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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 25, 2009 10:12:16 GMT -5
I'm no master gardener so the fact that I always get great heads from this cabbage speaks mostly about its reliability. Mammoth Red RockLate cabbage, red, round hard head, good storage (I store mine in the back of the fridge or in the garden until late fall), will overwinter under good snow cover to produce smaller loose heads and flowers / seeds. Nice flavour raw or cooked, nutty. I start mine with tomatoes, plant out a month before last frost under cloche and harvest late summer / early fall. Not too bothered by pests.  |
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Post by pugs on Jan 25, 2009 10:55:39 GMT -5
Nice cabbage there. I've never grown them, but I'm going to try this year. Looks like I'll get some seed of that one.
Thanks,
Pugs
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Post by lieven on Apr 22, 2009 15:50:06 GMT -5
I've got nice crosses of 50 % savoy & 25 % red & 25 % white cabbages. I call this grex of mine Corrado. F2 seeds of this double cross are available; contact me! Corrado plants grow into a variety of semi-savoy heads; mostly good keepers, often with pink veins; good taste & variable storage qualities. Some heads survived -17 °C this exceptional winter, so I'm going to keep seeds from these survivors. Lieven, www.lusthof.org. |
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Post by michaeljohnson on Jun 28, 2009 1:04:58 GMT -5
I have access to three types of giant cabbage, should anyone wish to have a go at them, come the autumn, they are from a private collection from a champion grower-although I do not grow them myself as I just do not have the room. I can get a few seeds of each of Brunswick-which is a giant Canadian cabbage, Robinson's giant which is english, Cornish Giant which is also English and the biggest of them all and can weigh 60 to 80 lbs in weight and be up to six foot across -I think you have to get an axe to fell it at harvest time LoL. and I understand the Brunswick can weigh in at a respectable 20lb at times , that all adds up to a hell of a lot of cabbage to cope with  At one time we also had a firm called Marshalls who were offering their own strain of brussel sprouts that they said were each as big as tennis balls up the stem and were like small mini cabbages all they way up, but they seem to have dropped them off for a while now as they were not very popular as the sprout used to blow wide open if even the slightest bit of nitrogen was given in feed. |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 28, 2009 8:28:09 GMT -5
whoa! Giant cabbage!?! Would they fit in the fridge?
Actually, rather a timely posting as I've been pondering how to store my cabbages. They are in desperate need of being harvested, but how best to store them and how long can I expect to keep them? I will be planting again for a fall winter harvest. I wouldn't mind having a few seed for that.
I would really like to have some brussel sprouts! Never had any luck with those in California and they are very hard to come by here. We adore them and Christmas dinner just isn't "right" without fresh sprouts. Could you perhaps send some sprout seeds? That would be marvelous!
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Post by michaeljohnson on Jun 28, 2009 8:34:55 GMT -5
The best sprouts for your area would be some of the new Japanese F1 varieties, they adapt to almost anywhere and any type of land. and have a nice nutty flavour to them and nice tight little buttons that hardly want any trimming at all.
The only real problem with brussel sprouts is that to bring out the very best flavour in them they need to be frosted several times during a hard ground frost, which almost triples the strength of the flavour. but living in southern california I can hardly see that sort of frost happening enough to do the job properly.
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Post by Alan on Jun 28, 2009 11:25:18 GMT -5
Lieven and Michael, please put me on your respective lists for some of each of the cabbages you have posted about above, I would love to have some!
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Post by ottawagardener on Jun 28, 2009 12:52:24 GMT -5
Lieven. I'd love to trial some in Ottawa if you are offering.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 28, 2009 13:47:57 GMT -5
I'm not in California any more. We are now in North Carolina. Here we do manage to get several good freezes a year and even had a bit of snow towards the end of January. Just in time to execute the first asparagus to pop up.
Trouble with this side of the continent is humidity and bugs galore. Still say Japanese F1? Or something else?
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Post by michaeljohnson on Jun 29, 2009 0:18:14 GMT -5
OH"-Sorry, I thought you said you were still in Southern California-my mistake, and yes-the japanese F1 sprouts are proving tops in all respects, they are so popular over here in the UK that they have adopted them into the commercial side and large farming projects, the reason the public like them so much is they are a clean tight sprout with lots of flavour,-when I say clean I mean no mottled disease looking leaves with grey smudges of mould on them as you get with some sprout, you could almost use them straight off the plant without any trimming or waste, the sprouts have a sort of polished shiny sprout with bright green colour and a lovely nutty flavour. Alan- I shall be getting some of the giant cabbages this coming autumn , when the new fresh seed is available, three varieties in all, and I will make sure you get some at the time, the variety Robinson's giant cabbage was originaly developed donkeys years ago from what was then called (Cattle cabbage) for feeding to cattle, one cabbage usually fed two or three cows for the day, but then after a few years they refined it a lot and made it more suitable for eating purposes. all of these giant cabbages seem to be of the drumhead type, but occasionally you get one with savoyed type leaves. the main problem with them is that you need such a heck of a lot of space to grow them in, the biggest of these -the Cornish variety can be up to six foot across the leaves and weigh anything up to 80 or 90 lbs, and stand about three foot high, and are the favorite amongst those who show vegetables in competitions etc, I understand the taste is a nice mild pleasant taste- the ideal thing for those on a cabbage soup diet -with very windy aftertones. Harvesting them is a bit of a problem- I am told that it is a two man job and needs a wheelbarrow to transport them back to the house or sheds etc, one showman uses a small camping axe and a pruning saw to harvest them as I understand the stems are thicker than your wrist and the roots are deep, they always draw some comments or surprise from any visitors or people who see them growing- and they always ask the same question- the reply is nearly always (Miracle Grow general feed) even if it is not true Apparently they need a lot of water during peak growing period as they suck it up like a tree. |
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Post by grungy on Jun 29, 2009 1:38:52 GMT -5
Michael, could you also put us down for a few of these giants.
And'
Lieven, would love to try some of your varieties as well, especially the more cold resistant.
Please let me know what we can do for you in return.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 29, 2009 10:22:38 GMT -5
Not a problem Michael! Thank you  I would like to source some seed and it hasn't popped up yet in any of my searches. If you could put me on to something, that would be wonderful. I found lots of other brassicas, all of which have made me rather hungry. Perhaps I should feed the family....  |
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Post by michaeljohnson on Jun 30, 2009 0:07:52 GMT -5
I will get as many varieties as I can for exchange with all of you come the Autumn- actually I am looking forward to see which of you grows the biggest cabbage-might even have a small wager on it |
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