harvested seeds, it is better to carry out the procedure for rejecting low-quality seed material: dissolve 2 tbsp in 1 liter of water. l salt, add seeds and mix - substandard float to the surface, viable settle.

Water should be taken at room temperature and thoroughly dissolved in the fertilizer. Soak the seeds in such a liquid for 12 hours, then rinse under running water and dry with a paper towel. After soaking, the seeds should be spread out on a newspaper, which should be placed on a well-lit window sill and left for a day to dry.

Growing seedlings

In order to grow seedlings it is necessary:

1. Prepare the soil for sowing: mix 1 part peat, 1 part humus, 0.5 parts of turf land, 0.5 parts of sand.
2. Purchase peat, plastic glasses or a large container. Pour the prepared soil mixture and leave to warm. The optimum soil temperature for sowing seeds is + 17 ° C.
3. When the soil reaches the desired temperature, 2-3 deepenings should be made in the center of each glass. In a general container, grooves must be made, 1.5 cm deep. Seeds must be laid out at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Between the rows keep a distance of 5 cm.
4. Sprinkle the seeds with soil without tampingto simplify the process of germination.
5. The soil is regularly sprayed with spray water at room temperature until the first seedlings - then, each plant is watered under the root. Watering the crops is necessary 1 time in 2 days, seedlings - 1 time in 3 days.
6. A plastic film is pulled on a container or glassesto maintain the required moisture level and stimulate the rapid germination of seeds. The film is removed daily for 1 hour to ventilate the tank to prevent the development of molds that can ruin future seedlings. After emergence, the film is removed completely.
7. Container or glasses are placed on a well-lit window sill., the room temperature is maintained at + 25 ° С during the first time of cultivation, after germination, the temperature can be reduced to + 20 ° С.
8. When the seedlings grow a little, they should be thinnedso that between each plant a distance of 5 cm is maintained, in each glass it is better to leave 1 the strongest and most developing plant.
9. 2 weeks after seed germination, seedlings need to be fed with purchased complex fertilizer for vegetables, according to instructions.

Transplanting seedlings into the ground

Before transplanting seedlings in open ground, you need to make the last dose of fertilizer. To do this, 2 weeks before planting, plants are fed a nutrient solution based on 1 liter of water, 1.5 g of potassium sulfate and 1.5 g of urea. 1 week before planting, seedlings begin to prepare for new growing conditions. Tanks with plants are taken outside in the daytime, first by 1 hour, daily increasing the amount of time by 1 hour.The plot for planting seedlings is chosen sunny, without drafts. Suitable soil for cabbage is slightly acidic or neutral. A good place to grow cabbage is considered to be a site where legumes, potatoes or onions were previously grown.

The process of planting seedlings is as follows:

1. Prepare the bed in advance for planting seedlings. A month before planting, the site should be dug up, the soil should be loosened, and rotted manure or compost should be added.
2. Small depressions are made in the soil so that the root system of the plant can be placed in them along with an earthen lump.
3. In the well, add a mixture of urea (3 g), superphosphate (5 g) and potassium sulfur (4 g), pour it well with water (1-2 l).
4. Take each plant out of a glass or container and set it in a hole, fix a seedling with a liquid mixture of water and soil, sprinkle with a substrate on top.

Important! It is forbidden to plant cabbage on one plot for more than 2 consecutive years, as it greatly depletes the soil and a poor crop can be obtained next season.

Plant care

To obtain high-quality and large fertilizer, it is recommended to follow some rules for the care of plants.

Watering technique

Watering the cabbage is often not necessary. For full growth and the formation of the ovary, provide watering at room temperature with water at the root once every 2-3 weeks. From 1 to 2 liters of water is poured under each bush. If it rains regularly, watering can be reduced or eliminated altogether.It is recommended to increase watering during the formation of cabbage heads, during this period you can water it once a week with a small amount of water so as not to provoke cracking of the fruit. A month before harvesting, watering the cabbage is stopped, as the risk of cracking heads increases.

Loosening

A prerequisite for good cabbage growth is the normal functioning of the root system of the plant. The roots should be provided not only with nutrients, but also with oxygen, which enters through the soil. In this regard, there is an increasing need for regular loosening of the soil, especially after precipitation and watering, when the soil can take up the crust and block the access of oxygen to the roots.

Important! Cracked vegetables cannot be stored and become dangerous for eating, as pathogenic bacteria and fungi quickly accumulate in the places of rupture.

