for a fall display. Cabbages need full sun, although they prefer light shade in hot climates. Plant seeds ¼ inch deep, 4 inches apart in rows. (Cabbage seed does not germinate well in cold temperatures.) Or buy small plants at a local nursery, or start seeds indoors about eight weeks before your last average frost date. Transplant your seedlings out into the garden in rich soil about two weeks before the last average frost date. Seeds or plants can also be planted in midsummer for a fall crop. Space small varieties 12 inches apart, and larger ones 24 inches apart, in rows spaced no closer than 2½ feet. When transplanting cabbages, place them lower in the soil than you would most transplants—up to their first set of true leaves (the first leaves after the seed leaves). As these plants tend to be top-heavy, planting them too high results in plants that are not sturdy enough to support their interior weight as they develop. Chinese cabbages do not transplant well, tending to bolt if disturbed. As they grow best in fall, you should probably start them from seeds planted directly in the garden in midsummer so they can mature in the cool weather. Cabbages are heavy feeders and need soil that contains a good deal of organic matter; in addition, add a balanced organic fertilizer: 1 cup worked into the soil around each plant at planting time. Cabbages need regular and even watering. They seem to grow best where the soil has the capacity to hold on to the large amounts of moisture they require for the development of firm heads. Mulching helps retain this necessary moisture. The biggest problem in growing cabbage is keeping ahead of the pests, and the Chinese types seem to get more than their share. The white cabbage butterfly has flitted its way across the entire continent, and its green caterpillar offspring chew on cabbages all season long. As soon as the plants are in the garden, prevent the butterfly from laying eggs by covering your cabbages with floating row covers. If you get a severe infestation, the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) controls the caterpillars very effectively, but it also can kill all other types of butterflies (as any kind of caterpillar eating the Bt would be affected). Instead, I usually pick the eggs off the underside of the foliage, where the butterfly deposits them every few days. These eggs are cream-colored and about the size of a large pinhead. Cabbage root fly is another troublesome pest. You can use floating row covers to prevent the fly from laying her eggs on your plants, or you can prevent the larvae (maggots) from entering the soil by placing a 12-inch square of tar paper or black plastic directly over the roots of the plant. To do so, cut a slit about 6 inches long from one edge directly to the middle of the square and then slip it around the plant. Cutworms often attack young cabbage plants. A good preventive measure is to place a collar of cardboard around each seedling. Club root is a serious fungus disease of the cabbage family, as are black rot and aster yellows. Good garden hygiene is your best prevention here. Buy disease-free plants and do not accept plants from friends who have had the problem. Rotate members of the cabbage family with other vegetable families so that they do not grow in the same area for more than one year. And pull up all cabbage family weeds; mustard and shepherd’s purse are the most common. Harvest head cabbages anytime after they have started to head up well and before they become so large that they split. Mature cabbages can take temperatures as low as 20°F, so do not rush to harvest all of them before a frost. The Savoy types are the most hardy. If a hard freeze is expected, harvest all the cabbages and store them in a cool place, stacking them in straw if possible.
Ornamental cabbage and the edible ‘Alaska’ nasturtiums make good bed mates in a fall garden.
Savoy cabbage
‘O-S Cross’ giant cabbage
Varieties
There are many different types of cabbages: red-leafed ones; Savoy types with their crinkly leaves; diminutive varieties suitable for one meal; Chinese cabbages, both the tight cylindrical heads called Napa cabbages and the looser-growing ones that look like romaine lettuce, referred to as lettuce types; and the multicolored flowering cabbages. For planting in early spring, choose early and midseason varieties of standard and Savoy cabbages; for fall crops and winter storage, choose midseason, Chinese, and ornamental varieties. Also look for varieties that are resistant to some of the cabbage diseases.
Chinese Cabbages
‘Blues’: 50 days, hybrid Napa-type Chinese cabbage, bolt- and disease-resistant
‘Lettucy Type’: 45 days, thin tender leaves, tall open-top Chinese cabbage
‘Market Prize’: 70 days, light green crinkled leaves, Napa-style, cylindrical heads
Ornamental Cabbages
‘Tokyo Mix’: 60 days; mix of white-, pink-, and red-centered ornamental cabbages, very cold-tolerant
Savoy Cabbages
‘Chieftain’: 83 days, well-savoyed 4- to 5-pound heads, mild taste great for slaw, stands in garden well without splitting
‘Julius’: 75 days, blue-green savoyed round heads, 4 to 5 pounds
‘Savoy Ace’: 80 days, hybrid, good quality, almost round, up to 412 pounds, highly resistant to fusarium wilt and insect damage
Standard and Red Cabbages
‘Columbia’: 73 days; midseason; round 3- to 5-pound, blue-green heads; resistant to fusarium wilt
‘Dynamo’: 70 days, hybrid, one-meal-size, 212-pound green heads that resist splitting, plant spring and again in fall, resistant to fusarium wilt
‘Early Jersey Wakefield’: 63 days, green heading type with pointed head, longtime favorite, resistant to fusarium wilt, fine flavor
‘Green Glitter’: 80 days, hybrid, dark green 312-pound heads, holds up well in the garden for winter harvest
‘Red Express’: 63 days, early, round red compact heads up to 4 pounds, split-resistant
‘Ruby Perfection’: 80 days, popular round red cabbage
How to prepare: The taste of all types of cabbages is similar. The Chinese and young Savoy cabbages are among the mildest-flavored of the group and the most versatile for mixed green salads. Heading cabbages are great for coleslaw. The Oriental cabbages are great alone or mixed with other Oriental greens with dressings containing rice wine vinegar, grated ginger, and sesame oil. In Mexico, cabbages are often used in all types of salads, and in the Southwest they are used in a classic taco salad. Red cabbage and flowering cabbage add color and texture to mixed salads.
Chard with stems of many colors
CHARD
(Swiss chard, leaf chard)
Beta vulgaris var. cicla
Chard is a close cousin of the beet and a mild-flavored green that tolerates a lot more heat than most salad greens. There are two types, stem or Swiss chard with its wide crunchy and sometimes colorful ribs and large leaves, and another less well-known type, variously called leaf chard, leaf beet, or perpetual spinach, which looks more like a light green tall spinach. Both have their place in salads.
How to grow: Start both chard types in early spring in hot-summer areas and through late spring in mild-summer areas. Gardeners in areas where winters have but a few frosts can plant them in spring, and if the weather’s not too hot, the plants will produce until the
