Verbote cabbage

[Snoop Puss]

Has anyone grown this? The seeds are available from moreveg:

Moreveg sow grow eat and enjoy. Quality vegetable and herb seeds.

But it seems too good to be true: a savoy for harvesting in the summer and for overwintering.

[Zelenina]

Hi Snoop. I haven't grown it but there's a packet of seeds lurking in my stash. I got them in Germany a couple of years ago and they are now out of date, but maybe they'll still germinate. Moreveg have actually spelt it wrong. It should be Vorbote which means harbinger, not Verbote which means prohibitions.

I discovered that it's also known as Herald in English. Here's some info about it under that name which says "Very early variety with light, small, blunt-tipped heads weighing 1lb (0.5kg), which are harvestable in June from an early sowing." and "For autumn harvest sow approximately June 20th."

They also say it can survive light frosts so can be overwintered in areas with mild winters. From your tag it doesn't sound like that's the kind you get in your part of Spain.

So it's quite versatile, but doesn't appear to be a really hardy variety for withstanding heavy frost and snow.
https://www.restorationseeds.com/pro...binger-cabbage

[Zelenina]

Though other suppliers say it has "outstanding cold tolerance" so maybe you'll just have to experiment and see how well it survives.

[Snoop Puss]

Zelenina, that's fantastic information. Thank you.

In fact, what I'm really looking for is an early savoy, and from what you say this fits the bill perfectly, all the more so as it's smallish in size, which is perfect for us in summer and early autumn.

[Zelenina]

Yes it sounds just right for you. Interestingly, while checking the cabbage section of my seed stash I came across a savoy with the Czech name Předzvěst. It looks rather scary for non-Czechs with all those consonants and squiggles over the letters. And it's hard to pronounce with a funny buzzy Czech r and odd e. But I knew the first part signifies something that comes before something else. And when I put it in the translator the whole word means something like advance signal or forerunner or harbinger, so I think it's the same variety. It looks the same and has similar sowing and harvesting dates. Must be good if it's popular in several different languages.

[Snoop Puss]

Must be good if it's popular in several different languages.

Sounds like you're thinking of giving them a go too...

[Zelenina]

Yes, I probably will now you've kindled my interest. And I like savoy better than ordinary cabbage. All my seeds of it are past their sell-by date but I think brassica seeds stay viable quite a long time so they might still be good.