Cabbage Seeds 5g

Cabbage is one of the most rewarding cool-season vegetables you can grow, prized for the dense, solid head it builds at its heart. Each leafy ball forms tightly wrapped layers of crisp, mild-tasting leaves that store well and stay fresh for weeks. It is a true kitchen all-rounder: shred it raw into crunchy salads and slaws, use the broad outer leaves for stuffing, simmer it into hearty winter dishes, or pickle it for a tangy side. Because it thrives in the cool months, this is a classic winter crop that brings a generous harvest from a small patch of ground.

Planting

Cabbage is a cool-season crop that grows best in the cooler part of the year. You can start seeds indoors in modules about 4-6 weeks before transplanting, sowing roughly 1 cm deep, or sow them directly outdoors in a drill at about 2 cm deep. The best soil temperature for germination is around 10-29 C; at 15 C seedlings emerge in about 15 days, at 20 C in about 9 days, and at 25 C in about 6 days. Indoors, a normal room temperature of about 16-21 C with bright light gives the strongest early growth. Choose a sunny site, as cabbage grows best in full sun but will tolerate light shade for part of the day. Transplant the young plants outdoors after about five weeks, once they are 10-15 cm tall with five or six true leaves. Space compact varieties about 30 cm apart and larger ones up to 45 cm apart, in rows roughly 60-75 cm apart.

In Egypt, cabbage is a winter vegetable and should not be grown in summer, because it develops best at about 15-20 C and fails to head in sustained heat. Raise transplants from late August through October and plant them out between September and November, so the heads mature during the cool months of November to February. In the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt (Cairo, Alexandria, Beheira), the mild winter is ideal: sow mainly in September-October for a December-February harvest, with a later sowing into November also workable since frost is rare. In Upper Egypt (Asyut, Sohag, Luxor, Aswan), push the schedule a little later and sow in October-November so heading happens in the coldest part of the season and avoids early heat. Avoid a spring crop that would head after February-March, as rising heat causes loose heads, splitting and bolting.

Fertilizing

Feed your cabbage with a nitrogen-rich fertiliser once the plants have settled into their final position, but before they start to form heads. A practical approach is to side-dress with nitrogen about 2-3 weeks after transplanting, when the plants are well established. Take care to avoid heavy nitrogen late in the season, because too much late feeding can cause the heads to split.

Care

Keep the plants steadily watered with about 2.5-4 cm of water per week. During dry spells, established plants benefit from a thorough soaking roughly every 10 days. Watch out for the common pests of cabbage: cabbage caterpillars (imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper and diamondback moth), cabbage root fly or cabbage maggot, flea beetles, mealy cabbage aphid, whitefly, and slugs and snails. The main diseases to look out for are clubroot, black rot and Alternaria leaf spot. Harvest when the head feels firm and solid and has reached a usable size, cutting with a sharp knife once the base is about 10-25 cm across. From transplanting, cabbage matures in roughly 60-100 days (about 70-120 days from seed) depending on the variety.