You can eat a cabbage every day of the year, from the first sweet, crunchy spring greens arriving just in time to fill the hungry gap, through to crinkly savoys to keep you in hearty stews, soups and roasts through the coldest months of the year. Start now for crisp, flavour-packed summer types, perfect for shredding into picnic coleslaws. Slatey-purple red cabbages are sumptuously beautiful plants in their own right, and make the perfect autumn toewarmer when braised slowly with apples and onions. Wait until next month to sow winter cabbages, though, so they’re just the right size when the cold weather hits. Then it will be time to make a third sowing of spring cabbages, in August and September.
Pick your best spot with a rich, neutral to alkaline soil. Net securely against insects and birds, and you should be enjoying big, beefy brassicas all year round.

  • Leave your seedlings to grow on in their modules until they’re about 10cm tall and with at least five or six leaves. The larger they are, the more able they’ll be to withstand pests and diseases – even nasty ones like clubroot.
  • Raised beds are great for cabbages as they hold nutrients well and you can leave them un-dug – like all brassicas cabbages prefer firm, undisturbed soil. Rake off stones and weeds, then make a straight line for the row.
  • Water well before transplanting, so the roots are pliable and won’t be damaged. Ease the seedling carefully out, though avoid pulling it by the stem as it’s liable to break – squeeze the module gently and tip the plant out.

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  • Lay each seedling along the line to make sure they’re at the right spacing. Allow about 45cm between each – spring cabbages can go closer (10-20cm). Then you can harvest every other one as tender, young greens.

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  • Plant deep, so the lowest leaves are at ground level, and ‘puddle’ the seedlings in, filling the hole with water and letting it drain away before back-filling with soil. Firm in well, so the plant is anchored securely into the ground. 

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  • Label the crops clearly and give them one last soaking. This should set them up nicely and they shouldn’t need further watering unless there’s a prolonged dry spell, particularly if you follow with a mulch to lock in moisture.
  • Cut out a collar for each seedling from cardboard or weed-suppressing fabric, with a slit so you can slip it around the stem. This stops cabbage root flies laying eggs alongside, preventing damage larvae can inflict on roots.
  • Pigeons are as keen to eat your cabbages as you are, so cover the crop with fine-gauge netting. Check regularly to make sure birds haven’t become trapped. Insect-proof mesh is even better, keeping out smaller pests, too.
  • Your cabbages are ready to harvest once they’ve developed a well-filled, firm heart. Pull up the whole plant, or cut the stem just above ground level. Then trim away old, damaged outer leaves to leave a perfect heart.
  • Fresh cabbage keeps for about a week in the fridge. If you have a glut, store large autumn varieties in straw-lined boxes or freeze your surplus – shred the leaves, then blanch before drying and packing into polythene bags.

Organic cabbage seeds for sale http://seedsdollar.com/organic-vegetables/cabbages. Non-GMO seeds.

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