The big and wild leaves are impressive! Winter greens that are delicious to eat and fun to grow.
Misha: This time it’s Chinese cabbage.
Hachibee: Oh! Chinese cabbage is good! It’s essential for hot pot dishes.
Misha: Chinese cabbage, which is resistant to cold, grows thickly with large green leaves even in the middle of winter, so it’s fun to watch and it gives you energy in the cold winter.
Hachibee: It’s delicious to eat!
Misha: Let’s put aside the topic of eating for now. Chinese cabbage is grown in autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere). Plant in September or October and harvest in February or March of the following year. Some varieties can be harvested from November to December of the same year. Chinese cabbage is a large vegetable, so it’s important to prepare the soil with plenty of fertilizer, water it, and create ridges for good drainage.
Chinese cabbage “almost weekly” cultivation report
9/17 Planting seeds
Hachibee: Is this a Chinese cabbage seed? It is an easy-to-understand ball-shaped seed. Many vegetable seeds have this shape.
9/24 Waiting for germination in the ridges
Misha: When growing Chinese cabbage, it is important to create ridges to improve drainage. Preparing the soil is also important. Mix the fertilizer thoroughly.
10/1 Leaves appear
Hachibee: This also has an easy-to-understand leaf shape! Many vegetable leaves have this shape.
10/8 True leaves appear
Hachibee: The true leaves have already appeared!
Misha: The leaves have a unique embossed pattern.
10/15 True leaves begin to grow
Hachibee: Woooooooo! It grows pretty fast!
10/22 Leaves spread horizontally
Hachibee: It’s starting to feel more and more like a vegetable.
Misha: At the same time, it looks like the insects are finally starting to arrive. Insects are well aware that vegetable leaves are delicious.
10/29 The leaves start to grow bigger
Hachibee: That’s amazing! It suddenly became the size of a fan.
11/5 Thorns form on the leaves
Hachibee: All the leaves have grown a lot, but I noticed some lumps on the surface of the leaves!? Could it be green caterpillar eggs?
Misha: These whelks aren’t insect eggs, they’re Chinese cabbage thorns. Maybe it’s a little rebellion against insects.
11/12 The center of the stock begins to roll
Hachibee: Oh! It’s finally starting to look like Chinese cabbage!
11/19 The leaf balls start to get bigger
Hachibee: The ball of leaves is getting bigger and more wavy.
Misha: Sounds good. However, because caterpillars often hide in the gaps between these leaves, it becomes essential to carry out extermination patrols every day.
11/26 The ball progresses
Hachibee: I can clearly see that it has become a ball.
12/3 The ball grows even more
Hachibee: It’s wild!
Misha: This power is the charm of Chinese cabbage.
12/10 The balls start to come together tightly
Hachibee: Not only the outside of the ball, but also the inside of the ball is probably becoming denser and harder!
12/17 Balls are growing rapidly!
Hachibee: It’s getting really big! It looks like it’s about to start moving!
Misha: You’re full of energy! At this point, it’s time to tie the top of the ball to protect the tips of the leaves from the cold and increase the density inside the ball.
12/24 The Chinese cabbage balls are swollen and the harvest is finally here
Hachibee: Wow! The inside of the ball was so packed that it started to swell! It looks like the pressure inside is high!
Misha: If it’s packed this tightly, it’s time to harvest. This crunchy feeling when you crack it open! Because I tied the top of the Chinese cabbage ball to protect it from the cold, the inside of the ball has a vivid color of fresh yellow and white. Looks delicious, right?
Hachibee: Of course we’re having hotpot tonight! I’ll go ahead and buy meat, mushrooms, and tofu! !
Misha: I’m going to eat Chinese cabbage as sukiyaki! ? Are you really a bee? ?
～Chinese cabbage cultivation points～
Cultivation difficulty：★★☆☆☆
Prepare the soil with sufficient fertilizer and create ridges to improve drainage.
The key is to water it thoroughly every day!
If you put your hands on it, it will grow well.
It’s fun to watch them grow bigger and wilder.
