I like making stir-fries so I am growing this Baby Napa Cabbage Little Jade (Brassica rapa pekinensis). These mature early, about 60 days from transplanting, so I do not have to wait so long to taste them.
Napa cabbage, also called Chinese cabbage, grows in a barrel shape. The leaves are pale and thin and grow straight up. Napa cabbage has grown in Asian gardens for thousands of years. It is now grown frequently in vegetable gardens in the United State.
Soil Needs
Napa cabbage needs well-drained fertile soil that has a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. The soil should have plenty of organic matter in it to retain moisture. Make sure any compost is fully composted as green manure can contaminate your cabbage with E. coli, Saminalla, and Listeria.
Planting Napa Cabbage
Napa cabbage can be planted by seed or transplants. It takes about two months for this cabbage to mature. Plant about 4-6 weeks before the last frost or 10 weeks before the first frost in the fall. The heads will bolt and put out flower stalks when it gets hot in the spring or summer. Once that happens, the heads do not taste good and are ruined.
Seed
Plant three seeds every 12 inches for dwarf varieties or 18 inches for full-size varieties. Plant the seeds 1/4-1/2 inches deep. Water them in good. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. When the seedlings emerge, thin to one seedling every 12-18 inches. Do not pull the seedlings out of the ground, but use scissors to snip the seedling off at ground level. Pulling the seedling will damage the roots of the one not being thinned.
Transplants
You can purchase transplants of Napa cabbage in some nurseries. You can also start the seeds indoors about a month before the weather is warm enough to start them outdoors. If your start your own seeds, you will need to harden off your plants before putting them outside. Plant dwarf varieties 12 inches apart and full-sized varieties 18 inches apart.
Growing Napa Cabbage
Here are the things you need to know to get a good harvest of firm, crisp, juicy, sweet, and sometimes peppery heads. All vegetables need full sun and this cabbage is no exception.
Water
Napa cabbage needs a lot of water to produce good heads. Water at least one inch of water a week. In hotter climates, you may need to water more often. If you have sandy soil you will have to water more often, too. If water is inadequate, your cabbage will be bitter. The tips of the leaves may turn brown due to a calcium deficiency. If you can’t keep the soil moist, you will be wasting your time growing this vegetable.
Fertilizer
It is best to get a soil test before planting. You can get instructions and the sample bags from your Extension agent. If you get one, it will have fertilizer recommendations on the results. If you do not have a soil test, spread a good 10-20-10 fertilizer on the soil before you plant there. Scratch it in the top three inches of the soil. Make sure you water it in when you water the seeds or transplants the first time. Spread the fertilizer again every four weeks until harvest.
Weeds
Weeds take water, sun, and nutrients away from your plants. Pull weeds when small. They are much easier to get out than when they are big. Be careful not to hoe your cabbage plant’s roots when killing weeds.
Want to learn to garden? My first attempt at gardening ended up in failure. The weeds took over and squeezed the vegetables out. I was very frustrated by this waste of good seed, time, and money. So I became a master gardener and spent a lot of time helping other people avoid or overcome problems in their garden.
In order to help others garden successfully, I have written a book, Vegetable Gardening from the Ground Up, available in an ebook or a paperback from Amazon. It is also in Kindle Unlimited.
