In my winter studies one year, I came across the idea that it was possible to achieve multiple harvests from the same cabbage plant. This piqued my interest as one more way to grow more food with less work and make better use of our growing space. However, since this practice was not very common, I was unable to find research on the subject.

Therefore, I decided to devote one 50 square foot bed to a multi-cut cabbage trial the following season and here is how the planting and harvest dates played out. The variety we used for this trial was called Golden Cross and I purchased the seeds from T & T Seeds. This particular variety matures very quickly.

March 26: Seeded cabbage indoors in 1 inch soil blocks
April 18: April was colder than usual so I potted up plants into 4 inch pots to buy a bit more time.
May 4: 26 cabbage plants were transplanted into 30 inch wide outdoor garden bed in two rows 16 inches apart with the plants also spaced 16 inches apart in the row.
June 13 - 27: First heads were harvested as they matured. Total mass of this first harvest was 25.5kg and the average head was 1 kg in size.
July 27 - August 31: Baby heads were harvested as they matured. Total mass of this second harvest was 42kg and the average head was 300 - 400g in size.

Did you catch those numbers? The total weight of the first heads harvested was 25.5kg (56 lbs), but then the plants continued to produce for two more months yielding 42kg (92 lbs) more. That's 67.5kg or 148lbs of cabbage from one 50 square foot bed!

We’ve harvested multiple cuts from our cabbage over several seasons now. The secondary harvest has not always exceeded the first harvest by this same margin, but it has always equaled or surpassed the first harvest.

To learn more about how we optimize growing conditions to keep our crops healthy and productive, check out my Free Workshop: www.vegetableacademy.com/yt-freeworkshop

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