The process of loosening can be combined with weeding, while removing weed vegetation from the site. Loosening is carried out with a pitchfork, prying the soil and loosening, very carefully so as not to touch the roots located in the upper soil layer.

Diseases and pests

The cabbage variety Sugarloaf has a good resistance to diseases and pests, but can sometimes be affected by some diseases:

• keel - affecting the root system of the vegetable, which provokes the development of the fungus on the roots. To prevent the disease, it is very important to observe crop rotation, regular removal and destruction of weeds and plant debris from the site. When revealing diseased specimens (withering, with growths on the roots), they are immediately removed from the garden, the remaining plants are treated with "Topaz", "Fundazol", according to the instructions;
• fusarium wilting - causing wilting of cabbage leaves with simultaneous yellowing. The main danger of this disease is that it is impossible to cure diseased plants, so the affected specimens are immediately removed from the garden. The best way to protect the crop is to carry out prophylaxis, which consists in carefully digging the soil in the autumn period and processing with Fitosporin, observing crop rotation;
• vascular bacteriosis - provoking yellowing of the sheets, darkening of the veins and complete death of the sheet. Disease prevention measures consist in observing crop rotation, timely removal of weeds from the territory. It is possible to treat vascular bacteriosis with the Binoram drug, according to the instructions;
• black leg - a fungal disease that provokes thinning of the root neck, decay of the lower part of the cabbage leg. Preventive measures that relate to pre-sowing soil treatment with 1% potassium permanganate solution are considered effective. It is impossible to cure the black leg, so diseased plants are removed until they have infected healthy ones.

Among the pests that can infect a variety are:

• aphids - small silver-white insects that settle on the back of the leaf and feed on the sap of the plant, gradually leading to the death of leaf plates. The main signs of the appearance of a pest on a plant are growth retardation, the acquisition of pink shade by leaves, twisting and dying of leaf plates. It is recommended to fight aphids with the preparations "Karbofos", "Spark", with which the affected plants are sprayed. To prevent aphid cabbage infection, carrots or tomatoes can be planted between seedlings; an insect usually does not tolerate such a neighborhood;
• cabbage fly - An insect whose appearance is very similar to a regular fly. The cabbage fly lays eggs in the soil at the end of May; over time, larvae hatch from them and begin to eat the root system of cabbage. Signs of damage to the plant: rotting of the roots, wilting of the bushes, staining of the lower leaves in gray. Treatment of the plant is carried out by processing "Thiophos", according to the instructions;
• cruciferous fleas - small oblong brown beetles that live in the soil, which in the spring period feed on young leaves of cabbage, leaving ulcers on the plates. Often, from a cruciferous flea, a young plant completely dies, while an older plant grows poorly, forms loose small heads of cabbage, unsuitable for long-term storage. Mass distribution of the insect is possible only with excessive dryness of the air and irregular watering, in rainy cloudy weather, the beetles hide in the ground. If the plant is affected by such pests, it is necessary to treat the bushes with "Karbofos" or "Actara", according to the instructions.

Harvesting and storage

Cabbage ripening time Sugarloaf - mid-end of September, at this time begin to harvest. Heads must be cut with a sharp large knife, leaving a 4 cm poker on the head. Harvest should only be done in dry weather, and before sending the fruits for storage, the upper covering leaves are slightly dried (dried) in the sun to extend the shelf life. For long-term storage, dense, without mechanical damage, heads of cabbage with adjacent covering leaves are suitable.

The most effective way to store cabbages is to hang them on poles from the ceiling. To do this, cabbage is tied in pairs for stumps and attached to the poles with wire or a strong cloth. You can also store heads of cabbage by staggering on wooden shelves. It is necessary to lay the cabbage in such a way that the stalks are slightly raised up and not in contact with each other. The optimum storage temperature is 0 ... + 1 ° C.

Did you know? There are decorative types of cabbage, which are especially popular in Japan. When the cold comes, and other flowering plants stop blooming, decorative cabbage pleases the eye with unusual flowers.

The humidity level in the room should be at the level of 85–90%. You can eat cabbage Sugarloaf in fresh and cooked form. It is used for vitamin salads, snacks. A variety is suitable for pickling, pickling, pickling. The dishes, where cabbage is subjected to heat treatment, have excellent taste qualities, during the cooking process it keeps its shape, maintains its density, but at the same time it becomes quite tender and soft.Thus, Sugarloaf cabbage is an excellent late-ripening variety suitable for cultivation in small home areas and industrial plantations. The cultivation process is simple, and the result is almost always excellent, especially if you follow the basic rules for planting and caring for plants.