[rowlandwells]

like some of you our spring cabbage where a bit disappointing to say the least not even forming only  leaves only fit for the compost heap

 what i noticed was when we pulled them up  they had some  cabbage trying to form on the side of the plant ?  I  just wondered if these deformed plants where caused by to much manure as i planted them in a bed of horse manure or was it just a bad year for spring cabbage
so should lessons be learnt when planting spring cabbage so lets say what is the best way to plant  spring cabbage to get results

i have already potted on my spring cabbage in pots and there growing quite well what i usually do is keep them in the poly tunnel till spring then plant them out in the allotments so when i planted them in the spring this year they looked quite good plants but never seem to  heart only leaves and deformed so
any advise on this topic for those of you who grow spring cabbage would be much appreciated

[mumofstig]

If the head can't grow any bigger, for whatever reason, the will grow new heads from lower on the stems. They'll do this even if you cut the head off and leave the lower stem and roots in the soil.
It may be better for you to plant some of the spring cabbage out in the autumn, rather than keeping them all inside through the winter. I know if you grow some to maturity inside, they will give you an earlier harvest, but spring cabbage usually manages well grown outside.

[rowlandwells]

I understand where your coming from Mum and that does make sense what your saying and explains the deformed cabbage  and  why this is happening

however the reason for keeping the spring cabbage in the poly tunnel overwinter is that our allotments seem to be a frost trap and has had disastrous effects on spring cabbage in the past  I was thinking about planting  spring cabbage in a raised bed down the allotments and covering it with a poly sheet as a protection

but I'm still undecided what will be the best method to go with