Cabbage works like a charm here – at least if planted over the winter. I usually plant cauliflower and Brussel sprouts in early or late fall. They’re just fine with colder temperatures and as soon as the weather gets warmer you can watch them grow bigger by the day.
Last year I planted a little too early in late summer and I planted on the side of the vegetable garden that is protected from the western wind. Both may be responsible for the fact that all cabbages were terribly afflicted by all sorts of beasties, from tiny snails and cabbage white caterpillars to cabbage bugs and cabbage flies.
Until the beginning of winter I checked my cabbages almost every day. Picked snails and caterpillars off by hand, sprayed for flies with soapy water, trapped bugs in glass jars… And still, by October the leaves looked more like Swiss cheese than anything else. But over the winter they recuperated and produced a load of tender and sweet Brussel sprouts in February and giant white cauliflower heads by March.
Perpetual “tree” cabbage
I’m not quite sure what to call it, finding it under various names online: perpetucal cabbage, perennial cabbage, tree kale… It makes a thick stalk and keeps growing cabbage leaves at the end of it and even tiny little cauliflower-like heads.
I had bought it at a plant sale last spring and at the end of winter it was finally looking good and healthy on its long stalk. But as soon as the weather warms towards the middle of March, cabbage whites and their caterpillars are back…
Yesterday I harvested the whole of it and it made a small vegetable side for our meal for two. Since it turns out that we don’t much like the taste of it I won’t bother with it anymore and take it out.
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