Cabbage is a versatile vegetable that can be eaten steamed, raw, fermented, pickled and barbecued. It is also an honest vegetable that is high in vitamin C and is said to be able to help heal ulcers and prevent cancer. Something cabbage will also help you with is flatulence, as it has been tagged ‘the windy vegetable’. This quality is largely abated with fermentation.
We have always been in love with cabbage – for all its qualities – but particularly the way it can turn a meal almost meaty. Few people know that the great Australian dim sim is almost entirely filled with cabbage. Like all brassicas, in the veggie patch it’s a constant battle keeping up nutrition for this hungry feeder, while at the same time swatting away hordes of attracted white cabbage moths. In Italian the word for cabbage, cavolo, can be used as a mild swear word, once again demonstrating its versatility.
PLANTING
Propagate the seeds in individual seed cells or pots and then transplant into your patch once the seedlings are 10–15cm tall and soil temperatures have dropped to around 18 degrees. Before transplanting it’s a good idea to ‘harden off’ your seedlings if they have been growing indoors or in a mini-greenhouse.
WATERING
In ground: Water daily for the first 4 weeks and 2–3 times a week in the absence of rainfall thereafter.
In Pots: Water daily for the first 4 weeks, or until the weather becomes consistently cooler, and then cut back to watering every second day.
MAINTENANCE
Transplant the seedlings into the patch. Use netting to deter white cabbage moth. Mulch to a depth of 3–5cm with pea straw or lucerne hay.
As hungry feeders, the cabbage will appreciate monthly feeds with liquid fish emulsion.
After 8 weeks thin out the seedlings to the required spacing.
At 12 weeks apply compost to the patch, but don’t over-fertilise with nitrogen, as this will cause the heads to grow loose, rather than compact.
Harvest around 18–24 weeks by removing the entire plant from the patch. It will not regenerate well, so it’s best to take out roots and all and start replenishing the soil for the next crop. When eating, beware of caterpillars or slugs that may be hiding within the head.
HARVESTING
Time until first harvest: +120 days
How to harvest: Remove the entire plant from the veggie patch and cut off the tap root. Start preparing your soil for the next crop; it’s been tough work for it.
TIP
Net to prevent the moth from laying its larvae – that’s half the battle won. The other half is feeding and satisfying its food needs will help develop tighter, denser cabbage heads.
