Cabbage Spring Hero F1 - Brassica oleracea capitata

The 'Spring Hero F1' Cabbage is an early variety that offers beautiful round and compact heads of soft and crunchy leaves in spring. The prestigious Royal Horticultural Society has awarded this cabbage for its high quality. It is sown from July to August for a harvest in April to May.

The Round Cabbage or Drumhead Cabbage is a trendy leaf vegetable. It is a must-have in the vegetable garden, and if we love it so much, it may be as much for its flavour as for the generous size of the heads it forms.

Called either Drumhead Cabbage or Round Cabbage (in Latin Brassica oleracea capitata, capitata meaning "head"), this beautiful vegetable plant belongs to the large family of Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). Originally from Europe, it is a biennial plant grown annually that produces a more or less tight head, which can be round, slightly flattened, or distinctly conical in pointed varieties. The leaves of the Round Cabbage are smooth, and their colour varies depending on the varieties: from very light green, almost white, to dark green, sometimes slightly bluish, to red tinged with violet to nearly black.

Cabbage, although emblematic of winter, can be sown and harvested almost all year round. Varieties are generally grouped into three main categories: spring cabbages that are harvested from late April to June, summer and autumn cabbages for the period from July, and winter cabbages that, along with leeks and parsnips, allow you to wait until the first spring harvests.

Round Cabbage can be eaten raw or cooked; it can be grated in salads, braised to accompany meat and fish dishes, stuffed, or used in soups and sauerkraut. There are plenty of recipes, both in traditional and modern cuisine.

From a dietary point of view, it is remarkable: its energy value is low, but it is very rich in vitamins C, B6, and B9, and it also contains a lot of fibre and minerals like calcium.

It is easy to grow if you meet its requirements: deep soil, excellent manure, and regular moisture. It thrives in the sun and generally does well in cool and rainy climates.

Note: This variety is labelled F1 for "F1 hybrid" because it results from the cross-breeding of carefully selected parents to combine their qualities. This results in a variety that can be flavourful and early while resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticised or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrid seeds are attractive for their uniformity and resistance. Still, unfortunately, their qualities do not pass on to the next generations: it will, therefore, not be possible to save the seeds for future sowing.

Harvest: it is done when the cabbage forms a nice head and before the leaves start to turn yellow. It is done with a knife by cutting just below the head.

Storage: Round Cabbage can be kept in the refrigerator for several days. It also freezes very well after being blanched in salted boiling water. Winter varieties can also be left in the ground. Finally, the production of sauerkraut (lacto-fermentation) allows you to preserve white-headed autumn varieties deliciously.

A gardener's tip: Don't forget the flowers! Even though the vegetable garden is primarily a garden for producing quality vegetables, it is always interesting to plant flowers. Firstly, even if the beauty of certain vegetables like cabbage is enough for the aesthetic pleasure they provide, they also repel pests and attract valuable pollinators. So, do not hesitate to plant, in the middle of the rows or at the edge of the bed, Gaillardias, Marigolds, Zinnias, Cosmos, Nasturtiums, or even beautiful herbs like Dill. However, be careful with certain plants, although very useful, like Borage, which tends to self-seed abundantly in areas dedicated to cultivation.