Cabbages

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Boy, am I glad I got though to BTS! I actually have a question!! My cabbages are getting HUGE! I've never grown cabbage before. Should I harvest now (I'm in zone 5) or wait til frost as with other cole crops? Thanks for your help.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001

Answers

You can harvest them anytime, they are a bit more tender if you harvest them small, but they are still good HUGE too!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001

You might want to harvest some now and save some for later. If you have the time now and are going to do, say, sauerkraut, then go ahead. If you want some for later, long as the bugs and bunnies leave it alone, you can do another harvest later on. Of course, if you pull them now, you have room for a late crop of something in that spot, or can get a good jump on a cover crop to till under.

I'm a tad envious. I thought cabbage would be a cinch, but the heads didn't amount to much -- the leaf types are enormous however. I'm wondering what to do with them (they're decorative types, but in my experience all that means is they look pretty AND you can eat them too) and I'm thinking about cabbage rolls...(or more correctly, cabbage casserole. I make it the same, but I chop up the cabbage and layer it in a pan with the meat/rice and sauce and bake it. Easy to serve, less prep time) Anyone have opinions if this very dark green leaf type cabbage would make good sauerkraut?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001


Julie...cabbage casserole sounds delicious. Is the sauce like a tomato sauce?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001

I have used all different kinds of cabbage for Kraut and had it turn out o.k. I think you had better post your recipe julie. I am harvesting now, some and watching for signs of damage and then when I see I might have a problem will put mine into sour kraut, and freezer coleslaw. I plant an early and late and the late is not forming heads yet much at all.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2001

I read that when you harvest cabbage, if you cut the head off the root without disturbing the root, then cut across the cut end of the root twice, kind of making an "X", the cabbage will regrow 4 smaller heads, one from each cut section. I haven't done cabbage yet myself, so I can't verify this from personal experience.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001


OOh! What a NEAT experiment! The Thing With Four Heads!!!

Another harvesting tip I read in a book was to pull the cabbage root and all for storage and hang it upside down by the root in the root cellar. After you cut the head off the root/stalk for use, they said that if you replant the root part into a dish of gravel with water and set it in a sunny windowsill during the winter that it will grow a crop of tender little cabbage greens from the bud at each leaf scar. You can harvest these off for fresh winter greens and cooking.

Anyone who tries Laura's Science Experiment, report back to us with the results!

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001


I have never cut exactly like Laura suggested, but my early cabbage is always left in (the roots) and it grows those little heads back.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001

I had an ornamental cabbage in a pot a number of years back, and later in the fall, something (rabbit probably) came along and chewed the stem in two. To protect it from further ravages, I brought it inside. I keep the roots and stem watered, but it died anyway. However, I did pot up the head (and stem) section, and that survived quite awhile, first being ornamental then elongating and going to seed.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001

I'm gonna try Laura's Science Experiment, so I'll let you all know what grows out from the stems!! Thanks for all the suggestions.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 2001

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