cabbage - cut & come again

[Two_Sheds]

Does anyone else treat their cabbages as badly as I do?

I don't cut a whole cabbage, just take a leaf or 3 as needed, leaving the plant to carry on growing.
I've been cropping my Offenham this way for ages, and now they are a few leaves on top of a long thin stalk - they don't look pretty, but are still producing more leaves.

[Tam]

I've never grown Offenham and when I googled it, I found the description "on a short stem" which yours certainly doesn't seem to be now. Normally when I cut brassicas, I leave the remains of the plant in the ground and you often get secondary growth. One of my calabrese has four little heads growing which will be eaten tomorrow.

[Flummery]

I often just pull leaves, Two Sheds. There are only 2 of us so a whole cabbage seems a waste. I've been doing the same with this year's Black Tuscany kale - only sown in March but higher than my knees now. Might have to sow a bit more for the winter!

[Two_Sheds]

Normally when I cut brassicas, I leave the remains of the plant in the ground and you often get secondary growth.

yeah, I know. But you only get little leaves this way. With my way, I get big leaves

[zazen999]

Hey, cabbages don't need to look pretty; I always thing of them as a functional veg.

I'm growing those pointy ones for coleslaw this year; if it works they WILL look a picture during autumn/winter.

[Two_Sheds]

Pointy ones? Coleslaw is made with crunchy cabbage isn't it, not leafy cabbage? I'm growing Rodima (red) for winter salads.

Offenham Flower of Spring is my fave leafy cabbage, for stir fries

[zazen999]

The packet is in the garage or i'd get the name. It's crunchy - also used for saurkraut apparently.

[Cutecumber]

Some of the small summer cabbages head up so quickly that you don't get a chance to cut the outer leaves - my Hispi and Pyramid have been pretty much all solid with no outer leaves and are small enough for two of us to eat in one go. Given more space they are undoubtedly bigger and looser.

[hamsterqueen]

My dad always cut a cross in the stump after he had cut a head of cabbage, then he would get 4 little cabbages. He planted any bits of tomato plant that get snapped off too and they often regrew. They knew how to stretch a crop in the fifties!!

[moggssue]

Two Sheds, I hadnt thought of doing that! My cabbage are growing away happily but I was leaving them to mature ... now guess what I'm harvesting for dinner tomorrow ... !!

I also like the idea of cutting a cross where the head was, got to be worth a try!

[snohare]

I just grow for myself, so I rarely take a whole cabbage - just a few leaves at a time, and long after they have bolted, too. And yes, they are almost taller than me ! I think mine ar Offenham 2 FOS as well.