Why are my spring cabbages turning purple?

[Croila]

I wonder if anyone can tell me why my "F1 Advantage" spring cabbages are turning purple, please, and why the outside leaves are dying off?

I didn't get on very well with cabbages in the ground last year (maggots), so I started these from seed in August last year and transplanted them into Morrisons flower buckets. They survived the winter quite happily, even under two feet of snow, and although they're not massive I think they look okay.

However, over the last month they've started to turn purple! Is this normal? I've been keeping them watered (maybe too well watered?) but I've not fed them at all. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong?

I'd be really grateful if anyone could advise what I should be doing regarding feeding them, and when spring cabbages are supposed to be harvested, and why the heck they've turned purple??

Many thanks!
Kind regards
C

[chris]

dunno, but again lol at your blog love it

[Croila]

dunno, but again lol at your blog love it

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Reading about Advantage 2 things crop up that might have a bearing. 1 the instructions say from an August sowing it will last well into mid April. 2 Some pics show the mature cabbage with a purplish tinge.

Colin

[Snadger]

Spring cabbages benefit from a bit of a nitro feed in the spring. Sulphate of ammonia is the inorganic choice of many but an organic alternative could possibly be nettle tea or dried blood.

PS 'Spring' is not always when they mature, sometimes taking up until July!

[morverngirl]

Interested that you got flower buckets from Morrisons, my local branch will not sell/give away, any advise on how to get them

[arpoet]

When i was a fruit and veg buyer we used to get a lot of later spring cabbages with some red leaves. If memory serves me right the redness uses to cook out like PSB does.
Roger

[Florence Fennel]

Interested that you got flower buckets from Morrisons, my local branch will not sell/give away, any advise on how to get them

I get mine from Asda, have you got a branch near you? They give them away and will even save some on the Customer Service Desk if you telephone. You've just missed the Mothering Sunday Bonanza, but Easter's coming up and that empties the flower buckets. Hope you get some.

[Flummery]

I had a feeling (but I might have dreamt it!) that the leaves went a bit purple if they got very cold. I don't think it affects their eating properties at all though.

[pipscariad]

Mine are doing the same (they're in the ground at the plot btw).... They look healthy enough, so we'll wait and see. I've never grown them before, so have no previous knowledge of whether this is a reasonably common occurance. I saw a Cabbage White near them today - eek - I wasn't planning to get my brassica nets sorted this early!

[Flummery]

Could have been a green-veined white - which we have seen recently.

Flum (who likes to have a bright side to look on!)

[pipscariad]

Could have been a green-veined white - which we have seen recently.

Flum (who likes to have a bright side to look on!)

*rushes off to look at butterfly id book* I do hope you're right, it did seem very early to me! Perhaps it thought it funny to menace me by fluttering by my brassica's....

[chris]

Actually.. thinking abouti t, I'm a bit dissapointed there's no language about the purpleness on your blog! sort it out next time please

[Croila]

Thank you for the replies as to the purple cabbages, everyone! Much appreciated!

I gave them some liquid seaweed (seeing as that's all I had in the shed left over from last season), and they're actually looking fine now. The outer leaves aren't TOO bad, and the purple ... Well, it looks pretty so I'm not going to worry, and it IS pretty cold here so maybe Flummery's right?

[wellie]

Ignore me, because I'm not adding any wisdom to your thread, but I just wanted to reassure you that you're not the only one with purple-blushed brassicas. Only one (out of four) of my Summer Sprouting Broccoli have developed lower leaves of purple since having been planted in the ground, and like you, I was kind of scratching my head.
Things in my productive patch grow up knowing that they've got 'Two Chances' and if they insist on misbehaving, they get replaced by better-behaved babies.
Good Luck with yours.X