Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by Real Men Sow
How To Plant Spring Cabbage Plants
Spring Cabbage Plants are sown in late summer. They undergo a growth spurt when the weather warms up in spring. They have an excellent germination rate in warm summer soil. If you start to see 4 to 6 leaves, it’s best to transplant them into a bed of their own. Tamp down the soil of where you’re planning to plant them to make the soil firm, which is best for spring cabbages. Rake the soil lightly before transplanting your spring cabbages. They should be 30cm apart and planted up to the level of their lowest leaves.
Low-Maintenance Overwintering Cabbages
Spring cabbages make a great low-maintenance overwintering crop. They’re pretty cold tolerant, only needing draped with horticultural fleece if the weather dips to really frigid levels – below about -10ºC (14ºF).
Spring Cabbages are cold tolerant but need horticultural fleece draped on them when the temperature is below -10ºC. You should net your cabbages to stop pests and hungry birds from ruining their leaves. The nets and frames should withstand the weight of heavy birds.
They should be watered until they’re established. Hoe around them when it’s necessary and don’t forget that once it’s early spring, they need to be fed with organic fertilizer. It can be homemade or bagged compost, chicken manure pellets, or anything similar will give them the energy to grow more. Harvesting them should be in the time of mid-spring onwards.
How to Harvest Spring Cabbage Plants?
The great thing about spring cabbages is their versatility. They can be picked young and loose-leaved as spring greens, left for longer to produce dense heads – or both!
Spring Cabbages can be harvested young and loose-leaved or left longer to become dense-headed. You can harvest half your crop as spring greens and the other half would grow into the space that was free from you harvesting the half as spring greens. Those that are left longer will develop sweet and crisp heads.
How to Get the Earliest Spring Cabbage?
To get the earliest harvest, pull up half your crop as spring greens while the leaves are still loose and tender. Leave every alternate cabbage to swell and grow into the space your spring greens have vacated. They’ll develop sweet, crisp heads. If your soil is rich enough, you can double-crop by cutting above the lowest set of leaves. You’ll be able to get mini cabbages from them
