Mammoth Red Rock Red Cabbage Seeds - Heirloom Vegetable Garden Seedsbrassica oleracea var. capitataListing is for 1 packet of approximately 100 seeds Learn how to grow cabbage from seed all the way to harvest with my YouTube video tutorial: https://youtu.be/wE9uMQIoOmc This is a very old heirloom cultivar of red cabbage dating back to the 1800's. Its still a standard red cabbage today. Plant them 1 foot apart because they get very big. Leaves form in to a rosette pattern with a cabbage head in the middle. Heads get around 8 inches in diameter when ready to harvest. It has a classic red cabbage flavor, perfect for shredding into salads or coleslaw. I have not experienced much pest issues if grown during the correct time of year which is fall thru spring. Sometimes I get cabbage worms which will munch on the leaves. I use BT or Spinosad to treat for the worms. If I grow these closer to late spring, I get some aphid issues. I have found that if I plant kale and nasturtiums all over my garden, the aphids will feast on them instead. Therefore, I use kale and nasturtiums as a trap crops. I have a Trap Crop seed collection if you want to grow more of the trap crops that I recommend and use in my garden. Ideal Growing Conditions Sun: Full sun. Water: Keep the soil consistently moist Fertilizer: Add some organic granular fertilizer (like Espoma Garden Tone), into the planting hole before transplanting or work some into the soil before direct sowing seeds. Continue to fertilize with small amounts, like a 1/4 cup every 2 to 3 weeks. When & How To Sow Seeds: Sow seeds indoors to grow transpalnts. They take a while to grow so I prefer sowing indoors over direct sowing outside. Sow 3 seeds per 4 inch pot filled with seed starting mix, 10-12 weeks before your last spring frost date for a spring crop. Cover the seeds with 1/4 inch of soil. Or for a fall crop or if you are a hot climate gardener, sow seeds indoors 10-12 weeks before your target date of planting a fall garden. My target date is the first month in fall where the max average high temperature is at 85F or below. You can find this for your area by going to plantmaps.com, enter in your zip code, and look at the max average high temperature per month chart at the bottom of the page. Fertilize seedlings with a liquid fertilizer (like Fox Farms Grow Big) once the first set of true leaves appear. To speed up growth, use a strong light source like Mars Hydro grow lights. Once transplants are ready, follow square foot gardening guidelines to space 1 cabbage plant per square foot, or space each plant 12 inches apart, in rows that are 18 inches apart. Germination: 3-10 days Days To Maturity: 90-110 days after direct sowing the seed or transplanting How & When To Harvest: Harvest the entire head of cabbage once it forms, but before it starts to bolt (go into the flowering stage). Common Diseases: The most common disease in cabbage is clubroot, which causes swollen roots, wilting, and stunted growth. To manage it, rotate crops, raise soil pH with lime, remove infected plants and keep the garden clean to prevent its spread. Common Pests: One of the most common pests when growing cabbage is the cabbage worm, which is green with white stripes down its back. Classic signs of a worm infestation include munched on leaves and finding little green, black, or orange balls which is the frass (poop) of these worms. You can hand pick them off your plants, but if the infestation is severe, spray with an organic worm treatment like Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Do I have a YouTube video tutorial on how to grow this? YES Watch it here: https://youtu.be/wE9uMQIoOmc Additional Tips/Information: N/A
