Cultivating Cabbage: The Ins and Outs of Growing this Versatile and Nutritious Vegetable
When you were a kid, you may have cringed when you heard cabbage was going to be on the dinner table. Many children aren’t fans of cabbage because of its strong taste, but as we age our tastes change. If you’re a big fan of cabbage and want to cultivate some right in your back yard, it’s easy to grow in the EarthBox® gardening system! Here are some tips and tricks to make your growing a success!
Cabbage Tips & Tricks
TEMPERATURE
Most people don’t realize that cabbage is a cool-season crop. Too hot temperatures (above 77°F /25°C) will stunt the growth on cabbage. Many cabbage varieties are fairly cold-tolerant and hardy, and will do well until temperatures dip to freezing. The best temperature range for cabbage is around 60° - 68°F (15°-20°C). Depending on your USDA zone, plant accordingly.
SOIL pH
Cabbage is a fairly hardy plant and can thrive in a variety of types of soils. The one thing cabbage does not like is a pH level greater than 7. If you continually plant cabbage in the same EarthBox® system, it’s important to replenish your growing media with fertilizer high in nitrogen and potassium. Since peat is naturally acidic, cabbage does quite well growing in the EarthBox® system. If you’re unsure about the pH, you could always use a pH testing kit or meter that will let you know if you need to adjust the levels. If you’re growing cabbage in the ground, it is wise to rotate the locations where you plant the cabbage since it is considered a hard plant on the soil.
WATER
Cabbage LOVES water. If you are normally guilty of under-watering your plants, be sure to give your cabbage plants a bit more attention by watering daily. Consistently watering throughout its growing season is recommended in order to avoid low yields. If you notice the heads of the cabbage plants are starting to crack, chances are it is not getting enough water.
PLANTING
Many varieties come with different instructions on planting, so be sure to follow the directions on spacing and depth for your type of plant.
VARIETIES
Cabbage isn’t only a tasty vegetable to serve up as a side dish, but it also is quite pretty to look at while it is growing.
- Red Cabbage provides a bright and beautiful array on a plate and is actually higher in vitamin A and C than other varieties.
- Bok Choy (or Pak Choi, as it’s also commonly called) is leafy and has large, tender leaves with very crisp stems. The flavor is very close to baby spinach, and it is delicious in soups and stir-fries because of its varying textures.
- Savoy Cabbage grows in very tight and compact heads, and this variety is perfect for eating raw. The leaves are tender and go perfectly in stews and stir-fries.
With all varieties, it’s best to allow them to reach maturity but not grow too large — otherwise, the leaves may become tough in texture. There are so many cabbage varieties; you could have an entire cabbage garden if you are a cabbage connoisseur. We’ve included a special recipe below using green cabbage for this tasty side dish.
RECIPE: Haluski (Cabbage & Noodles)
This wonderful Eastern European comfort food is easy and quick to prepare as a side dish. The ingredients are simple and preparation can be completed in about 30 minutes.
For all of our recipes, we will try to list suitable substitutions for vegetarian/ vegan, and/or gluten-free diets if applicable.
Serves 4
What You'll Need:
- 2 yellow onions, peeled and diced
- 1 green cabbage (1.5 lbs.), cored and diced
- 1 bag of egg noodles, “dumpling” or “broad” sized (Food For Life® fettucine noodles can be broken up and used for a vegan substitute) OR homemade Spätzle works great for this dish, too (if you have time).
- 6 Tbsp. Butter, salted (Earth Balance® Vegan Buttery Sticks for vegan substitute)
- Salt & Pepper
Let's Get Cooking:
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onions in 2 tablespoons of butter until translucent. Add 2 more tablespoons butter, cabbage, and salt to taste and stir to incorporate; cover and reduce to medium heat for ten minutes.
- While cabbage mixture is cooking, boil noodles according to package direction and drain well.
- Once cabbage is tender, remove cover and add well-drained noodles.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and turn heat back to high. Slightly brown the mixture, stirring frequently.
- Season with additional salt if needed, and add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper as desired.
Enjoy!
Tell us: what are you planning to create with your homegrown cabbage?
If I plant a blueberry bush in the Root and Veg Earthbox, what is the method and schedule to replenish fertilizer? What about replacing the plastic cap as it inevitably wears out? How would one do this without disturbing the plant too much or making a huge hole in the next plastic cap to fit down over the bush?
I’d love to also know the same for planting blackberry bushes in the EarthBox Original?
You'd follow our instructions for the initial set up, except do not add dolomite to the blueberry bush. When you have to replace the cover, the only way for these plants is to create a big hole in the cover and then tape it back up after you have it in place. We'd recommend adding another pound of our 7-7-7 fertilizer (or another equivalent, slow-release fertilizer) every 3-4 months. That generally lasts 1 growing season, which for the majority of crops grown in the EarthBox is no more than 120 days. Blueberries and blackberries are one of the few perennials that can be successfully grown in the EarthBox.
Which size is best for blueberries the orginal size? Or the deep root n veggie size?
Can nursery recommended acidic soil/ Azelia soil be used in earthboxes for blueberries?
You can grow blueberries in either of those EarthBox sizes, though we recommend the Root & Veg since its depth is more conducive to the plant. You can forgo using dolomite with blueberries, but ensure the pH is somewhere between 4.5-5.5. We still recommend following our growing media recommendations listed here: https://earthbox.com/learning-center/recommended-growing-media
I have my SEASCAPE Day-neutral strawberry seeds in hand. These will be planted indoors, in a grow tent, under LED quantum panels in the EarthBox. I have never planted strawberries of any kind, so Im eager to get this party started. Will provide updates. Too bad we can't attach pics.
~Kbore
NEWS FLASH from Kbore about Seascape seeds: Hybrid strawberry seeds are NOT true to the variety, if they sprout at all. I may have seascape seeds in hand (rip-off) but they will not produce the same plant as the seed donor. To grow the true variety, you must have live/ dormant plant starts from that variety.
On the subject of plant starts, it's too hot to ship live plants in the middle of July (in Zone 6A where I live), so don't expect to buy strawberry seedlings mail-order: It's not going to happen.
Looks like mid-September-ish for me. As the late Tom Petty wrote: " Waiting is the hardest part".
~Kbore