Cabbages. Worth it or not??

[kentishgal]

I have quite a few cabbage seedlings but now I look at the space I have available Im not sure wether its worth trying to grow them on... I only have a tiny garden with 4 small raised beds and a cabbage will take up a whole square foot of it for ages!
Would I be better concentrating on fast cropping or heavy cropping veg or are home grown cabbages worth the effort?
(maybe I should just use the seeds for producing cabbage shoot microcrops instead!)

[zazen999]

Put it in the corner, then it will only take up 1/4 of the space.

[binley100]

Grow one which is small ....ie a greyhound rather than a brunswick ......

[Linnea]

I grow the smaller ones too (i think it's primo) but you could always intercrop with something else maybe radishes or lettuce that'll grow and be eaten by the time the cabbage gets big

[Nicos]

If you plant them closer together they won't grow as big. ( you can always tear off a few outer leaves so they don't smother other veg.)

Flavour-wise- they knock the sox off shop bought ones!

[eirish]

I've decided not to bother, myself, for similar reasons. Also, while I like cabbage, there are other brassicas I prefer. So I'm growing calabrese, romanesco cauliflower and kale, maybe a few sprouts if I've got space.

Sarah Raven's book "The Great Vegetable Plot" has some very useful advice on choosing what to grow and what not to - it's been a great help. Beautiful book, too.

[veggiechicken]

I'm not very good with brassicas of any sort - the caterpillars always get them before I do. I don't have much usable space so I prefer to concentrate on the veg I know I like and preferably ones that don't sit in the ground for too long and can be frozen or stored if there's a glut.

[Bren In Pots]

Eirish I grow Black Kale and use it like cut and come again the plants I sown March 2011 kept up in greens until the beginning of this month.

[tumbling tom]

Similarly this year I am going to try and grow a variety from real seeds called ESturian Tree Cabbage.

Even though it grows to 2 feet high it is cut come and come again so I will only really need 3 max and it will save me a hell of a lot of room.

[Two_Sheds]

Would it be worth you doing some quick sums to find out the relative value of crops?

eg. one savoy cabbage in Lidl: 50p

for the same space ~ 9 (?) lettuces @ 50p each



just as a for instance

[Bigmallly]

Seems a waste to throw them KG, is there nobody else who can grow them for you or maybe a few in pots. I hate throwing seedlings away.

[kentishgal]

I have to be brutal about throwing seedlings away! I really dont have much space and like to have extra to account for slug damage, etc. Ok, maybe I might grow a couple just to do a taste test later on!LOL
They can have a nice colourful border of lettuce or radishes as they are growing!

[veggiechicken]

That's what I do KG, squeeze them in any old space. Can't bear to throw away anything that I've grown myself. You could also grow them on a bit and use them as greens, not leave them to heart up.

[eirish]

Eirish I grow Black Kale and use it like cut and come again the plants I sown March 2011 kept up in greens until the beginning of this month.

Oh, excellent! I've got black kale and also Red Russian. I'm going to hold off on sowing them for a bit as I think I'd rather have them through autumn/winter. Also not sure how much space I will have.

[zazen999]

I'm not very good with brassicas of any sort - the caterpillars always get them before I do. I don't have much usable space so I prefer to concentrate on the veg I know I like and preferably ones that don't sit in the ground for too long and can be frozen or stored if there's a glut.

See, that's why I love growing cabbage - esp red cabbage, as I rarely get any caterpillars and if I do, they don't get to the inside leaves whereas with PSB or calabrese the flowers get filled with black bugs and I just can't face eating them.