How to let Cabbages Go to Seed
Letting cabbages go to seed is an easy way to save seeds. Saving seeds is a great way to set your garden up for sustainability, and also a great way to save you money. If you can get just one of your cabbages to go to seed, you will have tons of seeds for the next planting season…for free. Keep reading below to find out How to let Cabbages go to Seed.
Why Let Cabbages Go to Seed?
My husband and I plant a ton of cabbage every year because it is such a versatile plant. Cabbage is also very easy to harvest which makes it a favorite in my book. Not to mention one plant produces enough seeds to last you for many seasons.
I try to save as many seeds as possible every garden season. Saving seeds first started off as a fun challenge for me, but I quickly realized it was also a great money saver. When it comes to saving cabbage seeds, the work is really on the cabbage plant. It is your job to make sure the cabbage is in the right environment at the right time.
How to Let Cabbages Go to Seed?
A lot of people clean out their gardens before the winter, and start fresh in the spring. I try to leave things growing in my garden to see what I can over-winter, and what I can possibly get to go to seed. My advice is play around with your plants. just because you harvest your big cabbage head doesn’t mean the plant it done. A lot of times you can get multiple small cabbages to grow after your big harvest. Or you can leave the plant to go to seed.
In the Summer I put down quite a bit of seeds, so I have the best chance for growing. I do this knowing the plants will likely need to be thinned out. We grew about 50 tiny cabbages. When the cabbages get big enough to be transplanted, I separate the plants and move them to their growing spot in garden. This will be where they will live all fall and winter, throughout the spring. Keep in mind they will be living here for a while so put them in a spot you are not going to want to use when the spring rolls around.
Growing Cabbages through the Seasons
Water the plants regularly throughout the fall, and once winter comes let them be. We have pretty mild winters in Missouri; however, we did get quite a bit of snow over the winter. When spring came we had about 10 plants out of 50, or so, that were still really green and nice looking.
Some of the plants were actually getting pretty monstrous. We put cages around all of the cabbages to keep the animals from getting to them. Then we just let them keep growing. All but 2 of the plants started making little flower heads. This is when it starts to get exciting.
Once the flowers start to form and die off that is when you will notice the green seed pods. So the moral of the story is it is all about timing. You have to be patient, and let the cabbage do its work. All you have to do is sit back, be patient, and reap the benefits.
Hopefully this gives you some motivation to give seed saving a try for yourself. Keep following along with The Four Acre Farm for Easy Homemade Recipes, Gardening Tips, & Budget Friendly DIY.
