Count on Cabbage

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I grow cabbage for its many edible uses and because it’s simple to grow. The biggest trick is knowing when to grow it. In most parts of the United States, cabbage can be grown in either spring or autumn. I prefer mine as a fall and storage crop because I crave other greens in the spring. In the South and Southwest, cabbage is a winter crop. The reason for these regional differences is that cabbage heads form best in cool temperatures. Check the new regional What to Plant Now pages for advice specific to your region.

After you know what types you want to grow and when you want to grow them, you’ll want to turn your attention to providing the optimal conditions for your plants. Cabbage can be grown in 1 square foot of space, but I plant mine 18 inches apart. Like one of Cato’s soldiers at a Roman orgy, cabbage is a heavy feeder and drinker, and it’s best to give it plenty of space. The best way to satisfy its nutrient and moisture needs is to plant it in soil enriched with organic compost and topped with a layer of straw mulch for weed control. Cabbage plants send out shallow roots that can be easily damaged through cultivation close to the plant’s stem.

Choose a spot in full sun where cabbage family members (kale, broccoli, collards and cauliflower) were not grown the year before. If your garden is big enough to use a three-year rotation, that’s even better, as some cabbage diseases can persist in the soil for more than a year.

If they’re in the right place, cabbage plants don’t require much pampering aside from steady watering until head formation. Take care to water regularly: Cabbage heads are prone to split if they receive too much water after a dry spell. If they split, they won’t keep as well in storage.

Beat the Bugs; Keep the Crop

Some insect pests are likely to show up. Cabbageworms have huge appetites and can do the most damage. If your plants’ leaves have large, ragged holes in them, it means the cabbage loopers, as they’re also called, have arrived.

My preferred cabbageworm control method is called Maxim and Sebastian (my two youngest sons, ages 9 and 11), who have trained their eyes to spot and remove loopers when they’re still small, which is no small feat. Cabbageworms are, along with tomato hornworms, some of the garden’s most impressive camouflage experts with their soft, green bodies disappearing into the leafy green backgrounds, often hanging out on the undersides of leaves. If you are growing less than a dozen plants, handpicking these pests works fine. For larger crops, you will want to consider investing in an organic, Bt-based insecticide. Bt, short for bacillus thuringiensis, is a natural bacterium that gives loopers a terminal tummy ache no amount of cabbage can cure. Or try the tip Mother Earth News is inviting readers to test this summer: Spread coffee grounds and crushed eggshells around the plants to repel slugs and the moths that lay the eggs that turn into cabbage-munching worms.

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