vegetable > CABBAGES
IN THIS GUIDE
CABBAGE GUIDES
HarvestingSowingSpring
Cabbages are one of the most cultivated crop and with good rationality – they come in many shapes and sizes and have many culinary the States .
empathize how to produce them is a must for most UK home base growers .
The cultivated cabbage family ( Brassicaceae ) contains many of the most vernacular crop raise in UK gardens – includingbroccoli , cauliflower , borecole , kohlrabi , turnips andradishes .
plant within the cabbage house which have the name ‘ cabbage ’ belong to several different mintage and cultivar groups .
In this template , we will focus on cabbages ofBrassica oleracea – the Capitata and Savoy shekels cultivation chemical group .
Though there are also Chinese loot which areBrassica rapa(Pekinensis Group ) .
Overview
PreferredFull sunlight ; some in lightsome tad
ExposureSheltered or exposed
HeightVaries
SpreadVaries
PreferredAny firm , fertile soil with muckle of constitutional matter
MoistureReasonably moist
pHNeutral to alkaline
These cabbages condescend fromBrassica oleraceavar.oleracea , the wild cabbage , native to coastal southern and western Europe .
The recollective procedure of finish and flora breeding means that there are now a immense range of clams to select from when look for crop to grow in your garden .
While cabbage are most frequentlygrown as annual crops(in rotation in a vegetable garden ) it is worth noting that there are also several perennial cabbage varieties to attempt .
Cabbage Varieties
dough spring up as crop in an annual veg garden are most usefully divided harmonize to the season in which they are harvest .
For aspring crop , render :
For asummer harvest , try :
Forautumn or wintertime harvesting , assay :
I also extremely recommend considering spring up repeated cabbage varieties , such as the unending cabbage and Asturian tree wampum .
These do not form heads , but do provide an abundance of sassy leaves to use in a range of recipes over a issue of years .
How To Grow Cabbages
Summer cabbages are inseminate from late February or former March until early May indoors ( or undercover ) .
wintertime simoleons are ordinarily sown in April or May indoors or outdoors and planted into their last uprise attitude in June or July .
outflow cabbages are ordinarily sow in outdoors in July or August and placed into the spatial relation where they are to overwinter in September or October .
Cabbages can be seed in pot , module or soil blocks , or placed into a well - raked and firmed seed seam where they will germinate and begin to farm for a unretentive while before being moved into their last maturate post .
Seeour detailed guide to seed cabbages from seedfor more information .
Planting Out
shekels flora will be ready to move to their final grow position when they have five or six true leaves .
Summer lolly end up in the garden by May or June .
Winter lucre are transplanted into their grow positions in late June or July .
While leaping clams are embed for overwinter in September or October – often once summertime crop ( normally legumes ) have been removed from the bed .
Annual cabbages should be admit within crop gyration plan , so deciding where to place them should require consideration of other crop you are growing .
It is also a good mind to think about companion planting ( see below ) before invest to the emplacement of your crop .
Crop rotation is important for yearly members of the cabbage industrial plant family , which should not be engraft in the same location the following year .
In traditional harvest rotation scheme , brassicas are preceded by atomic number 7 - fixing leguminous plant ( since they revalue the extra nitrogen go forth behind by these crops in the soil ) and are often followed by potato , though there are a image of unlike options .
Transplanted cabbage seedling or young plants should be planted so that their lowest foliage are at ground degree .
They should be commit into holes .
You should then irrigate them well , filling the gob up completely and allowing it to run out several times before you firm the dirt back in around them .
Spacing is not an exact requirement , and there is for sure some flexibility .
Spacing will depend also on the specific type and multifariousness of lolly you are growing .
As a general ruler of pollex , most cabbages can fit within 1 sq ft in a solid ft garden , and should be planted at between 30 and 45 centimetre apart when grown in rows .
springiness cabbages are typically planted just 10 cm aside , then thinned ( and wipe out ) to give an eventual spatial arrangement of around 30 curium by belated February or March .
Cabbage Plant Care
Cabbages can be comparatively easy crops to grow , as long as you meet their introductory needs .
A veg bottom for growing sugar and a range of other one-year crops should ideally be pose in full sunshine , in a reasonably shelter spot .
