This is my first year trying to grow Chinese cabbage. I am growing the Michihi variety. I started my seeds in peat pellets - these were started on 3/10, and are ready to transplant to 20 oz cups. They have started growing their leaves at a point about an inch up from the soil, which is a slender stem. As the leaves grow, the stem didn't support them, and they have flopped over to where the leave growth point is on the soil and they have turned to face the lights and started growing from there with the stem laying horizontal. Can I treat these like a tomato plant and bury the stem when I transplant them, or is it ok for them to continue to grow as they are now?
Thanks for the input!
Cabbages, like lettuce will start out with their leaves pretty flat to the ground. As they grow they fill out and do not start to head up until the very end. Treat them like lettuce not tomatoes. Transplant them out 24-30 inches apart so their leaves will have space to fan out. Do not bury them deeper than they already are.
It is already past the season for me, my Michili cabbages are bolting. If the weather stays under 70 degrees it should be good for you.
It is already past the season for me, my Michili cabbages are bolting. If the weather stays under 70 degrees it should be good for you.
-
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2882
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
I also bury the stems, as others suggest, and I don't keep them in the pots too long - only about 3 weeks after planting the seeds, which is why I can plant them in small, 72/flat pots. I just noticed a bunch of mine almost horizontal today; the ones staying upright, with the strongest stems, are the kohlrabi.