Latin Name: Brassica oleracea

Type: Open Pollinated, Cool Season

USDA Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Seeds per Ounce: 7,000

Planting Method: From Transplant

Sunlight: Full Sun

Height: 12 Inches

Color: Green

Heads of Golden Acre cabbage are firm, round, and medium green with white centers. This is a fast-growing Cabbage variety that produces heads that average 3 lbs. It is versatile and excellent fresh or cooked! It matures in about 65 days and is Yellows resistant.

Cabbage is considered one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, since historians trace it back to 4,000 BC in China. The Romans also cultivated it and praised it for its healing qualities; philosphers Pythagorus and Cato both made the lowly cabbage the subject of a book. Jacques Cartier brought the first cabbage to America in 1536. Cabbages were quite popular in colonial America, being pickled and preserved in every possible way to provide food for the winter.

GROWING INFORMATION

Sowing:

Start your Golden Acre cabbage seeds inside 8-12 weeks before the last spring frost, planting them in rich soil 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches apart. Because the first crop of cabbage should mature before the heat of summer, plant your seedlings about 4 weeks before the last expected frost; set them 12-18" apart in rows 3-4' apart, burying the stems about halfway up. For a fall crop, direct sow or transplant seedlings in midsummer. For companion planting benefits, plant these Golden Acre cabbage seeds with aromatic herbs or potatoes; avoid planting them with tomatoes or pole beans. Herbs such as thyme, peppermint, sage, and rosemary will repel the destructive white cabbage moth.

Growing:

If hard frosts come, cover the young plants. Mulch around them to regulate soil temperature, and keep the soil moisture even to prevent the cabbages from splitting. Golden Acre cabbages resist yellowing quite well.

Harvesting:

Harvest the Golden Acre cabbages as soon as they feel firm and reach a good size. Small cabbages tend to be more tender, while large cabbages from fall growth keep well over the winter.

Seed Saving:

Late in the fall, mulch at least six different cabbage plants to ensure genetic diversity. If the climate is cold, digging up the entire plant and storing it over the winter will be necessary - keep it in moist sand at a temperature of about 40 degrees F. Replant 4-6 weeks before the last spring frost. If the heads are still firm, cut a deep X in the top to provide an easier exit for the stem. The stem will grow about 4-5' tall, with many four petaled yellow flowers. Allow the flowers to mature; when the seed pods form, pick them and allow them to dry. Remove them from the pods and store them in a dry, cool place for up to five years.