Though scratch can make do with some exposure and some type can make do with a little shadiness .
If grow moolah in traditional vegetable garden row , it is usually good to orient these N - south , so the sun pass on all the plants along the words .
However , there are many different garden layouts to consider and you emphatically do not have to grow in rows , though it can help you maximise the use of space .
Cabbages need plenty of moisture in the soil and hatful of nutrients .
The grunge require to be truehearted , but not too press and should also drain jolly freely , while also retaining moisture .
As leafy greens , cabbages have quite mellow nitrogen motive , and also ask other essential nutrients from the soil .
particularly if the soil in your garden is poor and low in nutrients , it is authoritative to top dress the field before planting with plentitude of well - molder manure or a upright timbre compost to check that that the soil is healthy and rich in organic topic .
An acidic soil is not suitable for cabbages and on dirt slightly below the achromatic pH level of 7.0 , steps should be postulate to increase soil alkalinity .
This could be by applying garden unslaked lime , for which it is advisable to fag a masque , or enriching soil with spent mushroom compost .
dinero need , to give a scratchy idea , around 2.5 - 4 cm of water each week – either delivered by you , or through natural hurriedness .
Water cabbages during prolonged dry periods ( ideally with harvested rainwater where potential ) .
endeavor to water deeply every ten days or so ( when growing outside ) rather than water shallowly more frequently .
weewee peculiarly generously when brain lead off to form and this should greatly improve their size .
When dinero heads split , this is usually triggered by sound rain or surplus water which do short after a time period of drought or drier weather .
It can also be because of extra fecundation later in the growing season .
To keep splitting :
Remember , split cabbages will still be okay to consume .
You just involve to make certain that you use them up as shortly as potential because they will not store as well .
Larger - point cabbages take up quite a bit of space and so are not normally the best choice for containers in very limited spaces .
Since you will normally only be capable to match a single plant in each container , it may be better to choose for kale , or another leafy brassica craw that you may glean more , over a much long time period of time .
But humble cabbages can be plant in container , as long as you fill them with a suitable , fertile , unshakable , moist yet moderately free draining medium and stay on top of their watering need .
plant in pots will need more lacrimation than those growing in the soil .
If you wish to move a repeated lucre to a newfangled spot , the best times for transplantation are fountain or fall , when the temperatures and wet level should mean less risk of exposure of transplanting stupor .
Companion Plants
Just as pea and edible bean can be honorable placed in a seam before cabbages for N infantile fixation , so too they can be beneficial when embed alongside them .
Alternatively , you’re able to grow onions or leeks alongside brassicas , which may help in pest control ( but do n’t grow leguminous plant andalliumstogether ) .
Of naturally , cabbages can be get with other member of the same household , though they will partake in the same problems , this can accommodate in well with crop gyration .
beetroot andchard like similar conditionsto cabbages and can also ferment well alongside them .
And intercropping cabbages ( which are slower growing ) with lettuce or other quick leafy crops is another splendid idea .
A wide range of flowers and herb can also be beneficial companions to help in pest control for cabbages and other brassica crop .
Common Pests & Problems
Some of the most common pests to plague cabbages are :
ca-ca sure you pull plenitude of wildlife to your garden can help keep pest numbers down and aid you achieve a lifelike balance in your garden .
But it is often a right idea to make a physical roadblock over your cabbages to prevent excessive damage by netting with a fine meshing .
avoid growing cabbages where this problem has occurred , rotating your crops , improving drainage , and adding lime to more acid territory to repress pH levels is the best way to reduce the chances of this issue resort .
“ I powerfully recommend growing cabbages within a crop rotation plan , because diseases like clubroot , which mainly attack brassicas , can linger in the grime for many years , ” say Master Horticulturist Peter Lickorish .
“ It reduces roots to a crumble mass , starving plant of piss and nutrient . The boastful the interval between growing them in the plot of land , the less likely it is that this and other diseases will mess about .
“ Clubroot can inhabit on the root of associate weeds such asCapsella bursa - pastoris(shepherd ’s purse ) , so keeping vegetable patches well - weeded is authoritative .
“ Otherwise , these could keep the clubroot disease perpetuate in the filth . Also , as they are hungry plants , growing them in the same plot each year would use up your soil . ”
