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Grow savoy cabbage in your own garden. We present suitable varieties and give tips and tricks from sowing, care and fertilization to harvest.
The savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. sabauda) belongs to the Cabbage family. It is particularly closely related to white cabbage, also known as white cabbage. Savoy cabbage can be grown all year round. In spring the heads of the savoy are light green (so-called early savoy). Later varieties, on the other hand, are mostly deep green to dark green in color. Savoy generally grows a little faster than other types of cabbage and can be planted later or harvested earlier. Savoy cabbage is a grateful companion for the hobby gardener, because this type of cabbage is very easy to care for and can be easily grown in your own garden. The savoy cabbage proves to be somewhat more robust than its relatives. This makes it an ideal start for hobby gardeners when it comes to growing cabbage.
Growing savoy cabbage all year round: This is how it works step by step
We will guide you through the gardening year with short instructions - from the seed to the crunchy savoy cabbage:
- Decide whether you want to sow seeds yourself or buy young plants. Rearing is not particularly difficult. There are early, medium and late ripening varieties of Savoy cabbage.
- There are different varieties to choose from, a few popular ones summarized briefly: An early variety is called Vorbote 3 (high cold tolerance; cuttings can be planted out very early). Medium-early varieties include Wirosa F1 (dark green and heavily curled leaves), Vertus 2 (high yield, heavy heads and appreciated for its mild flavor). The late varieties include Alaska F1 (finely curled cabbage heads, long storage time), Langendijská (light green leaves and medium-sized cabbage heads) and Marner Grüfewi (very robust, even survives cold winters outdoors).
- Early varieties of savoy should be sown in February. A bright window sill or a greenhouse is suitable for this. For medium-sized varieties, May is ideal for planting out or sowing. The Sowinglate varieties can be done from July. Most of the later varieties of savoy cabbage can also overwinter outdoors without any problems.
- Sunny beds are preferred. But half-shady places are also perfectly adequate. A loose to slightly loamy and nutrient-rich soil is preferred as a member of the heavy feeders. If your garden soil is rather sandy, the soil can be improved with compost and horn shavings before planting out. Our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil is also ideal for savoy cabbage.
- For planting out, a distance of between 40-80 cm should be kept, depending on the variety. If there is still night frost when planting the early varieties, a fleece cover can serve as protection overnight. You can plant out the early maturing cabbage plants in early April. Medium varieties can be planted out in May. August is recommended as the planting date for late varieties.
- During the growth phase you should occasionally loosen the soil around the plant with a hoe. Savoy cabbage is one of the so-called hoe plants, which do very well if the soil is regularly loosened.
- On dry days it should be watered regularly. The growth of the savoy can be supported with a nitrogen and potassium fertilizer. Don't fertilize too much: this will quickly lead to reduced disease resistance and a sulphurous taste. The storability also suffers from excessive fertilization. Therefore, stop using fertilizer a few weeks before harvest. Our Plantura organic tomato fertilizer is such a potassium-rich fertilizer and gently releases its nutrients to the savoy. This makes it a very good choice for fertilizing vegetables.
- Early varieties can be harvested as early as July if they are sown in good time, later varieties can be harvested well into winter. Most hardy savoy varieties can be harvested even in permafrost.
Important tip: After the harvest, no cabbage should be grown in the same location for at least four years. This is absolutely necessary to prevent soil borne diseases and to give the depleted soil some rest.
Savoy cabbage is one of the so-called cabbage species. Another representative of this group is butter cabbage, which has almost been forgotten nowadays. We introduce you to cabbage in our special article.