I love a good cabbage, don’t you? After all, they are one of the most musical vegetables around (think about it).
They are easy to grow and take little maintenance other than keeping the cabbage moths off them early in autumn. I use a derris dust to knock off any caterpillars before the decimate the seedlings.
Once winter arrives, the only other pests are slugs, and they only eat the outer leaves. The head grows large and tight without a scratch or hole.
Here is a nice green cabbage that Kim picked for tonights dinner. It wasn’t massive, but it was firm and ready to eat. They will grow bigger in the next few weeks.
And here is our cabbage patch. Sorry, no dolls hidden in there.
Ben and I fertilize once a fortnight with weed and worm wee tea. It is nitrogen rich, and is just what leafy greens need to grow large. The great thing about planting green and red cabbage is that the green matures first then later on in winter when you run out of green, the red is ready to harvest in time for a nice coleslaw salad in spring.
As they get larger, we will be making some sauerkraut this year so it will be ready for the summer. Kim is not sure if she likes it, but I am going to give it a go anyway. Great for barbeques when the weather heats up.
Anyway, who else has a bounty of cabbages growing in their garden? What do you feed them?
Me, Me, Me, at last i can say i have something. Im very good at growing cabbages. I thought it was my skill but now you are telling me anyone can do it. Oh well. I have several at the moment, just like yours pictured. All the broccoli went to seed with the warm weather. Im going home (NSW) on the weekend so will be sure to take a couple home with me to show how us city slickers can grow food.
Didn’t mean to burst your cabbage bubble Lynda. Sorry mate.
Glad I didn’t grow broccoli this year. This month has just been too warm, which is funny for the middle of winter! I wonder what the cause of that could be?
Gav x
Using derris dust isn’t exactly organic is it?
It certainly is organic. Wiki states. Rotenone is an odourless, colourless, crystalline ketonic chemical compound used as a broad-spectrum insecticide, piscicide, and pesticide. It occurs naturally in the seeds and stems of several plants, such as the jicama vine plant; and the roots of several members of Fabaceae.
Hey Gavin, even though it may occur naturally in several plants, that doesn’t make it a safe or harmless product. If you check the EIQ (Environmental Impact Quotients) of rotenon, you will find that it has a score of 29.43, which is higher than some of its synthetic counterparts… Check the safety charts for this product. I wouldn’t use it when there are other ways (mechanical barriers) which are as effective or even more effective, and don’t harm the environment.
Hey Anon. Advice taken inboard. Cheers
With the green Cabbage Moth it is pretty easy to just check the plants individually and squash them. Eventually with daily checks you get rid od them. In the past we have found that sufficient. However this season we got a bad infestation of stripped web weaving caterpillars which we could not shift despite twice daily hunts. I spoke to some BD farmers and found that they use Dipel. Using a bacteria sounded OK and one application solved the problem. The stripped ones have not come back but occasionally the green ones crop up. We still clean up the little green buggers by hand. Best not to overdo a good thing. It rates well on the EIQ list as well.
There’s only one problem with removing them by hand. During winter most of us suburban gardeners are leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark and gingerly creeping out on a saturday morning to survey the weekly damage. We are just not home to pick the little blighters off so must rely on whatever organic method we can and im with Gav and use dust.
I was thinking about growing some cabbages, but I didn’t want to be the only one eating them. Lo and behold, our eldest brought two organicly-grown Greyhound cabbages home from one of the awesome gardeners at her school and both girls now love it.
Hi Gavin. Thanks for writing about cabbages. I do like cabbage but I have been put off trying to grow them on my allotment due to the dreaded white moth and the caterpillars which can decimate a cabbage crop. Just taking one look at your beautiful cabbage head has given me the courage to give it a go. I’ll just have to check if it’s too late in the season for me to plant them in Brisbane.
On another note, I’d love to read your post about making sauerkraut when you get round to it. I bought a lovely big cabbage this week from a local farm and I’m going to make some kraut in my crock i bought it from Green Living Australia and it’s a beauty. I’m still an amateur when it comes to fermenting but I’m really interested in fermenting as a way of preserving food and providing us with pro-biotics.
Cabbage as a musical instrument? Mmmmm. Let me think!
Has Kim tried homemade sauerkraut? If not, I’ll bring some around. 🙂 I’ve not managed to grow them as yet but I have made the kraut at least.
As for its musicality, if that’s a problem, add caraway seeds to your sauerkraut as they assist in reducing the symphonies. My MIL is German. 🙂
As for a dust replacement, I wonder whether diatomaceous earth would work? It’s natural as far as I know and harmless. It’s made from teeny tiny crushed up fossils I believe and dessicates any insects it comes into contact with. Not sure if it would be the right thing but reckon it might work. 🙂