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Tropical Garden Grow Guide

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Cabbage

by Mary Loan

Description: A round headed leafy cruciferous vegetable.  There are white, green and purple varieties and several variations of cabbage.  This grow guide will feature the three common varieties,

How to grow: Cabbage seeds may be started in potting soil or planted directly where they will be grown, Look for heat resistant varieties.  Seeds will germinate in 6-10 days, plant seedlings at least two feet apart when secondary leaves form; allow only the first leaves to be ½ inch out of the ground.  Dawn Dean, author of Gardening in Southern Belize recommends planting cabbage seedlings 15 inches apart and harvesting every other cabbage as their leaves begin to touch. They are tender and delicious.  It is advised to plant cabbage seedlings in the rainy season in Belize for harvest in the dry season. Cabbage can take from 6 to 18 weeks to mature.  They require regular watering and benefit from compost tea,  Here is an easy homemade recipe for DIY fertilizer: ¼ cup epsom salts, 2 cups urine, grass and weed clippings that have been steeped in water in a 5 gallon bucket with a cover for at least 2 weeks. Strain  the water from clippings mix with epsom salts and urine apply as a side fertilizer when watering plants.

Disease and insect control:  It is a wonder how cabbage has survived as a food crop for thousands of years. Cabbage is susceptable to cabbage worms, small white butterflies, aphids, earwigs, club root (a fungal disease), snails and slugs.  To help control damage it is advisable to check under the leaves for worms and bugs and pick them off and use an organic insecticide if things get out of control. Cabbage plants are compatible with bush beans, celery, cucumbers, onions, marigolds and aromatic herbs, like oregano and thyme.  Avoid planting pole beans, tomatoes, hot peppers or eggplant near cabbage. Do not plant cabbage in the same location for at least three years to reduce pests and disease. .

Cabbage is susceptable to cabbage worms, small white butterflies, aphids, earwigs, club root (a fungal disease), snails and slugs.  To help control damage it is advisable to check under the leaves for worms and bugs and pick them off and use an organic insecticide if things get out of control. Cabbage plants are compatible with bush beans, celery, cucumbers, onions, marigolds and aromatic herbs, like oregano and thyme.  Avoid planting pole beans, tomatoes, hot peppers or eggplant near cabbage. Do not plant cabbage in the same location for at least three years to reduce pests and disease.

How to harvest: Use a large sharp knife or a machete to cut off just the head of the cabbage when it is hard and ripe. Cabbages have a tendency to split open when too ripe.  Leave the base in place and continue to water as delicious leaves and little cabbages will continue to produce from the base.  

Health benefits: Cabbages contain a storehouse of nutrition and healing properties, including,Vitamin C, B6 and K, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, antioxidants and fiber.

Red cabbage is higher in nutrients than white or green.

Recipes: Cabbage may be shredded for raw salads, steamed, stuffed, baked, fermented to make sauerkraut and kimchee.  Here is a very tasty easy to make cabbage recipe:

- oil a large baking pan,

- cut a cabbage into wedges or slices that are about 1” thick arrange wedges in a single layer in the pan

- brush cabbage with olive oil sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Bake for approximately 1/2 hour at 400 degrees F or until cabbage begins to carmelize around the edges.

- Squeeze lemon juice on top, drizzle with tahini sauce and serve.