CABBAGE 



By 



J. C. C. Pkk.i;, Associate Horticulturist 



AND 



G. V. Stelzenmulleh, Field Agent in Horticulture. 



This bulletin coulains the results of several years' 

 experiments with cabbage; together with general cnl- 

 tvu*al directions based upon the experimeiits. The cul- 

 tural suggestions will not hold equally true in all sec- 

 tions of the state, but the fundamental principles are 

 applicable to these different sections. 



Time oi Sowing Seed. 



Cabbage, if properly hardened, will stand tempera- 

 tures as low as 15 degrees above zero for brief periods. 

 As a rule, therefore, in Alabama, cabbage grown from 

 seed sown in October and transplanted to the field can 

 easily be carried through the winter, and at the same 

 time will make considerable root growth. The proper 

 time for sowing the seed is from the middle of October 

 to late spring. Plants produced from seed sown prior 

 to the first of October are prone to run to .seed in the 

 early spring, instead of heading. Several times at the 

 Experiment Station here, seed was sown as early as the 

 last week in August, with the result that more than 50 

 ])er cent of the plants ran to seed. Sowing the seed too 

 early gives the plant an equivalent of two growing 

 seasons. Cabbage is a biennial. Sowing seed earh' 

 in the fall gives the plant a period of active growth. 

 The advent of cold weather then abruptly checks 

 growth, introducing a period of rest, which practically 

 marks off the equivalent of one season's growth. On 

 resuming growth in the spring, the tendency is to set 

 about seeding instead of the formation of a head. 



Seed. 



Great care should be exercised in securing the best 

 seed, as the best is none too good. One may purchase 

 poor seed with the view of saving a small sum, and on 

 the other hand lose several hundred times that amount 

 in the crop. It is essential that the seed be fresh, vig- 

 orous, of a pure strain and true to type, in order to 



