Brassica oleracea var. capitata.
The cabbage is one of the most domesticated garden plants in the world — descended from a single wild ancestor of the coastal cliffs of Europe, it has produced through millennia of selection broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, and every variety of head cabbage. The red version, later in arrival, appeared in Central and Eastern Europe in the 16th-17th centuries, where it became inseparable from the winter cooking of Germany, Poland and Hungary. A dense, hard, heavy head weighing 1-2 kg, whose purplish leaves stripe the heart with fine white veins almost geometric — cutting a red cabbage in half reveals a pattern of astonishing graphic beauty.
A milder and slightly sweeter flavour than green cabbage, which improves after the first frosts (the plant mobilizes its sugars as a defence mode against the cold). Magnificent raw — finely shredded in a coleslaw with mustard-and-apple vinaigrette — or as German rotkohl, slowly braised with apple, vinegar and cinnamon. Chemistry bonus to show the kids: the cooking juice works as a natural pH indicator — pink in an acid medium (vinegar), purple at neutral, blue-green in alkaline (baking soda). Excellent root-cellar keeper for 2 to 4 months.
Grower's tip: Crop rotation is not optional for cabbage. All crucifers (cabbage, broccoli, turnip, radish, mustard) share the same soil diseases — clubroot first and foremost — and the same pests (cabbage worm, flea beetle, cabbage fly). Ideally, wait 3-4 years before putting another crucifer in the same spot. Cover young plants with insect netting from transplant on — the cabbage white butterfly lays on the slightest exposed leaf, and its caterpillars turn a beautiful plant into lace within days. Indoor start for summer harvest, or direct-sow mid-June for fall harvest (the best for storage).
- Open-pollinated. Biennial, flowers in the second year. Insect-pollinated; crosses with all other Brassica oleracea (broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, etc.) — isolate rigorously for seed saving.
- Height: 30-50 cm.
- Maturity: 70-100 days depending on the variety.
- Exposure: full sun.
- Rich, deep, well-drained, rather alkaline soil (pH 6.5-7.5) — clubroot thrives in acid soil. Space plants 45-50 cm apart.
- Start indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost for summer harvest, or direct-sow in early June for fall harvest and winter storage. Tolerates and improves with the first frosts.
