A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Gonna try cabbage this spring...when to plant?

Woo, Im excited. Im going to start some seeds indoors for spring planted cabbage. Compact variety, not sure exactly which one yet. I probably have room for about 5 in my bitty garden

karen

Not positive but March sounds about right for PA. I'm in MS and I just had my hubby disk my garden again so I can put my cabbage and broccoli in sometime in the next few days. Things like cabbage and broccoli like it pretty cool. And they aren't bothered nearly as much by bugs and cabbage worms if the weather is cool. Do you know you can grow these again in the fall?

Very interesting! Im actually going to do the brocs then, cabbage first.

WOW, you are starting your garden already! Winter is just getting going up here!

We just sort of get winter down here. We get some pretty cold nights but days warm up pretty good. Cabbage, broccoli, etc. can handle the cold. I will put my tomatoes in the first week of March and just cover them with flower pots if it's going to frost. I hope to have a bigger fall garden this year--my hubby is building me a "grow light" so I can raise more seedlings indoors (there just never seems to be enough windows with the right kind of light).

Oh you will LOVE having an indoor seedling set up! I built one last spring....taking advantage of the flourescent shop lights in our basement. I was amazed at how my plants thrived under ordinary cool white tubes!! I just hung a shelf directly under the light, and had it suspended on chains so I could adjust to the growing plants.

Well, it looks like I am going to be using it pretty soon! Any other tips on growing cabbage?

Cabbage does MUCH better in cool weather. When it warm it starts to get a bit tougher.

Home grown cabbage is MUCH better than store bought, and it has more juice in it as well.

I have made sauerkraut from store bought cabbage and it never makes enough brine for me.

I love the idea of making sauerkraut!! I have this 5 gallon crock that would be perfect for it. It's just that I dont have a root cellar to make it in, and the old crock has had too much dirt in it!

I started my cabbage and broccoli seeds today. I'm allowing 6 weeks before transplanting out 4 weeks before my average last frost (April 22).

I make mine in the bedroom, it does give off a little odor.

Making 'kraut is easy. When your ready let me know and I will tell you all you need to know.

I started my cabbage a couple of weeks ago.

Ok, looks like Im going to have to look for the cabbage seeds today!! No time to order them! This is so exciting! I thought I wouldnt be starting seeds for at least another month!

The area I have planned for these puppies is 3'x9'. How many would you fit there? One of my books says to plant them in a 3-2-3 pattern 10-12" apart. That seems pretty close to me.

'Sparagus,
Go to:

urbanext.uiuc.edu

At the home page, click on "Hort Corner," then scroll all the way to the bottom and click on "Watch Your Garden Grow." There is probably just about everything you need to know about growing cabbage. They have all kinds of info on dozens of veggies--it's a good site. And I agree, home grown cabbage (as with all home grown veggies) just can't be beat. You may never want to buy cabbage again!

MLN...great site!! Thanks for that one.

Amigatec....is this recipe for Kraut anything like how you make it? Scroll down past the growing instructions, see "small scale sauerkraut"

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/cabbage1.html

I got my cabbage seeds, ready to plant. Im going to try planting dill along with it to attract beneficial bugs.

Here in the last of winter when we are all anxiously waiting for the day we can begin planting our gardens, we sound like kids waiting for Christmas (lol). I just love sharing the excitement with everyone else here! We are expecting rain tomorrow but, after that, when it dries up I plan to put in my cabbages, lettuce, and onions. 'Sparagus, hope yours do well. I've made kraut before but it's been quite a few years ago and I can't find my recipe. If I do, I will share it. I lived in Arkansas then and I've moved a few times since then so there's no telling where it might be.

I agree! I was just sitting on the couch with my 2 year old looking through a seed catalog. We have a tiny bit of snow on the ground. I planted my cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds yesterday afternoon, and they are snug up in the warmest room in the house next to the radiator. Would you believe Im already checking to see if they have sprouted yet?

Yes, I'd believe it! I've got Roma tomato seeds I potted up about a week ago and I check them everyday (lol). When my kids were young, looking through the seed catalog was a fun event for us every year. I used to let them pick a few kinds of seeds for their own little gardens (I gave them each a little corner patch of my garden). They loved it. It taught them a lot, including patience.