Gourmet Traveller (Australia)

Heads up

Plant cabbage now to enjoy its versatilit­y in everything from dim sim to sauerkraut come spring, writes Mat Pember.

-

One of our most

versatile vegetables, cabbage can be eaten raw, steamed, fermented, pickled and barbecued. In Italian the word for cabbage is cavolo, which is also used as swear word, once again demonstrat­ing the versatilit­y of this robust brassica.

But just as it feeds us, cabbage makes demands of its own. As with all brassicas in the vegetable patch, it’s a constant battle to keep up nutrition supplies for this hungry feeder, while also keeping away the hordes of cabbage white butterflie­s that call this vegetable their own.

April is the perfect time to plant cabbages as young seedlings; it’s not too late, however, to start propagatin­g them from seed. Begin by planting seeds in a tray at no more than one centimetre deep, and keep them well hydrated until they germinate, which occurs within anywhere from 10 days to three weeks. Incubating your seed tray in a mini greenhouse will reduce evaporatio­n and therefore accelerate growth. If your mini greenhouse is portable, move it out of direct sunlight on hot autumn days, then put it outside in the cool of the night. Cabbage is a cool-season vegetable and favours a soil temperatur­e of

15 to 18 degrees. Letting it find its comfort zone will have it up and about earlier.

Once the seedlings are three to four weeks old they’re ready to be transplant­ed into the patch. Choose a sunny spot – although they will also tolerate part shade – and ensure the soil is well boosted with compost and nitrogen-rich fertiliser. If possible, plant the seedlings where you have just harvested your beans, but try to avoid planting where other nitrogen-hungry spring crops have been depleting the soil – tomatoes and corn in particular.

When you plant out the seedlings, set up netting to protect them from their namesake nemesis, the cabbage white butterfly. Of course, it’s not the butterfly itself that causes the damage; rather it’s the almost invisible green caterpilla­rs that hatch from their larvae. Within days, an entire crop can be devastated as the almost invisible green caterpilla­rs grow fatter and somewhat less invisible feasting on the brassicas. Well-constructe­d netting prevents the butterflie­s from landing and laying their larvae.

Water the seedlings daily for the first month and mulch with three to five centimetre­s of lucerne hay or pea straw. This not only helps lock in the soil temperatur­e and reduce evaporatio­n, but also provides nutrition as it breaks down. As the weather cools and your cabbages settle in for winter, you can cut back to two to three waterings a week. Keep track of any invaders. Snails and slugs can be active now, particular­ly if the weather becomes wet, but the main duty is to check on the plants and give them a monthly tonic of liquid seaweed. This will keep their demand for nutrition satisfied.

After three to four months, as spring arrives, the cabbages will be approachin­g readiness.

This is a one-head, one-harvest kind of crop, so remove all remnants of the plant after harvesting, which allows the soil to recover sooner. Be sure to inspect the heads for rogue slugs and caterpilla­rs, and wash them well before eating.

Deciding what to do with the produce is like having a dollar in a lolly shop, circa 1990 – there is so much choice. We like to use the outer leaves for pork rolls stewed in ragù, and the denser heads for coleslaw or sauerkraut.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia