cabbage

[T]

Is cabbage hard to grow?

Zone 6B

[peek0703]

No, the only problem I've had is with cabbage moth worms. They will wipe out a plant in days. Fortunately, Bt will solve the problem with regular applications.

[T]

what is Bt?

[songbird]

if you don't like turnips why would you grow cabbage?

bok choi may work if cabbage does not.

like the other poster said, cabbage worms can be a real PITA, but you can cover the plants in a net and keep them off that ways.

we grew cabbages once and they did well other than the bugs that ate them all the time - even when i was picking worms off every day and the wasps/hornets were doing their patrols they were still not able to keep up with the number of eggs being laid on them. we still did get a harvest but it wasn't worth it to us and i've not grown them since.

Bt is a bacteria which is poisonous when ingested by bugs.

songbird

[peek0703]

Bacillis thuringensis (spelling?), I used to buy it under the trade name Dipel.

[peek0703]

There are many strains of Bt, generally they are specific to larvae of certain species. Dipel is specific to larvae of the genus Lepidoptera (moths and some butterflies). There are strains specific to potato beetle and mosquito larvae as well.

[Nyssa]

Thuracide is another trade name for BT. It comes concentrated, so you just use a tablespoon or two mixed with water, then spray it on the plants as needed.

It's harmless to humans and pets, can be used up until the day before harvest, and also can be useful to use on other leafy plants that can be attacked by chewing insects.

I've grown several types of cabbage in the past and this stuff has worked fine for me. I've used it on broccoli too, but you've really got to reapply the stuff often, especially after a rain.

Songbird mentioned bok choy. I've grown several varieties of various sizes, and a couple that really are nice are Extra Dwarf Bok Choy which only grows a couple of inches and has a short growing period and Dwarf Bok Choy that grows to between four and six inches tall and is closer to a useful size for my use. The regular bok choys all grow much larger and it's impossible to use it up before it goes bad.

It's tasty raw in salads and I use it mostly in stir fries.

Too much information?

Nyssa, who thinks she just hit on a new topic for her website

[T]

Hi Songbird,

I LOVE cabbage, not the flavor free blue type.

I CAN'T STAND turnips. YUK! YUK! YUK!

Speaking of turnips, Burpee is bragging about there new variety: Silky Sweet

Hmmmm: a sweet turnip. I would probably hurl.

Chinese cabbage. 1 cup: glycemic load of 1. Perfect. I am not finding the actual carbs as folk are doing that fraudulant "net carb" garbage on it, but if it is similar to regular cabbage, it woud be around 5 grams per cup, which is also perfect.

I have to get some at the store and see how it tastes.

Do these annoying pests go after Chinese cabbage too?

[derald]

Bt is a biological agent (not a chemical poison) that is widely used in "organic" gardens. Bt {Bacilllus thuringiensis (k)} is an organism that when eaten by them kills ANY lepidotera?even the pretty ones?in its soft body instar (caterpillars and "worms") by stopping its digestive system from working. Widely available in a liquid concentrate and in a powder. Bt (i)) is effective exclusively on most mosquito species and is generally available as bouyant "dunks", which may be floated on standing water to eliminate larvae, and is less widely available in a granular form. Bt is highly selective, short lived, and affects only a very small universe of crawlies. It is harmless to other insects, including ants, wasps and bees, to reptiles and to mammals.

[Nyssa]

If you like Chinese cabbage, you might want to take a look at a variety called Vitamina. It's fast-growing and loves cool weather.

It's an upright-growing napa cabbage type I found at Kitazawa seeds.

Nyssa, who would grow it more often if her neighbors would help eat some of it, but they don't care much for Asian vegetables

[T]

ipe out a plant in days. Fortunately, Bt will solve the problem with regu lar applications.

oft body instar

Fascinating!

They got one for squash bugs?

[T]

Thank you. I will look at Burpee -- no have. Rats.

I can't get anything I get from Kitazawa to germinate.

[Terry Coombs]

  There's even one that works very well on wax moths in my bee hives . Those wax moths will really mess up the comb if they get ahead of the bees .

[Terry Coombs]

  No , but diatomaceous earth works well on them . Kinda like rolling in a bag full of razor blades to an insect with a waxy carapace , the sharp edges abrade the waxy coating and they dry to death .

[Bloke Down The Pub]

With enough Chinese/Napa cabbage you have the makings of pots and pots of KimChi.

Mike

[Nyssa]

Kim chi is something I avoid. The smell of the stuff was everywhere when I was in South Korea, especially in the public washrooms. ;)

I did have a Korean programmer on my team who loved homemade kim chi. She said she and her husband liked it more than a good steak.

Different strokes.

Nyssa, who still has a couple of pots outside growing small lettuce and onions despite a few frost-filled nights

[T]

Hi Nyssa,

Whist in the military, those that were stationed in Korea had a saying for when things went wrong: "in deep Kim Chi". They also described a fermented fish head sauce that the Vietnamese liked. As you said: different strokes.

How much time did you get to spend in South Korea? My main contact with South Korea is watching the soaps on Viki. One has to know if Putzette ever admitted she likes Putz. :-)

-T

Cracks me up when they cuss and beep out the cussing and they English translation pops up "my life is terrible". Apparently they are sensitive to what we think of them. I am also surprised at how much English they use in their society.

[Nyssa]

Four business trips to South Korea spread over the late '80s and early '90s. I was doing software for the Army and had to go for acceptance testing and once I was on hand as a software consultant during US-ROK joint exercises.

Nothing like the smell of an underground bunker during those joint exercises.

Usually I was there for a week to ten days at a time. I enjoyed the bol gogi but could do without the kim chi.

Nyssa, who always got stuck doing a ton of shopping for all of my coworkers that took up any free time I might have had

[T]

I can not even imagine! Yikes !!!