White cabbage, rich in vitamins and minerals, has been cultivated since the Stone Age. The popular vegetable requires a lot of care, but rewards it with a rich harvest. White cabbage is the perfect basis for homemade sauerkraut and hearty stews.

Prepare and fertilize the soil well

White cabbage, like almost every cabbage vegetable with the exception of kohlrabi and kale, is quite demanding. The vegetable, also known as white cabbage or cabbage in southern Germany, thrives best on calcareous, loamy and moist soil. Cultivation fields that are located on the edge of moist meadows are very suitable - white cabbage likes it as moist as possible. For this reason, the vegetables should be watered regularly.

Before bringing the young plants into the bed, the soil should be freshly fertilized with rich stable manure. It also makes sense to dig up the soil as deeply as possible. White cabbage is a deep-rooter and therefore needs loose soil deep down. Depending on the soil quality, it can also make sense to enrich the soil with lime. Acidification of the soil should be prevented by bringing in wood ash. White cabbage is rather difficult to cultivate on elevated gardens, as the soil here is usually too dry.

Observe crop rotation

Like all types of cabbage, white cabbage is very demanding on the soil. Cabbage should never follow cabbage as this both leaches the soil and attracts pests. Afterwards, no cabbage should be grown at the site for at least a year, and onion plants, leafy vegetables, radishes and radishes are also not recommended. For planting white cabbage, beds that previously bore cucumbers or beans are excellent. White cabbage, followed by carrots, peas, parsley or tomatoes, also promises a good harvest. Furthermore, white cabbage is very suitable for a mixed culture with strawberries, spinach or potatoes.

When to plant which varieties?

In the case of white cabbage, a distinction is made between early varieties and summer and autumn cabbage. The plants are placed on the bed at very different times of the year.

1. Spring cabbage

Young plants of early white cabbage - the "Cape Horn" variety is very popular - can be planted outdoors from mid-April. They are usually placed at a distance of 40 x 50 cm - white cabbage needs as much space as possible in the bed. If the plants are placed too close together, it is easier for pests to get in. The first harvest can be made within about eight weeks.

2. Summer cabbage

Summer cabbage is planted in late June/early July and can then be harvested in early autumn.

3. Autumn cabbage

The so-called autumn cabbage comes into the bed as a young plant from October and can also overwinter there. Frost does not damage the white cabbage, but the plants should be covered with fir branches from the beginning / middle of November. The harvest takes place in the following spring.

tips and tricks

In order to achieve a better harvest result, occasionally water the white cabbage plants with water that has been enriched with guano (121.99€) (pigeon droppings are the most nutritious).

Category:

Vegetable garden