Grow Your Own Magazine

I am reading a lot of contradictory information about growing cabbages and cauliflowers for use during the winter. I thought I understood the difference in the types which may be grown and harvested during the year, but I am now confused.

What I want, I think, is to be able to have a couple of red cabbages for Christmas (the red cabbages I have found are autumn-cropping and it is said that they do not stand or store well!) and some cauliflower sometime during the winter (i.e not early spring).

I can work out how, and have had some success, in getting things to crop in the early spring (like ps brocc) but I am confused by what varieties to grow for harvesting fresh around the turn of the year - should I be looking for ones which stand or ones which store??

My brain is in overload!

Your experiences and recommendations about brassicas for eating mid-winter would be most welcome.

The various kales can be cropped right through the winter!

If you use either cloches or covers of some description, even growing in a greenhouse if necessary, winter brassicas should be available on demand! It will just take a bit of experimentation with sowing times,transplanting times. temperatures and varieties etc It will also depend on which part of the country you are, and any odd weather patterns, like we're having at the moment!
Isn't gardening fun!!

I am trying cardoon and sea kale this year if the damm pigeons would leave them alone!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Thanks, Snadger - I feared it would be down to experimentation!

I have some mature kale already which will go on into the autumn and some young plants to take into the winter - they're easy because they stand so long.

I think I'll stick with some PS broccoli and see if I can get my spring cabbage to work - never managed to get it into its final place as I always run out of steam in about October. Tsk!

I've got pigeon problems for the first time this year - they particularly like little gem lettuce and graffiti cauliflower leaves - boo hoo!

I have tiny baby igloo cauli and (cant remember the vairety offhand) cabbage, just with two seed leaves each. I thought I'd put them into the containers I'm taking the garlic out of and see if I can get a late autumn/early winter crop from them - if necessary by moving them under the cold frame. I'm inspired by my success so far with the summer varieties! But Cutecumber I suspect you're after something more substantial?

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

I just want something left when it gets cold...!

The last few years everything has finished by October and there's nothing in store (not enough produce and nowhere to put it anway!). I did PS broccoli a couple of times but it only produced a worthwhile crop once, and not til late March. I once got a red cabbage for Christmas, too - but literally one, on one occasion! Other plants just never got potted up or planted and went to the compost.

One of the difficulties is that winter varieties by their very nature are much slower growing (taking up a lot of ground time) and larger (taking up a lot of ground space). You can't bring them on as easily by warming things up or giving them more food - it defeats the object of why they were developed.

With little space, I am sure you will agree, it's always a compromise and I realise I can't have everything I want

dear cutecumber, only by experimentation have i found out the following,,
hispi f1 and calabrese kabuki planted in the tunnel end of august will stand through december and january, january king cabbage planted OUT NOW will crop and stand through the dark months. cauliflower aalsmeer,patriot f1 and peron will crop from early spring to early summer in that order if all are planted out now.
purple sprouting brocolli rudolph and claret f1 planted now will crop from late winter to mid/late spring. despite rudolphs name i have never cropped it at christmas , might try earlier planting next year. the idea of planting now is to establish plenty of growth and rooting. hope this is of some help.

ooooh! that's fantastic help, thanks Bravo.

I've got some young hispi already and some late calabrese - they will go into containers soon so that they can be moved into the greenouse. I have some substantial Garnet PS brocc plants in pots which need to be planted this week, to be followed by some (younger) Claret. My limited experience has been that two plants of PS brocc can produce a wealth of sprouts, so I hope they won't all mature at once!

Once again, thanks for the pointers.

I'll get things in their final place as soon as I can and cross those fingers!

Good luck Cutecumber - let us know how you get on!

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

Just a footnote: i've put in some winter waalcheren cauli that seems to be growing nicely in seed tays, and have jusy planted the last of the swede and turnip for baby veg later in the year!

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Vegmonkey and the Mrs. - vegetable gardening in a small space in Cheltenham at www.vegmonkey.co.uk