Crop Real Estate - time, space, value
SEPTEMBER. LAST SEPTEMBER.
That's a long time. And actually, I probably started the seed in August. It's taken almost a year to grow this little cabbage.
Now, I had hoped that these cabbage would be ready earlier in the spring, April or May, but because of our miserable winter and spring (way more below freezing and snow than usual, way more rain than usual) it took until now. I'm grateful that they even survived all that , but that's an awful long time for an annual. In the time & space this crop has taken up I could have put a greens crop in and already picked it multiple times and be into growing something new there by now. Although, sometimes brassicas will continue to send out shoots after the initial harvest, so hopefully I'll be able to keep picking leaves off these for a while yet.
Two take aways - one is to consider something like this when you question food prices. That cabbage has to pay almost a year's worth of rent for that 2' x 2' + space it took up.
Second is for growers - is it worth it to take up that much time and space in your garden? For those with small home gardens, it may not be. Figuring what the garden "winners" and "losers" are is vital. BUT - it's totally up to YOU and what you want you want in your space. If for example you have a special cabbage dish you love making, or are a kimchi maker, then go for it. You should plant whatever satisfies you, because that is the crop's value. In an upcoming post, I'm going to discuss this kind of garden goal setting and planning which helps us make decisions about how to design and what to grow.
As for me, my garden is big enough, and I no longer grow for market and rely on the cash it generates, to grow some year-long cabbage. In fact, it's time to start seeding for next year's crop... ;)
It also depends on final yield.
That cabbage has not reached its yield potential, not even a bit.
It needs some investigation into why it has failed to perform.
If you want fast turnover then try Asian cabbages, radish, spinach, plucking greens
But cabbage has the benefit of being there "on demand" when you want it. Whereas fast growing plants go inedible
A good, fast, cut and come again but not prone to overage vegetable is Swiss chard
Yes. This is a small variety but know why it hasn't headed. Not fsure if I'd call it a failure, tho. ;)
Sorry :) failed to achieve its genetic potential is what im getting at.
You should be able to count on 1.5kg usable cabbage per plant, at least.
Bigger types exist.
Its still food but as you say in effort and real estate you havent reached a satisfactory yield.
To get there i suggest to try again
Growing cabbages is intermediate skill level.
Asian greens like bok choy are beginner level, things like Brussels sprouts are more advanced.
Its not just the understanding but also the soil, if the garden is fairly new, grow crops that are less demanding and as fertility increases move up.
Cabbages need a lot of nutrient but using fresh manures is a no go as the cabbages will uptake components of the manure that can make them "gassy".
So you need well rotted manures or better a rich finished compost.
Spread it 2 inches thick and incorporate it in prior to planting. Plus 100g/m2 dolomite lime.
As your cabbages grow give them weekly liquid feeds. I like to give seaweed foliar spray (Seasol), make yourself or buy from rural store the larger containers to save.
As it starts to form a head, sidedress again with more rich compost. The plant has used most available nutrition from the basal dose and to form a head it needs topping up
By splitting inputs you give a more steady supply and growth isnt interrupted and less fertiliser is lost to leaching.
This works for cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower.
When you harvest try leaving all the big leaves, and feed it again. Itll reshoot and give second harvest of smaller heads.
The benefit of all this input is that you can follow cabbages in rotation with a crop thats has a lower nutrient demand "for free". Theres residual nutrient enough for salads, carrots, radish, beans etc
As well as compost and well rotted manures, try growing a patch of comfrey you can harvest for mulch to put around your cabbages, they like it.
I hope that helps.
Wow, thanks for that info. I actually used to be a cert. organic market grower so am pretty well versed in all this, and I did almost none of it for this crop. :) Cabbage has never done well at my place but broc & cauli do ok. It's a terrible choice for my forest garden, but I like having a few.
Glad to be of service
:)
Do you grow Tree kales?
I wish i could grow here where i am now but not available as seed in this country
No, that's not a thing here, but I'm not sure why.
Cabbages can fail to gather Steem ;) if the basal dose of nutrient is too low
= tiny plant with tiny head.
Or
Fail to form a hefty head of they dont get the second dose at beginning to head
= big plant , small head
With split dose of input you get big plant, big head
And with side dress at harvest you can get the second harvest
It took me a few seasons to realise all vegetables were not equal :)
And to crack this level :d i hope you have future success.
Good Post
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@atailah, these are copy/paste comments that are regarded as spam. I would suggest writing a genuine and different response to articles rather than the same phrase over and over because it can get you reported to @steemcleaners.