Cabbage Colour Dual Mix F1 - Brassica oleracea capitata

The Colour Dual Mix F1 Cabbage is a blend of two varieties of pointed cabbage, one white and the other red. These are excellent autumn cabbages with a mild flavour that can be eaten raw or cooked. It is sown from February to June for a harvest from September to December.

This Cabbage is a very popular 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 interchangeably Drumhead Cabbage or Savoy Cabbage (in Latin Brassica oleracea capitata, capitata meaning "head"), this beautiful vegetable plant belongs to the large family of Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). Native to Europe, it is a biennial plant grown as an annual that produces a more or less tight head, which can be round, slightly flattened or sharply conical in pointed varieties. The leaves of Savoy Cabbage are smooth and their colour varies depending on the variety: from very light green, almost white, to dark green, sometimes slightly bluish, to red tinged with violet to almost 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 us to wait until the first spring harvests.

Savoy Cabbage can be eaten raw or cooked, it can be grated for salads, braised to accompany meat and fish dishes, stuffed, or used in soups and sauerkraut. There is no shortage 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, it also contains a lot of fiber and minerals such as calcium.

In the vegetable garden, it is an easy vegetable to grow as long as you meet its requirements: deep soil, excellent fertilization, and regular moisture. It thrives in the sun and generally does well in cool and rainy climates.

Note: This variety is labeled F1 for 'F1 hybrid' because it is a variety resulting from the cross-breeding of carefully selected parents to combine their qualities. This results in a variety that can be particularly flavourful and/or early while being resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticised or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrid seeds are interesting both for their uniformity and their resistance, but unfortunately, their qualities do not pass on to subsequent generations: it will therefore not be possible to save the seeds for later sowing.

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

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

The gardener's little 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 in it. First of all, for the aesthetic pleasure they provide, but also to repel pests and attract valuable pollinators. So, don't hesitate to plant Gaillardias, Marigolds, Zinnias, Cosmos, Nasturtiums, or even beautiful herbs like Dill, right in the middle of the rows or at the edge of the bed. However, be wary of certain plants, even though they are useful, such as Borage, which tends to reseed abundantly in dedicated cultivation spaces.