[andreadon]

Unusually, I'm after "what went wrong" tips in order to grow cabbages (mainly Savoy) without a heart.

I've got seeds for savoy cabbage. We as a family don't eat cabbage, but we have chickens who do. Problem is that they are fussy things, and resolutely refuse to eat lovely, tight-hearted cabbages. If we give them one, they eat the loose outer leaves and leave the rest.

So, as we can't choose the variety, I was wondering if you could please give us some tips on how to make my cabbages heartless 

[Plot 1 Problems]

How about growing them really close together (say 6' apart) so that they're competiting with each other for nutrients and wont grow big enough to heart up?

[sunshineband]

Don't firm the soil, or grow something naturally loose leaved like a Spring Greens variety perhaps

[rowlandwells]

 that's got me thinking about the spring cabbage I've got growing in pots in the greenhouse that will need potting on to a bigger pot  if we don't plant them because  its still a bit to wet to plant out cabbage


has anyone been growing spring cabbage in pots and will they heart up when planted out in the ground because if its likely they will not heart up then they will end up on the compost heap
and that will be the last time I grow spring cabbage in the greenhouse there's probably 40 pots of spring cabbage and 20 cauliflower plants any advise much appreciated

[andreadon]

Why will you need to compost them.if they don't heart up?
You can still eat them.

Or send them.to my chickens....

[rowlandwells]

well Andreadon  I'd like to think with all that effort I could achieve some hearted cabbage because I believe I did things rite by sowing the seed transplanting them  into modules then into pots same goes for my overwintered cauliflowers the catalogue said the holding ability 95-105 days maturity for seed sown in October and over-wintered in modules under glass and for £6.70 per packet and the plants have been in the greenhouse since the sowings


I've also been told there shouldn't any probs if i pot them on from a professional  gardener so finggers crossed  and yes there's always the possibility we could eat the leaves