Page 25 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

Cabbage ‘Red Drumhead’
Cabbages planted
Cabbage ‘Wirosa’
Cabbage ‘Kilmaro’ netted
grown plants are looking sturdy enough, they are firmed into holes made by a dibber down to their bottom leaves, 18 inches (45cm) apart into 2 ft.(60cm) rows. If given plenty of room, they will produce bigger heads. These early plantings need to be protected, initially from the weather with a covering of
Try this simple food
preparation suggestion
As it is not particularly recommended to eat cabbage raw, there are many more methods of getting cabbage ready in the kitchen. Try this one by simply washing and draining your cabbage leaves, get rid of any tough stalks. Add to a large pan of salted boiling water, bring back to the boil then cook on a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender. Delicious!
fleece, and then with a bird net in May.
• In June, the plants are beginning
to mature before that first wave of caterpillars arrive. Diligent removal of dead and dying leaves reduce losses as your summer slug population increases.
• Mid-June. Look for the opportunity for planting some red cabbage to be ready by the traditional time of mid-October onwards.
• July and August. Make certain of a tender taste at cutting time by; avoiding checks in growth, keeping the plot weed free and regularly topping-up each plant with a teaspoon-full of readily available Nitrogen watered precisely to the root ball.
•
September. As the autumn weather sets in it is opportune to fill gaps in the garden with salads, beetroot and leeks to follow on as catch crops.
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