Cabbage 'Filderkraut' Organic

Named for the region it hails from, Filder, near Stuttgart in southern Germany, Cabbage ‘Filderkraut’ it is a medium-late pointed cabbage with a high sugar content. The point is coreless, making it very easy to cut fine shreds.
In contrast to the round white cabbage, this pointed cabbage has finer leaf structures, which are looser on each other. It has a smooth and somewhat sweeter taste in comparison to other varieties, making it one of the very best sauerkraut or coleslaw cabbages there is.

Filderkraut is a long season, autumn cropper, the extreme pointiness is formed slightly later and if left, can reach a large sizes, but it shouldn’t just be thought of as a processing cabbage. It is hands down the best tasting, sweetest cultivar with none of the sulphur-y pungency that mars many of the modern varieties.
A trustworthy variety and very easy to grow, it should be grown on a nutritious and moist soil, although it demands less from the soil than other head cabbages.

Filderkraut heads up most strongly in autumn. Sow in late April to early May for heavy heads by October. Alternatively, sow in early June for lighter heads by late October to November. Transplant when there are 6 to 8 true leaves, planting 60cm apart, and harvest from early autumn. 100 to 120 days to maturity.
When winter comes the crops can be kept in storage in a frost-free area for a limited time. They can also be lifted and stored with the roots intact in a container filled with sand. This is one of our most exciting new vegetable introductions of the past few years, strongly recommended, especially for fermenting enthusiasts.

Written records of this German heirloom date back to the 1700’s but with the mechanisation of the kraut industry in the mid 20th century, it fell out of favour due to its awkward shape for mechanical processing. Having maintained a regional following, it was boarded on Germany’s Slow Food Ark of Taste and has since then found a wider audience.

• ProSpecieRara
  Cabbage 'Filderkraut' has been awarded by ProSpecieRara as a rare or old variety. ProSpecieRara is a network partner of the European SAVE Foundation and is a foundation dedicated to preserving the diversity of rare plant varieties and traditional crops from extinction.
• Certified Organic Seed.
  This seed has been organically produced. The seed has been harvested from plants that have themselves been grown to recognised organic standards, without the use of chemicals. No treatments have been used, either before or after harvest and the seed is supplied in its natural state.

Prepare the site:
All brassica crops grow best in partial-shade, in firm, fertile, free-draining soil. Start digging over your soil as soon as you can brave the elements. Remove any stones you find and work in plenty of well-rotted manure or compost. Tread on the soil to remove air pockets and to make the surface firm. Brassicas will fail if the soil is too acidic; add lime to the soil if necessary, aiming for a pH of 6.5-7.5.

Sowing: Sow successionally from April to May
Nearly all brassicas should be planted in a seedbed or in modules under glass and then transferred. Seeds should be sown thinly, as this reduces the amount of future thinning necessary and potential risk from pests.
Sow seeds 12mm (½in) deep and space 15 to 20cm (6 to 8in) between rows. Once the seeds have germinated, thin the seedlings to 7.5cm (3in) between each plant. After germination, seedlings will often be ‘leggy’, so plant them as deep as possible to really anchor them into the soil.
Cabbage seedlings are ready for transplanting when they are between 6 and 8cm high (2½ to 3in). Water the day before moving, and keep well-watered until established. Plant firmly, close together for small heads and wider apart for larger cabbages, around 30 to 45cm (12 to 18in) apart.
To grow spring greens, plant out to 15cm (6in) apart and take alternative plants in March as spring greens leaving the others to fully mature fully.

Growing:
Clear away any yellow leaves. Feed the plants as they near maturity with a foliar feed.
Water regularly, especially in dry periods. Hoe between plants as required.

Harvest: 100 to 120 days to maturity.
Earliest heads can be cut, leaving the stump in the ground to produce a second crop of small leafy heads.

Tips:
Brassicas are affected by a wide range of pests and diseases, especially the fungal disease, club root. The roots become stubby and swollen and can develop wet rot, while leaves become yellow and wilt, causing severe stunting of growth. Remove any infected plants from the ground and destroy. Make sure the soil is adequately limed and well drained. Rotate your crops annually to avoid disease. Don't grow brassicas on the same plot more often than one year in three, as moving the crop helps avoid the build up of soil pests and diseases

Companion Plants:
Mint: Effective against Cabbage White Butterflies, Aphids and Flea Beetles
Thyme: To ward off that nasty Cabbage Worm!
Also useful: Sage, Oregano, Borage, chamomile and Nasturtium.

Origin:
In the wild, the Brassica oleracea plant is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, and is somewhat similar in appearance to a leafy canola plant.
Without detailed knowledge of plant breeding or genetics, simple selection by the people growing the plant over seven thousand years that had the features that they most desired, led to the development of six dramatically different vegetables. Although they appear very different, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts are all the same species, Brassica oleracea.
As time passed, some people began to express a preference for those plants with a tight cluster of tender young leaves in the centre of the plant at the top of the stem. Because of this preference for plants in which there were a large number of tender leaves closely packed into the terminal bud at the top of the stem, these plants were selected and propagated more frequently.
A continued favouritism of these plants for hundreds of successive generations resulted in the gradual formation of a more and more dense cluster of leaves at the top of the plant. Eventually, the cluster of leaves became so large, it tended to dominate the whole plant, and the cabbage "head" we know today was born. This progression is thought to have been complete in the 1st century A.D.

Nomenclature:
Cabbage is known botanically by the name Brassica oleracea variety capitata, which translates to "cabbage of the vegetable garden with a head." (Kale plants are named Brassica oleracea variety acephala which translates to mean "cabbage of the vegetable garden without a head.")
The Latin name Brassica derives from the Celtic ‘bresic’. The species oleracea refers to a vegetable garden herb that is used in cooking.
Often called a "York Cabbage", it is a name for a type of cabbage, not a variety. It has pointed heads rather than rounded ones.

Types of Cabbage:
The cabbage comes in three waves, spring, summer and winter with varieties being described by their time of harvesting, not their sowing times. Just to add to the fun, summer cabbages last into and can also be cut in the autumn!

• Spring Cabbages (sow in late summer / early autumn)
  Spring cabbages are usually sown in July and August being planted out in September and October to overwinter and be harvested from late February through to the beginning of June. In windy areas, earth up around the stem and compress the soil with your foot to ensure the plants are stable and don't suffer root rock.
  They tend to be conical in shape and quite loose leaved, often referred to as spring greens or collards.
  
  
• Summer Cabbages (sow in spring)
  Usually these are ball headed (drumhead) sown from mid-February under glass to mid-May being planted out in May and June to provide a harvest from late June to November although more usually August and September are the prime harvesting months.
  Most tend to be round in shape although the Greyhound and Hispi varieties are conical like spring cabbages. For the earliest crop, sow early.
  
  
• Winter Cabbages (sow in spring/early summer)
  The winter cabbages are generally sown in late April through May, being planted out in July to provide a harvest from November right through to March. They're ball or drum-headed and obviously hardy.
  Some varieties will store for months, cut the head and remove outer loose leaves (bet you find a slug!) then store in a cool dark place, preferably on slatted shelves to allow airflow. White varieties are ideal for coleslaw and all will make sauerkraut.
  
  
• Savoy Cabbage
  The savoy type of cabbage is basically a ball head but the leaves are crinkled rather tan smooth. Sowing and planting are just like winter cabbages except the cutting season tends to be a little wider.
  Some faster maturing varieties are ready as early as September and some will hold in the ground until the beginning of April.