Guide to Growing Cabbage

• Choose the correct varieties and you can enjoy fresh cabbage throughout the year.
• But, don't grow too many! Around 12 cabbages or so will be more than enough for most families.
• If stored well, the seeds will keep for five years or more.
• Traditional cabbages grow into large specimens, but there are plenty of varieties suited to small space or container growing.

Sowing and Growing

• Start off in modules, sowing three seeds in each module and thinning to the strongest one.
• Pot up into 8 cm (3 inch) and then 12 cm (5 inch) pots before planting out deeply (to just under the seed leaves). Spacing will vary between varieties.
• Add a dusting of lime to the potting compost, to provide the alkaline conditions cabbages prefer.
• Follow the brassica growing advice.

Harvesting

• Cut the head from the stalk and remove any loose outer leaves.
• Compost the stalks and roots (but not if you have club root). Feed the stalks/roots through a chipper or break up with a lump hammer to speed the process.
• With spring and early summer cabbages, leave the stem and a couple of leaves in place and cut a cross into the stem, about a centimetre deep – often the plant will produce four baby cabbages a month or two later.
• Winter drum head cabbages generally store well. Cut off the stem, remove outer leaves and any slugs, and keep cool and dark.

 Pests and problems

• Read coping with club root if this is a problem on your plot.
• Also look at the articles on brassica pests and cabbage root fly for advice.

Varieties

• Minicole is well suited to close spacing and container growing, and has a good flavour.
• Hispi, while slightly larger, is still suitable for pot growing and close spacing. It matures quickly, looks attractive and would be my choice if I had to grow only one variety. It can be grown at most times of the year and has the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
• Pixie is another similar variety, also with the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
• Puma is suitable for growing baby cabbages at close spacing, as well as 1 kg (2.2 lb) high quality heads if you have the room.
• Other varieties to consider include Samantha, Stallion, April, Candisa and Durham Early, all suitable for close growing.

Eating

• Despite suffering a bad press from the image of an over-cooked, soggy mess, cabbage is delicious if properly cooked or eaten raw and grated or finely chopped.
• It contains nearly twice the vitamin C of an apple or orange and four times that of the potato.
• Raw cabbage (tasty shredded into coleslaw and salads) also contains Niacin (vitamin B3), as well as vitamin A, thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), folic acid and vitamin K.
• Cooking cabbage will about halve the vitamin C and niacin content and destroy the other B vitamins, but it is still pretty good for you.

RHS Award of Garden Merit

• Derby Day
• Pyramid
• Tarvoy
• Hispi 
• Celtic 
• Greyhound
• Pixie
• Sparkel
• Tundra
• Chinese Cabbage
• More information on the Award of Garden Merit