Cabbage is a long standing staple food. Whilst at its best during the autumn and winter when in season, it stores well in the ground and is often used when other vegetables are in scarce supply. There is a large variety of cabbage both summer and winter varieties. They both need quite a long 'maturing' period so cabbages are best to be planned in your garden so that they fit within your planting scheme.

The humble cabbage has a considerable reputation in traditional medicine. Cabbage is a vitamin rich vegetable that contains only around 16-calories in an average portion. The green variety of cabbage is particularly rich in vitamin C and K and is a good source of vitamin E and potassium. There are also traces of Beta carotene, fibre, folate and thiamin (a water-soluble vitamin similar to vitamin B).

Cabbage needs to be handled carefully if the important nutrients are to be preserved. It is an excellent source of vitamin C when raw but nearly half can be lost to the cooking water when it is boiled. Therefore a short boil is better; stir-fry is also a very good option as is cooking in a microwave which greatly reduces the vitamin loss.

There are some common problems with growing cabbages but don't let them put you off. The first are slugs, they love the small tender seedlings and love to have a good munch when they are first put outside and when the leaves are still soft. There are a number of ways to stop slugs and everyone seems to have a different method from beer to salt and even eggshells however we can't recommend more highly using Nematodes as an effective slug killer. They are very easy to apply and are both natural and very effective. Once the leaves have hardened the plant has to face the onslaught of the butterfly. There are two main type of butterfly that attack the cabbage plants, the large Cabbage White and the small Cabbage White and both will lay eggs that once hatched will strip plants bare within a few days. The best way to stop the eggs being laid is to cover the plants with a fine fabric mesh, this will not have any adverse effect on the plants and simply stops the butterfly being able to reach the leaves.

Don't let the bugs put you off growing cabbage, they are quite simple to grow and require quite a small amount of input compared with the meals you will get from the fully grown plants. Our range of cabbage seeds offer both summer and winter varieties and a few special and unusual ones thrown in for good measure. Have fun!

Parkin