GROWING MUSTARD, CHINESE CABBAGE, CABBAGE, AND CAULIFLOWER
Growing these particular vegetables can be profitable if you knows the proper cultural practices, and knowing the necessary requirements, you can easily produce the desirable quantity and quality of these nutritious and easy-to-grow vegetables.
Strategies Required
Note: this mixture is ideal for a 1X20 linear meters plot. If your plot is not this size you can adjust the mixture by computing the exact amount of mixture.
Steps in Plastic Mulch Installation:
The following spacing should be applied.
Pechay/Mustard 10 – 25 cm bet. row 30 – 60 cm bet. hill
Chinese Cabbage 20 – 40 cm bet. row 40 – 65 cm bet. hill
Cauliflower 40 – 50 cm bet. row 50 – 75 cm bet. hill
Cabbage 30 – 50 cm bet. row 50 – 75 cm bet. hill
Advantages of plastic mulch.
Sowing Techniques.
Transplanting Seedlings.
Fertilizer Requirements
These leafy vegetables does not need too much fertilizer, especially if your soil have been incorporated with organic manure or vermicompost before planting.
You have to apply drenching technique if you want your leafy vegetables to be of good appearance, healthy and vigorous.
You can apply drenching weekly from planting to harvesting following the recommended dosage:
In every 16 liters water, mix urea with the following dosage;
1) First week – 75 grams urea/16 L water
2) Second week – 150 grams urea/16 L water
3) Third week – 225 grams urea/16 L water
4) Fourth week – 300 grams urea/16 L water
Drenching is done by applying the mixture directly into the base of the plant. Care must be observe not to wet the leaves to avoid leaf burning.
Apply drenching solution late in the afternoon at least 150 ml. solution per hill weekly until harvesting time.
Major Insect Pests and their Control
The natural enemies of this insect pest are the following:
To control Diamond back moth, apply Agremek, Vegetok, Selecron,and Actara. Follow the manufacturers recommendation strictly to get a positive result.
Damage is caused by the larvae devouring the leaves and sometimes boring into the heads of cabbage.
The known predators of cabbage worm are the stink bug, Politest wasps, and the most common and effective parasite is the braconid.
Dusting or spraying with insecticides such as; Actara, Selecron, Malathion, cymbush controls the larvae. Start spraying when you sees some larvae attacking the plants. Repeat at 7 – 10 days intervals until the infestation is checked.
Cabbage looper can be controlled easily because it has so many predators that attacks the larvae and the moth freely. Sometimes mortality is high due to some virus attack to the moth.
It can also be controlled with the use of chemicals in serious cases such as; Actara, Selecron, Malathion, and Cymbush. You should always follow the recommendation stated on the labels for accurate handling of the chemicals.
Some species which feed above ground on any part of the plant are called climbing cutworms.
When a high population is develop and the food supply becomes exhausted, they migrate to other plants the same as the army worms, hence they are called army cutworms.
The natural control for cutworms are the application of some insect parasites such as; Ichneumon wasp, bracoid wasp,, species of Apanteles, the egg parasite of Trichogramma minutum (Riley), chalcid wasp, and the tachina fly.
Some predators includes; ground beetles, birds, and vertebrates enemies of all types of caterpillars.
For chemical control you can use Actara, Selecro, Malathion, and cymbush. You should always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for the safe use of these insecticides.
Infested lower leaves become tinged with yellow, young plants fail to grow and may even wither and die.
Injury results from the maggots feeding on the surface of the roots or tunneling through them.
Recommended control measures are surface applications of heptachlor, aldrin or dieldrin at 0.25 per acre, or chlordane at 1 pound per acre.
You can either used dusts or sprays, and two applications may be necessary, one just as the plants are coming through the ground or immediately after transplanting, and another about 10 days later.
Flea beetles can be controlled by the following insecticides; Azodrin 168 EC, Decis, Seven, and Malathion. Always follow the recommendation set by the manufacturer.
Heavily infested plants appears to be whitish in appearance.
The natural enemies of aphids are, braconids, lady beetles, aphid lions and syrphid fly larvae.
For chemical control, you can used Tamaron, confidor, malathion, and parathion.
Besides rendering edible portions of vegetable crops unsalable, the leaf miner interferes with the normal photosynthesis of the plants.
Chemical control for leaf miner are; Trigard and Lannate. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation in using these insecticides for safety disposition.
Harvesting
Depending on your mode of use either for home consumption or for market you can decide when to harvest giving consideration on your capacity to earn more if you intend to sell them.
To give you the exact time to harvest for market purposes, here is the guide to harvest them for your convenience:
O. K. time is up for this topic. Have a happy day for a nice growing vegetables.
________________________
Cris Ramasasa, Freelance writer, writes on home gardening and Internet marketing tips. You can get a copy of his latest ebook “How to get started in Flower Gardening” and “Vegetable Gardening Made Easy”, and also get lots of tips, Free articles, and bonuses at: www.crisramasasa.com
