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Especially the old, often forgotten types of vegetables are becoming popular again when growing in your own garden. Butter cabbage, which is similar to savoy cabbage, is a suitable vegetable for home cultivation.

In a nutshell

  • a mixture of savoy cabbage and cabbage in appearance, with a taste close to savoy cabbage
  • Sowing directly in the bed in May after the Ice Saints is possible, cultivating in a protected area is more promising
  • Cabbages ready for harvest about eight weeks after planting in the garden bed
  • Trade also offers bulletproof varieties that can remain in the bed for longer after they are ripe
  • Compliance with a cultivation freeze of at least three years on the same bed

Appearance, growth & origin

Among our grandparents, butter cabbage (Brassica oleracea spp. capitata convar. costata), which belongs to the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae), was a popular variety of cabbage grown in many gardens:

  • very similar in taste to savoy
  • growing combination of savoy cabbage and white cabbage
  • Head of cabbage loose and not completely closed
  • yellow-green leaves
  • frizzy with slight blisters
  • similar protruding leaf veins as savoy

sowing

Sowing directly in the bed is usually not recommended, because then no more frosty nights should be expected. This is only possible after the Ice Saints in mid-May. Therefore, it makes more sense to give preference to the cabbage.

prefer butter cabbage

  • February to May on windowsill
  • not directly above heating
  • Greenhouse is ideal
  • use shallow boxes or bowls
  • use potting soil
  • Sow seeds thinly
  • Keep soil slightly moist
  • Germination at 2° Celsius
  • choose a bright location
  • Temperature here between 15° and 18° Celsius

Tip: Some varieties can be brought forward as early as January. When buying the seeds, you should keep an eye on the information about the sowing time.

Sow directly into the garden bed

If the seeds are to be sown directly in the garden bed, then there are a few other things to consider when growing butter cabbage without pre-cultivation:

  • Do not fertilize the soil before sowing
  • Place seeds on the ground every 40 x 40 centimeters
  • press in slightly
  • Sowing time April to May
  • water lightly
  • Cover the bed with plant fleece
  • if the first seedlings appear, remove the fleece during the day
  • Cover further at night when ground frost is expected
  • Mulch soil around small plants
  • fertilize with organic fertilizer now

As soon as the night frosts after the ice saints in May are over, fleece no longer needs to be placed protectively over the plants. However, it makes sense to stretch a net over the young plants from now on.

tip: If the seeds are also sown directly in the garden bed with sufficient spacing, later pricking out is no longer necessary.

soil conditions and location

A sunny to partially shaded garden bed should be chosen for the butter cabbage. It is also important when choosing the bed that it should only be used for the cultivation of butter cabbage every three years. It is ideal if the soil is prepared in the autumn of the previous year, but no later than one month before planting:

  • nutrient and humus rich soil
  • good water retention is an advantage
  • fold in compost to prepare
  • add clay if the soil is sandy
  • grow other vegetables in the bed next year
  • pay attention to crop rotation
  • do not plant other cruciferous vegetables
  • lettuce, peas, celery, beetroot, spinach are suitable

Notice: The crop rotations mentioned are also well suited for a mixed culture with the tasty cabbage variety. But flowers, such as the marigolds, also keep pests away from the cabbage and can be cultivated next to the vegetables in the bed.

plant

The small butter cabbage plants are only grown in the prepared garden bed after the ice saints, when no more ground frost is to be expected. Because the tender plants would freeze to death in a night frost:

  • prior pricking not necessary
  • plant small plants directly in the garden bed
  • Distance in each case 40 x 40 centimeters
  • Loosen the soil well beforehand
  • pour on
  • water on dry days
  • otherwise, natural rain will suffice

notice: If you plant the butter cabbage plants in the garden bed as early as mid-April, you must ensure adequate protection against frostbite. Mulch the soil all around and lay plant fleece over the bed overnight.

maintenance

If the garden bed and the soil have been prepared accordingly before planting, then there is not much to consider when it comes to care:

  • water sufficiently during the growth phase
  • especially important on very warm days
  • Otherwise cabbage heads will dry out very quickly
  • Leaves lose their delicate substance
  • if heads form, fertilize again
  • use organic fertilizer for this
  • strengthen with horsetail or nettle liquid manure
  • alternatively use organic fertilizer from trade
  • Loosen the soil regularly by hoeing

Tip: In order to store the moisture in the soil, a layer of mulch should be spread over the bed. This can be grass clippings.

pests and diseases

Butter cabbage is more resistant to diseases and pests than other cabbage varieties. If the care is right, the cabbage usually grows without problems. Nevertheless, there are various diseases and pests:

  • Damping-off: a fungus that affects young plants
  • Clubroot: slime mold on the roots
  • cabbage fly
  • flea beetles
  • Cabbage White
  • cabbage moth
Pests such as the caterpillars of the cabbage white (Pieris brassicae) are best counteracted by using fine-meshed crop protection nets.

Tip: So that no fungal diseases occur, it is advisable to always observe the break in cultivation of cabbage on a bed of at least three years. If the bed for cultivation is changed annually, no fungi will usually appear.

utilization and harvest

Butter cabbage is ready to harvest just eight weeks after planting. This means that if the small, preferred plants were cultivated in May after the ice saints in the garden bed, the cabbages are ready for harvest in mid-July:

  • harvest and use as a whole head
  • for a cabbage dish (e.g. cabbage rolls): harvest individual leaves from the outside inwards
  • This keeps the leftover cabbage fresh for longer
  • Storage of harvested heads of cabbage is only possible for a few days
  • harvest before shooting

Notice: When “shooting cabbage” is meant flowering with subsequent seed formation. A shot cabbage becomes inedible and bitter.

frequently asked Questions

Are there different varieties of butter cabbage that I can grow?

There are butter cabbage varieties that can be harvested in both summer and fall. This is the bolt-resistant variety "Vorbote 3" which is preferred from mid-January and "Westlandse Puthes". A variety very similar to Savoy cabbage with a mild and delicate taste is "Goldberg".

How can I prepare the tasty type of cabbage in the kitchen?

As the name suggests, this type of cabbage is a particularly mild and buttery variety. Just like with other types of cabbage, you can use the leaves and blanch them, steam them or serve them fresh as a salad. They are often used in stews or soups.

What can I do if I don't want to sow the butter cabbage myself?

It is true that sowing the tasty cabbage yourself does not require much work, but sometimes there is not enough space to set up the bowls. Then you can also use butter cabbage plants from a nursery and cultivate them in the garden bed.

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Vegetable garden