# Cabbage. The humble storage crop.



## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

Cabbage is unique among the leaf veggies. It can be stored for many months. Long after the last of the fresh greens from the garden have wilted cabbage will be in it's prime. 

Cabbage is cold season crop in most of the country. It is a heavy feeder. Needs water. But has heavy easy yields. A 50 foot of row will yield 35-50 heads with weights of 7-10 pounds each or more then 300 pounds. 

Cabbage can be eaten fresh chopped in stir fries. Makes a great addition to soups. Can be used in fresh salads. 

To store cabbage for the long haul if you have the right conditions.
Leave cabbage in garden till the ground is almost frozen or temps threaten to go below 25F. Frost doesn't harm cabbage and it will sweeten it. Pull the whole plant. Remove soil from roots gently. Remove all loose leaves. Hang plant from base with string in a cool spot (a cold cellar or unheated garage works great) you want the temperature to be cold in the upper 30's or low 40's but not below freezing. It will keep well into spring.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

And dont forget sauerkraut


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

here are a few pictures..

Cabbage plant.









Just pull it out.









Here is the leaves pulled off.









Here are two hung for storage.









The heads pictured are as big as a soccer ball and weigh about 10 lbs. Right there is 20 lbs of food storage.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Probably 25 yrs ago I ordered 'Surehead' cabbage seed from Burpee, direct seeded into the garden mid July, and had several >10 lb heads by November. Had already made all the kraut we wanted and I had been hankering to try this out; I pulled the heads up by the roots, flipped them upside down, and basically buried them right back in the same spot they had grown in. Left the root sticking up above ground so I could find them later and covered with thick mulch. 

Worked like a charm! Outside leaves on the heads had to be removed that's all. Had fresh sweet crisp cabbage straight from the garden all winter long.

In fact, had three heads left come Spring, so on a whim, just to see, I flipped these back over w/roots down and replanted, AND, lo and behold the head busted open and sent up a flowering stalk that made.... CABBAGE SEED! Cabbage is a biennial.

Oh well, that's my sea story and I'm sticking to it...


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

kyredneck said:


> Probably 25 yrs ago I ordered 'Surehead' cabbage seed from Burpee, direct seeded into the garden mid July, and had several >10 lb heads by November. Had already made all the kraut we wanted and I had been hankering to try this out; I pulled the heads up by the roots, flipped them upside down, and basically buried them right back in the same spot they had grown in. Left the root sticking up above ground so I could find them later and covered with thick mulch.
> 
> Worked like a charm! Outside leaves on the heads had to be removed that's all. Had fresh sweet crisp cabbage straight from the garden all winter long.
> 
> ...


I was thinking of trying to get them to seed but haven't tried. Maybe I should.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

How much nutrition and how many calories do you get from cabbage? I always thought of them as being good for bulk but not for energy. We are formulating what to plant in our garden next spring (first garden ever).


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Cabbage is very nutritious, and not too difficult to grow, it wants cool weather and good soil fertility, but it stores well and readily lends itself to lacto fermentation, i.e., sauerkraut.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

stanb999 said:


> I was thinking of trying to get them to seed but haven't tried. Maybe I should.


Save one of those heads in the pic and plant it back this Spring, it'll send up a seed stalk, don't know if what you've got there is a hybrid variety or not though.


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

Sentry18 said:


> How much nutrition and how many calories do you get from cabbage? I always thought of them as being good for bulk but not for energy. We are formulating what to plant in our garden next spring (first garden ever).


Cabbage is a good source of carbs and it's high in vitamin C.

Potato, cabbage, and animal fat is all you need to live.


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

kyredneck said:


> Save one of those heads in the pic and plant it back this Spring, it'll send up a seed stalk, don't know if what you've got there is a hybrid variety or not though.


I don't know if they are or not. I will have to look into it. I think I still have the packet...


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Cabbage n cheese rules!


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

I have a thing for raw cabbage. I actually buy a head of cabbage and slice it like bread and eat it with nothing else.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Yea, I love raw cabbage too, especially if it's a good sweet head, I'll munch on it big time while slicing for kraut, slaw or cooking. Eating it fermented is the most common way that I eat cabbage raw. Folks should try to get back to the old ways of fermenting foods; I think this is interesting:

"..."For his second round-the-world voyage, *Capt. Cook loaded 60 barrels of sauerkraut onto his ship*. After 27 months at sea, 15 days before returning to England, he opened the last barrel and offered some sauerkraut to some Portuguese noblemen who had come on board. ... they carried off the rest of the barrel to give some to their friends. *This last barrel was perfectly preserved after 27 months, in spite of changes in climate and the incessant rocking of the ship.* The sauerkraut had also *preserved sufficient quantities of Vitamin C to protect the entire crew from scurvy. Not one case occurred during the long voyage *even though this disease usually decimated crews of voyages of this length."..." 
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/09.15.04/dining-0438.html


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Sentry18 said:


> How much nutrition and how many calories do you get from cabbage? I always thought of them as being good for bulk but not for energy. We are formulating what to plant in our garden next spring (first garden ever).


