Page 115 - Vegan Life - Issue 59 (February 2020)

Grow Your Own

Piers Warren provides his insight on cabbages and cauliflowers

abbages and cauliflowers are both apples, brown sugar, spices and vinegar for a from a rich soil, plenty of watering and a
vegetables where use of a selection comforting winter treat. good layer of mulch, as stunted growth
Cof varieties which mature at diferent Storage: Cut winter cabbages at the caused by the soil becoming too dry will
times of the year will enable you to harvest end of autumn; remove the outer leaves result in small and deformed curds.
fresh brassicas all year round. and store nestled in straw or shredded Cut heads as required. Try a few
paper in crates. They should be placed in a shavings eaten raw in salads or steam or
Recommended cabbage varieties: cool, dry building where the cabbages will roast the florets. It also works well in curries.
Pyramid: For spring greens or hearted stay in good condition until spring. Pickled Cauliflower rice is a recently popular
cabbage, harvest from March to June Red Cabbage: Essential at Christmas in our alternative to rice. Pulse florets in a food
Premiere: Round heads, harvest in July household! Shred the cabbage, layer with processor until it resembles rice then roast
and August salt and leave for 24 hours. Rinse the salt of, on an oven tray with a little oil at 200°C
Marner Lagerrot: Harvest from October to dry, pack into jars, and cover with vinegar. for 10 minutes, stirring half way through.
November, a red variety that stores well and Pickled cabbage can be used ater a week Excess cauliflower rice can be frozen before
is also suitable for pickling and should be consumed within 3 months or or ater cooking.
Enkhuizen 2: A Dutch white cabbage it loses its crunch. Storage: Cut into florets and blanch for
suitable for coleslaw, salads or cooking, Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) has 2 minutes before freezing. Adding a little
harvest November to December been a staple dish of Eastern Europe for lemon juice to the blanching water will help
Vertus: A hardy Savoy variety, harvest from centuries. To make your own, finely chop (or the cauliflower keep its white colour. To
October to February grate) 500g of cabbage hearts into a bowl, cook from frozen, boil the florets for about
mix with 15g of salt and massage the mixture 6 minutes.
Sowing times will depend on which varieties with your hands (or bash with a rolling pin They are also a main ingredient in the
you choose. Early spring cabbages can be or wooden spoon) to soten the cabbage. popular chutney Piccalilli. For three or
sown in August the year before. Summer Ater a few minutes juices should form in the four jars, you’ll need about 1kg of mixed
cabbages are oten sown under cover in bottom of the bowl. Pack tightly into a large vegetables (cauliflower, marrow, small
modules during February and March, whilst sterilised glass jar ensuring the juices are at onions and gherkins for example) 10g
autumn and winter cabbages are sown in a higher level than the cabbage, (add a little salt, 10g turmeric, 10g ground ginger, 10g
May. In each case they will need planting out water if necessary). Seal and leave for a few mustard, 10g cornflour, 100g sugar and
to their final growing positions a couple of weeks in a warm place, checking daily and 750ml vinegar.
months later. They will benefit from netting briefly unscrewing the cap to release any Break the cauliflower into tiny florets,
protection to keep the young plants safe from pressure. Taste it ater a week. You can eat and cube the marrow and gherkins. Peel
wood pigeons and to keep butterflies from it at this time or let it ferment for a further the onions. Soak all the vegetables in brine
laying eggs on the leaves later in the season. week or two for a stronger flavour. Once you (100g of salt dissolved per litre of water)
If plants grow poorly, and/or wilt and die, are happy, place the jar in the fridge to stop for 24 hours. Put the sugar and spices in a
they may have been attacked by cabbage fermentation. It will keep for several months. pan and stir in the vinegar. Add the drained
root fly. The white larvae of the fly burrow vegetables, stir and heat to boiling. Simmer
down to eat the roots of the young plants. Recommended cauliflower until the vegetables are tender but not
Practicing crop rotation will help reduce the varieties: pulped. Add the cornflour (mixed in a little
incidence of this; crops can also be protected Medaillon: Harvest from February to March vinegar), stir and boil for a further 3 minutes
with horticultural fleece. Otherwise, you Aalsmeer: Harvest from April to May before jarring up in sterilised jars and sealing.
can make collars for individual plants using Snowball: Harvest from July to September Once opened, keep refrigerated. ■
a circle of cardboard, about 12cm across, Belot: Harvest from October to December
placed at soil level around the stem of each
plant. This prevents the fly laying eggs near Sow the seeds in modules according to the
enough to the cabbage. variety chosen. We oten make at least an
Most cabbages can be let to grow and early sowing under cover in February, then
cut as required. The white cabbages are a later one in May, but you may wish to
perfect for coleslaw and sauerkraut, green practice successional sowing and do it more Piers Warren is the co-author (with his
summer and pointed ones for salads or frequently. Plant out in the final growing daughter, Ella Bee Glendining) of
light steaming and savoy varieties steamed position when the seedlings have reached The Vegan Cook & Gardener: Growing,
as a vegetable dish. Red cabbages, apart a good size. Depending on the time of year Storing and Cooking Delicious Healthy
from pickling or shredding into salads, can the young plants may need protection from Food all Year Round available from
be braised slowly with red onions, cooking pigeons and white butterflies. They benefit shop.permaculture.co.uk

113