?Growing Cabbage

Four main types of cabbage are grown commercially and they have different periods of growth. The Spring cabbage matures early and forms a smallish conical heart; the Summer cabbage takes slightly longer to mature and has a rather larger conical or ball-shaped heart; the Winter cabbage takes still longer to mature, but can withstand considerable cold; and the Savoy has wrinkled foliage and the greatest resistance to frost. The first two a :n of are of most interest to gardeners in the tropics, as quickness of growth is of far more importance than resistance to frost.

All Cabbage seed is best planted in shallow boxes or baskets. If it is planted direct into drills in a bed it is very often ravaged by insects. Fill the box with a mixture containing three parts of good fibrous topsoil, two parts leaf mould or well-rotted compost and one part river sand. To each bushel of the mixture add half a pound superphosphate and mix well together. Make shallow drills in the boxes not more than inch deep and try to space the seeds in the drills so that there are only four or five to the inch, as this will help to produce robust plants. Cover the seeds with some of the mixture and stand the box in water until the top of the soil is damp. Take the box from the water and remove it to a shady place, covered with a board. The box should he watered each day. The best way to do this is to plunge it into a container of water so that the water comes to within an inch of the top of the soil; when the top of the soil is damp the box can be removed. When germination commences – that is within a week – the covering board must be removed. Watering should continue daily for about three weeks, when the box can be moved out into the sun to let the plants get accustomed to the new conditions before they are transplanted.

The permanent beds should be double-dug and limed if necessary. Ten days later apply compost or animal manure at the rate of r cwt. per 100 square feet of bed and I lb. of mixed fertilizer to the same area. If mixing your own fertilizer, use one part of sulphate of ammonia, two parts of superphosphate and one part muriate of potash.

Transplant the seedlings when they are about 4 inches high, preferably on a dull day or in the evening. Water them well before taking them out of the box so that as much soil as possible adheres to the roots. Plant them out singly in three rows to a 4-foot bed, with 18 inches between each in the rows. Then give good mulch protection. These little plants will attract a multitude of insects and to protect them they should have little metal or bamboo collars. Insecticide powder scattered liberally over the mulch will help; if this is not available, then wood ash is quite effective.

When the plants are beginning to show signs of forming a heart, a top dressing of fertilizer can be given with advantage. Sulphate of ammonia gives good results, but if nitrate of soda is available it is better as the action is quicker. Apply the fertilizer, a half matchboxful per plant, in a ring round each plant, taking care that none gets on the leaves and scorches them.

In about four to five months the cabbages should be ready to cut, but do allow them good time to mature. Cabbages of the right variety do produce hearts in the tropics if given the time, but unfortunately they are often cut prematurely.

At low altitudes the best results will be obtained from plantings made in the early rains, but at higher altitudes plantings made at the end of the rains will mature satisfactorily in the dry season.

When cutting cabbages, split the growing stem left in the form of a cross. From this split will develop a number of small shoots which will give a good supply of young greens later in the season.