Good enough to eat

Spring cabbage You can now have cabbage of one type or another virtually throughout the year if you plan well, but spring cabbage is among the most underestimated of vegetables. It should be sown in mid to late summer and harvested from February to May the following year.

Spring cabbage is a heavy feeder so add plenty of organic matter before you plant and pick a sunny spot.

Sow them in the open ground in seed drills and thin out the seedlings, transplanting the young plants to their final position when they are around 15cm high, in the autumn.

The plants should be large enough to survive the winter. Start cutting alternate plants for spring greens as soon as they are large enough in March.

Most will produce firm hearts by late April or May.