How To Grow Cabbage
2011-02-20 at 12:26 pm pshipley
How To Grow Cabbage
Welcome to our guide on How To Grow Cabbage. Growing cabbage is quite straight forward. Cabbages are grouped dependant on the time they reach maturity which can be Spring, early Summer, Summer, Autumn. They are usually grown as annuals.
Soil For Growing Cabbage
Cabbages require rich, fertile, moisture-retaining and firm soil with a pH no lower than pH6. The site should be open, and rotated to avoid build up of some diseases. High levels of nitrogen are required, and the site should be manured in the previous season.
Sowing And Growing Cabbage
Sow your cultivar according to the right time for its group. Follow your seed provider`s instructions for this. Sow in seedbeds or modules and transfer to their final planting position around 35 days later. Transfer the seedlings by their leaves not the stem and plant so the leaves are just above the surface and keep watered.
As the plants grow keep them stable by earthing them up. Spring cabbages can be protected using cloches or floating mulches through the winter and a nitrogen rich fertiliser top dressed in spring.
Keep an eye out for:-
Cabbage White Caterpillar / Cabbage Moth Caterpillar and Flea Beetle – Holes in leaves.
Cabbage Root Fly – Maggots in stems.
Cabbage Whitefly – Check underside of leaves for white larva.
Club Root – Distorted roots.
Downy Mildew – White fungus on the underside of leaves.
Ringspot – Brown spots on leaves.
Wirestem – Rotting stems on seedlings.
Harvesting and Storing Cabbage
Knowing how to grow cabbage and growing cabbage is one thing but you also need to know how and when to harvest and store your cabbage.
The more modern varieties tend to store far better than older ones and autumn / winter varieties better than spring / summer ones. The plants are usually dug up after the head has been harvested, but with spring varieties, if you cut the head leaving a 10cm stalk and cut the top of the stalk in a cross shape with a knife it will produce a second crop of smaller heads. Some varieties can be stored during winter ny lifting before heavy frosts. Remove outer leaves and store on straw, just above freezing point in relatively high humidity. This will keep them for 4-5 months.
Suggested Cabbage Varieties
Spring – `Dorado`, `Pixie`, `Avoncrest`, or `Durham Elf`.
Early Summer – `Golden Cross`, `Spitfire`, `Wivoy` F1 (savoy), or `Hispi` F1.
Summer – `Castello`, `Derby Day`, or `Minicole` F1.
Autumn -`Rapier` F1, `Autoro` F1, `Quickstep`, or `Babyhead`.
Winter – `Hidena` (storage), `Celtic` F1 (fresh), or Holland Winter White (storage).
Thank you for reading our simple How To Grow Cabbage guide, why not check out all our other vegetable growing guides and articles from the menu on the right side of the page. Good luck growing cabbage!