Cabbage is one of the most universally cultivated of the garden plants.
Although it is one of the coarser vegetables it finds a place in the
home garden as well as in the market garden and truck farm. In some
sections of the United States it is extensively grown as a farm crop.
Early cabbage is practically all consumed as a green vegetable. The
late crop, on the other hand, is handled as a fresh vegetable, as a
storage crop, and for the manufacture of sauerkraut. It is always in
demand, and under present conditions is always available, either as the
product of a southern truck farm or a northern farm, garden, or storage
house. The group of cultivated plants which has been derived from the
wild cabbage presents a greater diversity of form than that derived
from any other single ancestral type.
Wild cabbage is a robust-growing broad-leaved plant enjoying the low,
moist areas near the seacoast of southern Europe. The most closely
allied form now in cultivation is the collard. The wide variation in
the group is illustrated by the diversity of form shown in collards,
kale, tree cabbage, marrow kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. It
is almost beyond the bounds of reason to believe that all these forms
have been derived from a common parentage, yet such is the fact.
_Seed._--In no truck crop does the character of the seed count for more
than in cabbage. It is very essential that the crop come to marketable
maturity early, that the heads be uniform in size and character,
and that they mature so that the whole crop can be harvested at two
cuttings. The small saving made by the purchase of cheap or inferior
seed is usually paid for a hundred times over in the lessened value
of the crop. A grower can not afford to risk his crop for so small
a saving. The best seed that can be obtained is none too good, and
anything short of this is not good business. Without highly viable
seed of a good strain, true to type, the best results can not be
expected. For early spring cabbage in the South, sow the seeds in an
outdoor bed and transplant to the garden before January 1. In the
North, plant the seeds in a hotbed during February and set the plants
in the open ground as early as the soil can be worked. For a late crop
in the North, plant the seeds in a bed in the open ground in May or
June and transplant to the garden in July. Early cabbages require a
rich, warm soil in order that they may mature early. For late cabbages
the soil should be heavier and more retentive of moisture and not so
rich as for the early crop, as the heads are liable to burst. Cabbages
should be set in rows 30 to 36 inches apart and 14 to 18 inches apart
in the row. Where the plants are set out in the autumn and allowed to
remain in the ground over winter, they are usually placed on top of
ridges.
_Soil._--The soil for cabbage must necessarily vary in different
localities. In one area it may be of an alluvial character, while
in another it may be sedentary, and in still another it may be
characteristic glacial drift. The fact that cabbage grows well in all
these soils indicates its adaptation to a wide range of conditions. The
main thing with cabbage is an abundant supply of immediately available
plant food. Market gardeners rely chiefly upon stable manure for their
supply of plant food.
_Cultivation._--Among market gardeners it is a common expression that
"cabbage should be hoed every day." Perhaps no other crop responds
more quickly to good cultivation and an ample food supply. This
is undoubtedly the explanation of the above quoted expression. In
cultivating cabbage the work should be frequent and thorough, but
the cultivation should not be deep. The aim should be to destroy all
competing weeds and to maintain a loose, friable layer of soil about 2
inches deep over the surface of the area devoted to cabbage.
_Storage._--Early cabbage must be used soon after it has formed solid
heads, as it will not keep during hot weather. Late cabbage may be
buried in pits or stored in cellars or specially constructed houses.
The usual method of storing cabbage is to dig a trench about 18 inches
deep and 3 feet wide and set the cabbage upright, with the heads close
together and the roots bedded in soil. As cold weather comes on, the
heads are covered slightly with straw and then 3 or 4 inches of earth
put on. Slight freezing does not injure cabbage, but it should not be
subjected to repeated freezing and thawing. If stored in a cellar or
building, the heads are generally cut from the stems and stored on
slatted shelves or in shallow bins. While in storage, cabbage should be
well ventilated and kept as cool as possible without freezing.
_Varieties._--The varieties of cabbage used in the trucking section
are practically limited to the Wakefield type. There are two strains
of this type of cabbage now extensively employed: The true Jersey
Wakefield, with its small, acutely pointed tip and very firm, tender
flesh of high quality, and the Charleston Wakefield, which is broader,
somewhat flatter, more obtusely pointed, and slightly more angular
in cross section than the Jersey type. The varieties which may be
used for field cultivation depend upon the purpose for which the
cabbage is intended. If for sauerkraut or for immediate consumption,
the Flat Dutch type from American-grown seed is extensively employed
in the eastern part of the United States. In the irrigated section
of Colorado, in the vicinity of Greeley, where cabbage is grown for
sauerkraut, a variety known as Scotch Cross is almost universally
grown. If the cabbage is intended for storage the Danish Ball Head from
imported seed is almost exclusively used.--(F. B. 255, 433; Colo. E. S.
143; Md. Ag. Col. E. S. 133; Tex. E. S. 52, 69; Ga. E. S. 91; Kans. E.
S. 70; S. Dak. E. S. 91.)