Share
Cabbage is a resilient, flavourful, and adaptable member of the Brassica family. They take four to six months to develop and can be sown outside or inside. It is fun to know that cabbages can be grown all year round and are categorised according to the different seasons they can be harvested. While all varieties are farmed in the same manner, the timing of sowing and harvesting varies.
Cabbage, like most brassicas, is susceptible to various pests and illnesses. Additionally, each year, they ought to be clothed in a fresh location to prevent difficulties from accumulating. Rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fibre, cabbage is a crop that is both productive and nutritious. They can be eaten raw or cooked, sautéed, mildly steamed, added to stir-fries, stews, and soups, or converted into coleslaw or sauerkraut. Continue reading!
How To Plant Seeds Of Cabbage?
- Before being sown, cabbage seeds don't need to be treated (soaked, stratified, etc.).
- Cabbage seeds can be planted directly in the garden, or seedlings can be cultivated in trays or other containers and moved to the garden once established.
Sow Direct
- Sow seeds directly in the garden. Never let your soil dry out.
- Seeds should germinate in roughly 3–7 days at a soil temperature of 8–30 °C. Also, protect your seedlings from pests and monitor them.
Grow Seedlings
- You can grow seedlings in an artificial environment with trays, punnets, or jiffy pots.
- Sow seeds 5 mm deep.
- Maintain a damp but never dry soil.
- Seeds should germinate in roughly 3–7 days at a soil temperature of 8–30 °C.
- When seedlings (typically 5–10 cm tall) grow their first true leaves and are big enough to handle, transplant them into the garden.
- Plant out, leaving rows 40–60 cm apart and plants 25–60 cm apart.
- You need to be extremely wary of the temperatures. Cabbage is a crop for the chilly season, but it bolts in extremely hot temperatures.
Plants
After growing plants from seedlings, take care of these things. The plants with three to four true leaves should have their seeds trimmed to the final stand at a depth of ¼ to ½ inch. Removing plants during thinning allows you to shift them to nearby locations. The use of transplants enables an earlier harvest. Cabbage should have four to six healthy leaves. Transplants often take 6-7 weeks to reach this size.
Diseases And Pests Of Cabbage
Aphids, slugs or snails, and caterpillars, which include the appropriately named cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, and cabbage moths, are the most frequent pests associated with cabbage. Beyond insects, other garden visitors like birds, rats, deer, rabbits, and others may be drawn to cabbage, especially the sensitive young plants.
Check plants frequently to identify problems early!It is simple to find a few cabbage worm eggs and crush them by hand or to use a strong stream of water to force aphids off leaves. Use physical barriers like hoops and insect netting, natural spray for cabbage worms, or homemade soap spray for aphids to keep persistent pests away from your cabbages.
Many bacterial or fungal infections, such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, black rot, bacterial soft rot, and others, are common diseases of cabbage. It is advisable to water cabbage at the base of the plant and to stay as far away from splashing the leaves as possible because many of these diseases are correlated with moist foliage. Disease prevention techniques can also include good plant spacing and soil health practices.
Harvesting Cabbage
When cabbage is ready to be harvested, you can tell by feeling it. While young cabbage heads feel loose and leafy, adult cabbage heads feel solid and tight. Depending on the cultivar, mature cabbage can vary widely in size. While some cabbage heads are around the size of a softball, others are at least the size of a basketball!
After they reach a harvestable size, you can definitely keep them out in the garden for a while if the variety is reputed to have strong 'field storage' qualities. A few months have passed since some of ours headed up without any problems!
