We had our first cabbage last night. Grown in the pollytunnel due to the bad Spring. It was so good, even my OH said so and getting him to eat any veg is hard. I think it was called Golden Acre. As I have quite a few coming on I think i will have a go at freezing some. Anyone done this ?
For next year perhaps plan to eat a cabbage and a 1/4 a week & then add 10 more for spares . This works out at 52 +13 +10 = 75 cabbages in as many follow on varieties you can find i.e Spring, summer, autumn ,winter and over wintering types .
Sow of them in succession ( a few every 7 to 10 days ) through out each varieties sowing season & you'll not need to think of trying to blanch or quick freeze cabbage you'll have them fresh all year round especially if you put the ones that are about in the times of your snow & sub zero temps in the poly tunnels .
Like cauliflowers , if you plan your cabbage crops well you should be able to eat a fresh cabbage or a cauli anywhere in the UK each week of the year (so I'm led to believe ) .
In truth we got sick of them every week along with , different sprouts SBrocc, PSB kale , heading broccoli & collards (a hardy greenerya lot like big sprout plant leaves ) .
So instead of growing the 75 we aimed for 30 cabbages split over five varieties for the year , even then it's a still quite a lot when you add the other greens and legumes . ( we feed the surplus to the composter if the OAP next door or those across the road if they don't want any ) .
Don't forget that when you cut a cabbage , if you cut it so it leaves four leaf nodes on the stem that are active , then cut an inch deep cross down the stem top , this will dry , split a bit and then start to grow four small cabbages . They won't be as tight as the original cabbage but who cares when you get freebie greens .
if you then cross cut each mini cabbage stalk after removal of the mini cabbage they will grow again and you can give the whole plant to the animals .
You can usually quick freeze a whole or a cut in half wrapped in cling film first cabbage before bagging up one or two fresh cabbages straight from the garden .
You're best using it boiled or stir fried by the end of week four as it starts to break down and them make lots of " botty burps
" , you should not attempt to use it as fresh for uncooked dished such as coleslaw or for pickling etc. , it must be cooked .
This PYO site s good for finding out your garden things most of the time .
Here is a link to freezing cabbage .
http://www.pickyourown.org/cabbagefreezing.php
Topic: Cabbage (Read 2910 times)
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August 18, 2010, 12:26:00 am
