I love Purple cabbages and i have always seen Purple Cabbages denuded of its outer leaves and buffed(waxed) to shine and ready to be sold in markets and neither were they organically grown,i had never grown cabbages before , so this year i decided to go ahead and try and grow my every own organic Purple cabbage from seeds in a pot on my terrace garden.It was a pleasure to see the humble yet exotic looking "Purple cabbages" grow and form heads,so beautiful,vibrant looking in their natural state and most importantly they were free of pesticides.Patience was the key to growing them waited for six long months before i could actually harvest my very first home grown organic Purple Cabbage.
Purple cabbage belongs to the Brassica Oleracea family,its a cool season crop and can be easily grown in pots or containers.Purple cabbages get their gorgeous distinctive dark color from anthocyanins and are loaded with antioxidants.As an amateur gardener if i could grow them anybody can !! The best time to grown them here in India is Mid of June.All you need is good hummus rich soil and your ready to grow ☺
So here's a step by step pictorial guide which will show you how to grow purple cabbages from seeds in pots/containers.
Start by choosing the type of cabbage you want to grow,Cabbage seeds can either be hybrid or heirloom.I choose to grow a large heirloom variety of purple cabbage called Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage which produce large purple heads.
Purple Cabbage grows in soil that is rich in hummus so prepare your potting mix by mixing equal proportions of soil and composted cow manure,add half the quantity of compost or worm castings and a handful of ground Neem cake,you can also add dry leaves to the potting mix,mix all the components of the potting medium to incorporate,line the base of the pot/container in which you intend to grow the cabbages in,with dry hay/pieces of broken bricks/gravels.
Cabbage seeds need humid weather in order to germinate so i sowed the seeds in the last week of June on the 20th, i used the direct sowing method and sowed 3 seeds per hole and spaced the seeds 10 inches apart from each other,after a week tiny purple cabbage saplings emerged from the soil.
I had 100 % germination rate,using a pair of scissors i carefully snipped out 2 seedlings leaving only 1 healthy seedling per slot.I ended up with 4 healthy seedlings in a 2 1/2 foot long pot.
Within a weeks time the first set of true leaves appeared on the saplings.Soon enough new leaves kept on forming i watered the saplings very sparingly as the weather was gloomy and cloudy with frequent light showers,as i feared that the cabbage saplings would succumb to root rot or water logging.
Almost a month had passed by and the rains had arrived the saplings were growing but very slowly, i added a handful of homemade compost at this stage.
Since the potting mix was porous and light, rain water drained of easily also the drainage holes at the base really helped.The purple cabbages started changing their shape slightly.
Up until this stage the cabbage saplings grew really well,they were hale,hearty and healthy and showed no signs of pests.Every two weeks i poured a weak brew of vermiwash followed by a handful of compost.
3 months had gone by no major changes in the purple cabbages ,i would always make it a point to check the undersides of the leaves for aphids and other pests,they did not have any and i was so happy.
At the end of the third month they were some visible changes in the cabbages the leaves started cupping or forming the head,The leaves were so glossy and large with beautiful purple veins.Now i fed the Purple cabbages with well composted cow manure,i simply spread a handful around each cabbage plant.
So far so good things were going well, until one fine day the aphids came knocking on one of the purple cabbages door,my worst nightmare was staring at me right in my face !! I immediately got cotton ball dipped it in some diluted soapy water and wiped away those nasty aphids from the undersides of the leaves.But the next day they would be back again with a vengeance and in double the numbers than the last time.Fearing that they would spread to the other healthy cabbage plants i had to remove it with a very heavy heart :((
Now out of 4 purple cabbages, i was left with 3 and as a precaution i sprayed the cabbages with vermiwash,just to be on the safer side, i also could not afford to lose them to any pests at this stage,It was almost 5 months and it wouldn't be wrong for me to say that i had been caring for the cabbages like my every own babies,this time i would not have the heart to lose a single one of them.
I then changed the location of the pot in which the Purple Cabbages were growing from a spot that receives full sunlight to a spot that receives partial sunlight (around 6 hrs of direct sunlight followed by shade) on my Terrace garden.
The Mammoth Redrock Purple Cabbages were getting huge now true to their name and baby cabbage heads started forming and taking on shape,they also seemed to like their new spot on the Terrace Garden and were growing happily much to my delight.
I continued fertilizing them with undiluted vermi wash,composted cow manure and compost by lightly digging in a handful around the base of the cabbages, be careful while doing this you dont want to damage the cabbage in any way.
Things were going just fine until one fine day i happened to spot a cabbage moth larvae beneath one of the leaves,i squashed it then and there itself.It was time to make a dacoit moth to scare the real ones away☺
I used empty yogurt cups to cut out a butterfly shapes and then using a permanent marker i drew eyes and spots then poked a piece of copper wire through it and that's pretty much it,stuck it between the cabbages and work done !!
Its only at this very last stage that i learned that cabbages love high doses of nitrogen,and they grow faster,will definitely keep this point in mind when growing them the next time.
Another point to keep in mind is to water the cabbages every day,and do not let the soil dry out completely,you can add mulch to help retain soil moisture.
Cabbages are ready to harvest when the heads are firm,big and glossy and feel a bit heavy when you touch them,It was harvest time for my cabbages as the heads now were huge enough....
The long wait was finally over, the moment that i had been long waiting for was here !! It was time to taste the fruit in this case the (cabbage) of my labor !! Lol ☺simply cut the entire head and pulled the outer leaves and they just snapped off so easily,exposing the deep rich purple colored cabbage from within.
I turned the Mammoth redrock purple cabbage into a delicious Coleslaw, and enjoyed it with my family,It was by far the best tasting slaw we ever had, still have two more cabbages waiting to be harvested.
So my dear Friends i hope you like my post and experience on growing cabbages and also hope you find it useful,if you have any feedback or suggestion please do leave a comment below,Until next time "Happy Gardening ".
