Zambia Agribusiness Society

When you grow cabbages, you are guaranteed a bumper harvest. What is more interesting is that you can plant cabbages throughout the year. All you need is enough land to rotate your crops , as well as control diseases and pest and you can enjoy nonstop harvest. Types of Cabbages: There are several cabbage varieties available varying in size and taste. The large varieties takes a little longer to mature. While the smaller varieties mature faster. The most common in Zambia is the green cabbage , followed by the red cabbage . Not so common are suvoy types (curly cabbages) which are tolerant to cold conditions and have deep wrinkled dark green leaves. Below are some common cabbages planted according to the time they mature: Golden Acer (green cabbage) matures in 65 days and red express matures in 63 days. These are called early cabbages. Baby cabbage takes approximately 71 days to grow and are called mid-season cabbages. Red cabbage which looks like the red acer takes 75 days

Cabbages grow better in a cool environment and are easy to plant, easy to care for and harvest. 1. Land Preparation: Crop rotation should be observed for cabbage farming as the crop uses too many nutrients from the soil in a single growing season. The land, which should have access to plenty of sun and be well drained, must be prepared well in advance - preferably some weeks before planting the seedlings. Land should be nutrient rich and well tilled to a depth of at least six inches. Loosen soil in the planting bed and mix in a two inch layer of compost along with a standard application of a balanced organic fertilizer or manure . 2. Seed Selection and Seedlings: Select the best variety of seed - many new cabbage farmers fail at this stage. The seedling process is the most important part of cabbage growing. If starting with seeds, start 7 weeks or so before the last expected frost. Transplant the seedlings when they are 4 to 6 weeks old. During transplantation of cabbage