It might sound early to put out spring Cabbage and you would be right in thinking so, however now is the perfect time to sow the seeds. The benefits of sowing your own seed is the sheer variety to choose from whereas when you buy plugs (small pre-grown plants) you can often be limited to whichever the particular garden shop has chosen to stock. It is also way cheaper to sow your own as seeds are a lot better value.
Here are some of the varieties to choose from and a little about their strengths;
Caraflex F1- This is a fabulous tasting cabbage, not necessarily grown for size but definitely grown for taste and tenderness.
Famosa F1- An extremely fast growing Savoy type cabbage. This cabbage from sow to harvest will only take 70-80 days to fully mature.
Filderkraut Organic- This is a tender sweet pointed cabbage whose sweet taste makes perfect coleslaw.
Chinese Cabbage 'Napa Granet' - This is a quick growing sweet little cabbage that can be eaten raw in salads, it has a crisp texture and sweet taste. It's actually the main one to use if preparing Kimchi but can also be used in coleslaws.
There are plenty more to choose from when buying seeds so have a look and see if any catch your eye, just be mindful to buy from Irish stockists as not all global varieties will tolerate our climate.
Once you have chosen your seeds, simply get a seed tray such as the Grow It Seed and Cutting Tray, fill with soil and put 2-3 seeds in each pot. Leave in a sunny warm spot and water enough to keep them damp but not overly wet. Once they have sprouted you can pluck out any crowded pots and transplant them to their own pot.
Start hardening them off when they get to a couple of inches tall by placing the tray outside during the day and bringing it in at night for a week or so.
You can now move them to their place in the garden, placing them in well drained, well fertilised soil. Westland Organic Chicken Manure pellets is ideal for this task, simply dig it in the day before you are due to plant out. It should be a sunny spot however some varieties will tolerate a little bit of shade. Plant approximately 45-50cm away from each other.
Pests.
The main pest to watch out for with cabbages is the dreaded Cabbage White Butterfly, it's the little black and yellow caterpillar young of the cabbage white that does the damage. They will happily munch through your cabbage hearts like no tomorrow if you don't take precautions.
Netting is an option. Use horticultural mesh such as Grow It Protective Fruit and Crop Netting. Just loosely lay it over the plants and secure with a peg on either end.
If The Butterflies have already laid their eggs you may have to resort to using sprays such as Grazers Cabbage White, Caterpillar and Aphid. This is a great spray as it does not harm other wildlife and is perfectly safe to use on edible crops.
So get sowing and hopefully you will have your own Savoy cabbage with the ham come a few months time! :)
