How To Preserve Cabbage From The Garden

L.M.Reid is a gardener with lots of experience. This writer has published many gardening articles so you can learn how to grow many plants.

How to grow cabbage from seeds in your garden

L.M.Reid

Growing Cabbage in the Garden

Growing cabbage from seeds is very easy compared to other vegetables. I show you everything you need to know about planting, growing and harvesting cabbage in your garden. I explain the best way to sow the seeds so that they germinate correctly.

You can see how long it takes the seedlings to grow and when they are ready to transplant. There are step-by-step instructions with videos and my own photos so you can learn how to grow this vegetable at home yourself.

Gardening is more enjoyable when you can see your vegetables and fruit grown from seed and develop successfully into edible food.

The main problem with growing cabbage is keeping the plants free from slugs and snails. I have a solution to that so you can grow and harvest cabbage successfully.

When to Plant Cabbage Seeds

There is a wide selection of cabbages available with different planting times.

The first cabbages are the early varieties. The middle of spring is the best time to start planting seeds for these. Here in Ireland that is march when most of the frost has gone.
Sow the seeds in a tray in rows about 5 cm or 2 inches apart.
If you have a plug tray then put two seeds into each.
Leave under cover in case of unexpected frost.
The seeds will take about two weeks to germinate.
Watch them closely and keep watered.
If it is needed you can thin out the plants as they grow bigger.
If you used a plug tray and planted two in each then gently remove the weaker seedling and plant in another tray.
You can sow the seeds straight into the soil but I prefer to use the trays. By doing it this way you have more control of the plants and can transplant the stronger ones into the ground when ready.

How to Plant Cabbage Seedlings

L.M.Reid

When to Transplant the Seedlings

Once the plants are about 7 cm in height or have four to five leaves they are strong enough to be put into your vegetable garden.

Prepare the soil by digging over and raking it so you have a level surface.
Make a trench by removing soil in a line to about 2 inches - 5 cm down.
Water the trench well
Place the cabbage plants in the trench about 12 inches – 30 cm apart.
Cover with the soil and firm down and around the plants.
Water well again

Looking After the Plants

It takes about eight to ten weeks for the cabbage to grow to maturity. They should be watched as they grow to get the best plant possible.

Check on the young plants so they do not dry out.
Weed when necessary so the plants are not strangled
If you get a lot of butterflies in your garden you should protect the leaves
Place four large sticks around the area where your cabbage is growing. Add a netting so that the butterflies can not land on the leaves.

How to grow cabbage from seeds into plants successfully in your garden.

L.M.Reid

How to Protect Plants From Slugs and Snails

They are two ways to do this and both work perfectly well.

Get some empty plastic bottles and cut in two or three depending on the size.
Place the open plastic container over each young cabbage plant.
This will stop anything from reaching the plant in order to eat it.
Once the cabbage has grown to a size where the plastic cover is too small then cut it with a scissors to remove from the plant.
Your cabbage plants and the other vegetables in the soil will still need protecting.
Get either egg shells or sea shells and crush them up.
Scatter them around the base of the plants.
Slugs and snails will not move over the surface as it is too rough for them.

Cabbage I harvested from my Garden

L.M.Reid

When to Harvest

You will be able to see when the cabbage is ready for picking. I only pull up a cabbage when I am ready to eat it. Take a sharp gardening knife and cut along the stem at the bottom of your cabbage. This can be done in the early stages of growth.

The other cabbages can be left to continue to grow. There will come a stage when the remaining cabbages will need to be harvested. Remove all of them from the soil as above. There are many varieties of cabbages you can grow in your vegetable garden. The ones I grew last year were spring cabbages.

They have a long heart and have tender leaves. It depends what part of the world you live in as to which variety of cabbage grows best for the climate and soil. You can plant seeds for the late cabbage varieties in the summer and harvest them in the Autumn.

How to Grow Other Vegetables

Check out my other guides on how to grow:

spring onions and scallions
onions
lettuce in containers
sweet bell peppers
strawberries
peas
carrots in pots
potatoes in bags
rhubarb
tomatoes
cucumbers in pots
Swede turnips
runner beans
goji berry trees

Cabbage Recipes

Cabbages can be boiled for use as a vegetable with dinners. They can also be eaten raw when prepared for a salad in coleslaw

How to Cook Cabbage

Boiling cabbage is quick and easy. It can then be added to any meal as a vegetable to enhance its flavour.

Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and wash under the tap
Cut the cabbage into half if it has a large head
Cut into small pieces and add to some water in a pot
Bring to the boil
Simmer for twenty minutes
Strain the water from the pot
Add a small knob of butter
Replace the lid until you are ready to dish up

Bubble and Squeak Recipe

This is a great way to use up any cabbage that was left over from the meal. I love eating this with a fried egg for lunch the next day. Left over mashed potato and cabbage is a great combination when mixed together.

Instructions

Once the ingredients have gone cold store them on a plate in the fridge
When you want to use them mix them together in equal parts
Pat them into hamburger shape
Heat up the frying pan with a small amount of oil
Place the mixture onto the pan and cook both sides for a few minutes until brown

Bubble and Squeak freezes very well. Then you can cook from frozen whenever you want a quick snack with a fried egg or beans.

How to Make Homemade Coleslaw

Raw cabbage is very nutritious and tastes great. I always make my own coleslaw with cabbage, carrots and scallions. I grow these in my small garden during the year.

Ingredients

Half a cabbage
2 Large carrots
2 medium size scallions | Spring onions
Mayonnaise

Instructions

Wash and cut the cabbage into small pieces.
Peel and cut the carrots into very small pieces.
Wash and cut the scallions.
Mix together in a bowl.
Add some mayonnaise and mix in well.
Leave in the fridge for at least an hour before use.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Questions & Answers

Question: How long does a cabbage take to harvest?

Answer: It will take around seventy days for a cabbage to be ready for harvest.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on January 05, 2018:

Hello Oguyam, yes growing cabbage is very productive and you can use it in many dishes.

OGUYAM Stephen on January 04, 2018:

So nice

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on September 19, 2017:

Hello Amber, the plastic containers are my mother's idea and they work very well. I love Savoy Cabbage too and it is also very easy to grow

AmberJane on September 16, 2017:

I love the idea of the plastic collar - I grow organically in my little garden in Cavan and this year I grew savoy's they were delicious

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on September 11, 2017:

Hello Kathleen

When the cabbage plants are very small then I put a cut up plastic bottle over then. The slugs and snails can not get over the sharp edges.

When they grow bigger I use crushed egg shells

Kathleen on September 03, 2017:

How do you keep your cabbages so slug/ grub free.