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chickencoupe1

Happy Cabbage

12 years ago

This is my cabbage. It's growing in unamended soil. I double dug to remove bermuda grass and roots. Otherwise, it's just ordinary clay. I'm blessed with great soil! I have never had the honour of watching cabbage grow. I am stunned by its unique beauty. The leaves are persistent and strong.

The moisture and drop in temperature might allow it to head up?

Comments (13)

  • 12 years ago

    Looks like it's starting to head now. I have some that aren't too far ahead of this one. Show us another pic when it heads and a pic of the harvested head.

  • 12 years ago

    Bon, it looks very nice. We picked our first head of cabbage yesterday. Our cabbage seems to have more insect damage than yours.

  • 12 years ago

    It should head up just fine. I've had cabbage head up even in mid-June some years. It does not seem to bolt nearly as readily as broccoli does.

  • 12 years ago

    That is beautiful!

  • 12 years ago

    I'll be happy to provide an update. I'm a proud newbie. ha!

    It's new ground. Larry, the bugs haven't figured it out, yet. I'm sure it won't be the same next year. LOL I'll enjoy it while I can!

    I really didn't count on getting any cabbage since it's so late in the season. I guess mother nature had other plans.

    Ya'll I am SO in love with gardening now. Even Bill cannot resist taking a stroll through what little is there. This morning as I was weeding my son came outside because his sister was crying, being dramatic and driving him up the wall. "It's peaceful out here. I can forget about her whining." he noted.

    yeahhhhhh but when I asked him to help me weed..... he took off. LOL

  • 12 years ago

    Army worms got it.

  • 12 years ago

    Really? Do you mean they cut it off at the ground or they started eating the center of the head? That's just terrible.

    Remember we can grow cabbage again in the fall here, and usually there is a lot less pest pressure in the fall.

  • 12 years ago

    They're in the center of the head. And what a nasty mess!!! And, you know, I DO have the spinosad, but like everything I must use very sparingly because it's hard to replace things that require money. I'll put some down later at the height of their frenzy. Nonetheless, I know they're there and can watch more closely and when they start on the next which will probably be, at least, 20 head I can put down the spinosad or choose to do nightly inspections. It took them a while to find it! I'll avoid a monoculture as much as possible and scatter the plantings. I've noticed things, like the garbanzos, prefer to "help" each other but the cabbage and brassies are cool with doing solo.

    Nothing goes to waste here, tho. I can cut and chop and feed it, over time, to the bunnies as a treat. Then, there's always the compost pile! I love this set up. I just adore it. Everything becomes energy to something! Of course, there's always cole slaw if I'm inclined to nit pit the head.

    I'm planning on a big fall garden now that the soil is being prepped. I have a massive compost pile since I got a bale of hay.

    sorry, I get excited. lol

  • 12 years ago

    It's holy. LOL

  • 12 years ago

    Bon, mine were like that also. Its hard to grow a pretty plant without something to protect it, insects love them just as much as we do.

  • 12 years ago

    Thanks Larry!

  • 12 years ago

    I agree with Larry, but often if you peel off a few of the outer leaves, you find perfectly nice, hole-free and damage-free leaves down inside the cabbage head.

    To avoid this next year (because it will be a problem every single year), either grow under a row cover or spray the plants regularly with Bt 'kurstaki' (in products like Thuricide). Even if you remain devoted to hand-picking and destroying all the caterpillars, at some point you'll miss a few and they'll make a big mess of the cabbage.

    I always plant a lot more than we need so that I then can spare a few if the bugs get them. And, if the bugs don't get them, we have a bumper harvest and I'm making sauerkraut or freezer slaw to use up all the cabbage.

    I had more holes on the broccoli leaves than on the cabbage this year. I don't know why they didn't hit both of them equally. Some years are just that way.

    Dawn

  • 12 years ago

    Thanks Dawn. It's still sitting on the counter waiting for me to cut into it. I was wondering about the inside. I could make some coleslaw. I'm gonna take your suggestion on BT because it's cabbage rolls that I really need.