Giant Cabbage Attempt
Mid Jan I started to think about starting the ‘giant cabbage’ seeds I had eagerly bought last year. I read the guide on ‘GiantVeg.com‘ and it seems I was a little late! Most growers start their seed in the autumn, however never dishearted I asked an expert for advice and was advised sowing in Jan would be fine! I am not expecting a World Recold holder here – the heaviest cabbage set in 2012 was over 68kg (138lb). This is just a bit of fun to see how big it grows with my modest effort of treating them well!
The plan:
*Seeds sown 14/1/21 in coir plugs placed in a heated propagator.
*Once germinated taken off the heat and placed under grow lamps in the spare room.
*Prick out into individual small (3.5″) pots and transfer to the poly.
*Keep potting on until the plants are growing in 5 litre pots
*Plant one cabbage in 6x3foot bed removing the bottom few leaves to plant deeply with rotted horse manure in the planting hole.
*Feed monthly with chicken manure
*Construct a frame around the plant to support it as it grows and cover with environmesh to prevent butterfly and pigeon damage.
Due to the recent cold temperatures initially I have placed the seedlings on top of the hot bed in the polytunnel. Here you can see how warm this is. The surface temperature of the bed is a good 15-20C.
Seedlings pricked out into 3/5inch pots with multipurpose compost Hot bed covered for insulation and so the plants don’t sit right on the steaming manure Polythene covered initially overnight (uncovered in the day) Giant cabbage seedlings
Wish me luck!