Chinese Cabbage Seeds - Michihili

Start seeds 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost. Sow your seeds ¼ inches deep and 2 inches apart. Place them in a spot where they'll get plenty of sunlight, or set them under grow lamps with temperatures between 60 and 70 °F.

Cabbage will do well with at least two inches of good compost or aged manure turned into the planting bed.

Start your seeds indoors about 4-5 weeks before you want to transplant them to your garden. 

Cabbage, and all of your plants in the Brassica family need to be hardened off before planting in the garden. Set your seedlings outside in a sheltered area for an increasing number of hours each day for about a week. Choose an area at first where they won’t be exposed to harsh wind or direct sunlight. Leave them out for 1-2 hours at a time to start, then gradually work your way up to 7 or 8 hours by the end of the week. This gradual hardening off will allow your baby plants to become acclimated to the cold, and you can plant out earlier in the spring because of it. 

Thin the seedlings so that there is only 1 seedling per cell or pot that you transplant. You can wait until the seeds have germinated, then pick the strongest seedling in each tray.

Once they’re hardened, set your plants so that 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) of the main stem is buried in the soil. Seedlings should have at least 3 or 4 adult leaves before you transplant them.
Arrange your cabbage in rows with plenty of sun exposure. Cabbage needs at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. The more sun your cabbage gets, the larger and faster the heads will grow. Set the seedlings in rows 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) apart.  For fall or winter varieties, leave a minimum of 24 inches (61 cm) between each seedling, if not a little more. 

Cabbages need moist soil, at least an inch a week. Unless you've had frequent rain, water the soil around the cabbages at least once a week. Keep about 2” of mulch around your cabbages to keep the moisture in the soil.

Read more here: https://sowtrueseed.com/blogs/gardening/how-to-grow-cabbage?_pos=2&_sid=d0f5d01f4&_ss=r

Chinese Cabbage, Brassica rapa

Pollination, insect; Life Cycle, biennial; Isolation Distance, ½ mile

While technically a biennial, it's not uncommon for many of the looser headed cabbages to go to seed in a single season in warmer climates. In cold climates keep seed plants stored indoors over the winter and plant in spring as soon as danger of frost has passed. Avoid saving seed from plants that have bolted quickly or are shabby looking. Yellow flowers are produced on stalks up to 1 yard tall followed by green seed pods. When pods turn brown they are ready to harvest, hand picking as they mature is best. Clean, dry and store the same as with all members of the Brassicaceae family.