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Cabbages aren't all that difficult to grow. They just take a little patience and time. A lot of time, in fact, if you grow them from seed. 90 to 125 days for early varieties, 125 to 150 days for the late comers. That's why most gardeners prefer to purchase a few young plants from a nursery. Later on, after you've been into gardening a while, you may want to start seed inside and grow your own transplants. In the beginning though, pick up a few down at the seed store.
Because the cabbage is suitable to most temperate climates and soils and require minimal attention, they are one of the easiest crops to grow. I find starting with cabbage seedlings is easier for me than starting from seeds. I also plant double of what I want because our local bunnies usually get some.
The plants should be 14 to 18 inches apart in rows two and a half to three feet wide. Keep in mind that those heads are going to be pretty heavy when full grown; you'll want to set the plants a little deeper and firmer than most vegetables.
Dig a large hole to accommodate the plant. Place soil around the roots, filling the hole about halfway. Now fill the hole with water, let the water settle, then finish filling with soil.
If you do sow from seed, then plan a succession of sowings from mid spring until early summer for a long period of harvesting. Perhaps starting seed in flats may be the best thing for you if you have a little green house or make a flat bed then here in zone 6 we can start the seed about the end of February.
The ideal site for cabbages is any well drained ground, but they prefer a medium to light soil that will retain a reasonable amount of water.
Prepare the ground with manure, several months before sowing. If the ground has not been treated with manure, apply a general fertilizer before sowing.
Cabbages sown in spring do not require a great deal of care, but do not allow them to dry out as this will impair their growth. Water your cabbages liberally during hot and dry weather. Hoe around the plants during the growing period to control the weeds and aerate the soil which will also deter insect pests from laying their eggs. A layer of garden compost around (but not touching) the plants will conserve water, prevent weeds and deter those pesky insects
Where you have no garden compost, covering the surrounding soil with a weed control fabric will do exactly the same job and will last for many years.
Cabbages are greedy feeders and require plenty of fertilizer during the growing period. As the plants mature, some of the leaves may turn yellow. Break off these discolored leaves as soon as they appear.
They'll bolt (go to seed) or crack open in the hot summer months. So time your plantings to mature before or after hot weather.
Cabbages are ready for harvesting when the hearts are firm. Lift the entire plant with a fork and cut the roots off at a later stage, or, cut the stem just above the base of the lower leaves, and discard the outer leaves which are too coarse for eating. Mature cabbages with a good firm heart, and in good condition, can be stored in a cool, airy frost proof shed for several weeks. Place the cabbages on a rack made of wood or chicken wire, do not stack them on the ground. Once the cabbages have been cut and stored, the crop has now finished and the ground can be cleared.
Cabbage is from a group of plants known as the cole crops. The word "cole" derives from the Middle English word "col Cabbage is from a group of plants known as the cole crops. The word "cole" derives from the Middle English word "col". The Romans called these crops "caulis", and the Greeks called them "kaulion". All these words mean "stem". This group of plants includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collards, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts. Wild cole crops are found growing along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe. Cabbages and kale presumably originated in Western Europe; cauliflower and broccoli in the Mediterranean region. Cabbages and kale were the first of the cole crops to be domesticated, probably about 2,000 years ago. Before these crops were domesticated they were collected from the wild and used primarily as medicinal herbs. The other forms of the cole crops were domesticated at later dates, and Brussels sprouts are the most recent crop, having come into existence less than 500 years ago.
The cabbage head was bred into the species from the leafy wild plant, found in the Mediterranean region around 100 CE. The English name derives from the French caboche (head). Varieties include Red cabbage and Savoy cabbage. Chinese cabbage, while resembling cabbage, is an independent development from a different Brassica species.
Cabbage has been used as a food crop for more than 3,000 years. However, in the early time of its cultivation it was probably utilized more for medicinal purposes. Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations considered cabbage a general panacea capable of treating a wide array of health conditions. We can trace cabbage back to northwestern Europe, in particular, from the coastal region of western France to Holland and including the southern coast of England.
The Romans or Celts may have introduced cabbage from the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea. Fermented cabbage in the form of sauerkraut was considered an essential in the medieval diet. Some historians believe that fermented cabbage was brought to Europe by the Tartars and developed into sauerkraut by the Celts who were cultivating the headed cabbages by around 200 B.C.
The head variety was developed during the middle Ages by northern European farmers. It was French navigator Jacques Cartier who brought cabbage to the Americas in 1536. Other related cabbage cousins include Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, and cauliflower. Taking only three months growing time, one acre of cabbage will yield more edible vegetables than any other plant. The world's largest cabbage is credited to William Collingwood of County Durham, England, whose prized cabbage in 1865 weighed in at 123 pounds.
Greeks and Romans placed great importance on the healing powers of cabbage, thinking the vegetable could cure just about any illness. Roman mythology holds that cabbages sprung from the tears of Lycurgus, King of the Edonians. Emperor Claudius called upon his Senate to vote on whether any dish could surpass corned beef and cabbage. (The Senate voted a resounding nay!) Egyptian pharaohs would eat large quantities of cabbage before a night of drinking, thinking the consumption would allow them to drink more alcoholic beverages without feeling the effects. Perhaps this is why many consider cabbage with vinegar as a good hangover remedy.