All of the data you could want:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2371/2

You probably can't go wrong with a row of cabbage, two if you have livestock. 



stanb999 said:


> Cabbage is a good source of carbs and it's high in vitamin C.
> 
> Potato, cabbage, and animal fat is all you need to live.


PROTEIN just might be important, along with b-complex, vitD, calcitonin etc etc... :teehee:



Magus said:


> Cabbage n cheese rules!


cheese + just about ANYTHING rules!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Sentry18 said:


> How much nutrition and how many calories do you get from cabbage? I always thought of them as being good for bulk but not for energy. We are formulating what to plant in our garden next spring (first garden ever).


Cabbage has very few calories but is rich in vitamin C, folate, & B6. It's in the same family as broccoli.

I love coleslaw or cabbage fried in bacon grease,then it's not so low cal.


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

The_Blob said:


> PROTEIN just might be important, along with b-complex, vitD, calcitonin etc etc... :teehee:


Here try this link..

Potato
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2

Cabbage
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2371/2

Butter
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/0/2

Technically you don't "need" the butter. Because your not a carnivore and can make b12.

Then

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calories.asp?recipe=831926

There are reasons people ate fried cabbage, boiled potatoes, and other healthy hearty meals made from the humble potato and cabbage. They are easy to grow, stored well and are complete nutrition.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

stanb999 said:


> Here try this link..
> 
> Potato
> http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2
> ...


keep the butter (NOT margarine) & I will agree, especially since vitD & B-complex manufacture are both solar dependent ( :eyebulge: people are PLANTS! :lolsmash: :nuts:  ok, maybe not  ) and it is SO tasty!


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Cabbage (and potatoes) in some circles are one of the reasons Europe was able to develop as it did - they store, are nutritious, and easily grown. Less time searching for food because you have some stored = more time to learn, think, dream and create. I have a large file of cabbage recipes, they are wonderful! Cabbage and 'tater soup...now that is some fine comfort food!
For those who haven't the place to hang cabbage (easiest way to store BTW), it also is a 'keeper' in a root cellar, or a clamp (buried in a trench with insulation so you can dig it up later).


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

I watched an interesting documentary 2-3 yrs ago about the effects of the 'Little Ice Age' on Europe, and one the major changes was the shift to cole crops as a neccessary staple. I don't recall potatoes being mentioned 
(corn, potatoes, and tomatoes were introduced to Europe from the New World) but don't doubt that it played a major role as the potato was already being grown in Ireland before the close of the 16th century.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Something else interesting about this 'plant'; *due to the selective breeding *efforts of man down through the centuries, it has several cultivars such as *kohlrabi, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage, cauliflower and Chinese broccoli which are all the same plant.*http://thenerdygardener.hubpages.com/hub/Brassica-oleracea-Varieties


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

kyredneck said:


> Probably 25 yrs ago I ordered 'Surehead' cabbage seed from Burpee, direct seeded into the garden mid July, and had several >10 lb heads by November. Had already made all the kraut we wanted and I had been hankering to try this out; I pulled the heads up by the roots, flipped them upside down, and basically buried them right back in the same spot they had grown in. Left the root sticking up above ground so I could find them later and covered with thick mulch.
> 
> Worked like a charm! Outside leaves on the heads had to be removed that's all. Had fresh sweet crisp cabbage straight from the garden all winter long.
> 
> ...


I'll be trying this next year. With collards as well.

Right now I have my collards dug and sitting in buckets in the root cellar waiting to be replanted next spring.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

PackerBacker said:


> I'll be trying this next year. With collards as well.
> 
> Right now I have my collards dug and sitting in buckets in the root cellar waiting to be replanted next spring.


Cool! Are you collecting collard seed? Is that why you're overwintering it?


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

WOW! Good to know. I have been trying to figure out what to do for fresh greens in the winter. I can't grow cutting lettuce indoors with the cats- they eat all our plants! Maybe I could make a hanging planter box... 

I digress.


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

kyredneck said:


> Cool! Are you collecting collard seed? Is that why you're overwintering it?


That is my intent. I haven't saved seeds from any biennial yet.

I was given some "blue" collard seeds this summer and they are the best collards I have ever eaten. The only way to get more seed is to produce it.


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

Grimm said:


> WOW! Good to know. I have been trying to figure out what to do for fresh greens in the winter. I can't grow cutting lettuce indoors with the cats- they eat all our plants! Maybe I could make a hanging planter box...
> 
> I digress.


Not sure what your local is but we are still eating spinach and collards and cabbage right out of the garden.

It's my full intent to have at least spinach all winter next year.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

PackerBacker said:


> Not sure what your local is but we are still eating spinach and collards and cabbage right out of the garden.
> 
> It's my full intent to have at least spinach all winter next year.


Southern California. Plus we live in an apartment right now.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

sauerkraut was an old time scurvy preventative in my part of the US - that and canned tomatoes - one ALWAYS cooked their ribs with kraut! It is also an easily stored cruciferous veggies that is a big time cancer-preventer, and was popular during the depression because it WAS so filling - many a meatless meal was cabbage based.


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