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One of the staples of summertime cookouts is the side dish of fresh, crisp coleslaw to accompany your chicken or ribs. It tastes even better when the cabbage is picked fresh from your own garden. Cabbage is a hardy vegetable that will grow easily in most locations in the continental United States. When to plant cabbage depends on what types you’ll be planting and your local growing conditions. Most varieties do best when planted in the spring or late summer.
Cabbages are cool weather vegetables with a growing period of 70-110 days. They can handle temperatures down to the mid 20s. The plants will thrive and produce in temperatures ranging from 25 to 80 degrees. You’ll need 60 to 90 days with the weather below 80 degrees for the cabbage heads to properly form. If the temperatures get too hot or too cold before then, the plants will bolt (form small seedstalks as opposed to full cabbage heads). You’ll need to know the local weather conditions to determine when to plant cabbage in your area.
Here’s an example of how to plan when to plant cabbage to ensure a harvest for your Fourth of July picnic. You want the crop to be ready to harvest the first week of July. You select a cabbage variety that has a ninety day growth cycle. Counting backwards, from July, you determine that you need to plant your cabbage the first week of April. You check the local weather channel and determine that the average temperatures in your area for the first week of April are highs in the mid-40s and lows in the lower 30s. You’re all set! The first week of April is when you’ll set your cabbage plants.
The same general method applies for deciding when to plant cabbage to reap a fall crop. You want to set your plants after the high heat of summer has passed. You should plant in late summer for a fall harvest. Since cabbages are tolerant of cool weather, an unusually cold night (say – in the high teens) may damage some of the outer leaves but won’t ruin the crop. You can also protect against unseasonably early cold snaps by using plastic garden sheeting or cold frames to protect your plants.
Cabbages are an easy crop to plant in your backyard garden. Since they need cooler weather to form heads, you’ll need to plant in early spring or late summer. Or, plant cabbages at both times, and enjoy a double crop. You’ll have fresh coleslaw in the summer and cabbage for hearty soups and stews in the fall.
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about When to Plant Cabbage and gardening articles at GreenThumbArticles.com!
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