Captain Cook swore by the medicinal value of sauerkraut (cabbage preserved in brine) back in 1769. His ship doctor used it for compresses on soldiers who were wounded during a severe storm, saving them from gangrene. Do any of you remember being told by your mother as a child that “babies come from cabbage patches”? Or that the Man on the Moon who was banished to his remote abode on the moon after being caught stealing a cabbage from his neighbor on Christmas Eve?
It was the Dutch who utilized its high content of vitamin C to prevent scurvy; Dutch sailors stored and consumed fermented cabbage on long voyages. Throughout the harsh winters from the 14th to the 19th centuries, the peasants of Russia sustained themselves on soup made from fermented cabbage; it is still a staple in the Russian diet today. Early German settlers brought Sauerkraut to the United States by (hence the old nickname "kraut" for a person of German descent).
The name coleslaw—a salad dish made with shredded cabbage—may have come from the Dutch whose word for cabbage is kool, and for salad, is sla.
Cabbages are commonly used both cooked and as a salad vegetable. They keep well and were thus a common winter vegetable before refrigeration and long-distance shipping of produce. Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage often used as a condiment or side dish.
Cabbage, as you can see in the table below, has very high vitamin C content. Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant that helps cells protects themselves from harmful free radicals. Cabbage also contains a good amount of fiber, which can help lower cholesterol; the red cabbages having more fiber than the green. In its raw form, cabbage also contains iron, calcium, and potassium. Lengthy cooking tends to lower the nutritional value considerably, hence the incredible nutrients available in fermented cabbage.
Cabbage is also associated with a lower risk of cancer of the lung, stomach and colon.
A recent study published by the journal Cancer Research confirmed that women who eat more vegetables from the Brassica family have a much lower risk of breast cancer. In China, where Chinese cabbage is consumed daily, women's urinary levels of isothiocyanates (a beneficial compound found in Brassica vegetables) are very high. The women in this study with the highest urinary isothiocyanates had a 45% lower risk of developing breast cancer compared with the women with the lowest levels of isothiocyanates.
If you have peptic ulcers then raw cabbage juice may be just the thing you need. In one study, the patients received close to one quart of fresh cabbage juice over the course of the day, for ten days, and the average time for healing occurred within the ten days. It is likely that the high content of glutamine (an amino acid that is used as a fuel by cells in the stomach and small intestine) in cabbage juice helps the stomach lining repair itself.
Cabbage is an amazing and versatile vegetable. It does not only good taste, but it has many medicinal properties as well, from boosting our immune system to helping us heal from ulcers.
Cabbage is classified as Brassica oleracea (Capitata Group). Other variations of this same plant (genus Brassica and species oleracea) are kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Three open-pollinated heirloom varieties of cabbage such as Early Jersey Wakefield, January King, and Red Drumhead are a good example of easy cabbages to grow.
Early Jersey Wakefield has a two–four pound head that is cone shaped, which makes it particularly suited for small gardens. Originally introduced from England, it was perfected in the 1860s by Peter Henderson, a German truck gardener in New Jersey. This crisp, early maturing variety is resistant to cabbage yellows disease.
January King has a four–six pound head and is a venerable late-Victorian English variety that tolerates extreme cold yet also grows well in the summer months. Dense, green, round to slightly flattened heads have attractive, semi-savored, purple-tinged wrapper leaves.
Red Drumhead is a hardy variety from the 1860s with three–five pound heads. It stores well and is remarkably sweet. While tasty raw, it is renowned for cooking and pickling, holding its flavor and deep purplish red color. It also adapts well to heat and has extremely firm heads.
These varieties may be very similar to the ones used long ago by the Celts or the Tartars on the steppes of Russia.
I love fried cabbage. Cut the cabbage fine, salt and pepper to taste, I dice a Granny Smith apple and add it to the cabbage, stirring until juicy, then put into a hot frying pan into which I have added some olive oil. I stir often to prevent browning, and when done add some caraway seeds. Add no water into the cabbage as it destroys the sweetness.
I also love cabbage rolls. Today’s cabbages in the store have all the big open leaves taken off them. That is why one should grow their own cabbages as one can get those lovely large outer leaves to make cabbage rolls.
In Poland Cabbage Rolls are called Golabki
Here is what you need to make them.
1 head cabbage
1 lb. ground beef
16 oz can tomato sauce
8 oz can tomatoes
2 cups cooked rice
2 eggs
1 onion finely chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove the core from the cabbage. Put the cabbage in boiling water and remove the leaves as they soften. Sauté the onions in the olive oil for a short time. In a bowl add the onions, meat, rice, eggs and salt and pepper, mix this well.
Place about 2 Tbsp. of the meat mixture in the center of a cabbage leaf and roll. You may want to skewer each roll with a toothpick. Put the meat rolls in a large pot and pour the tomato sauce onto the rolls. Then squeeze tomatoes from can and arrange on top of the rolls. Simmer over low heat for 2 hours.
There are tons of cabbage and cole slaw recipes. Everyone has their own favorite. The two above are my favorites.
This spring start some cabbage seeds or pick up some cabbage plants from your local nursery or farmer’s market.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll
For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.
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