I just want to speak a moment about crop "real estate." By that I mean how much space and time a crop takes up. See this cabbage? (Cat for scale.) I just cut it and it's not even headed up yet. (I don't want to wait cause this time of year I get an influx of cabbage worms and aphids, so I want to harvest before the bugs do.) Anyway - when do you think I planted that?
That's a long time. And actually, I probably started the seed in August. It's taken almost a year to grow this little cabbage.
Now, I had hoped that these cabbage would be ready earlier in the spring, April or May, but because of our miserable winter and spring (way more below freezing and snow than usual, way more rain than usual) it took until now. I'm grateful that they even survived all that , but that's an awful long time for an annual. In the time & space this crop has taken up I could have put a greens crop in and already picked it multiple times and be into growing something new there by now. Although, sometimes brassicas will continue to send out shoots after the initial harvest, so hopefully I'll be able to keep picking leaves off these for a while yet.
Two take aways - one is to consider something like this when you question food prices. That cabbage has to pay almost a year's worth of rent for that 2' x 2' + space it took up.
Second is for growers - is it worth it to take up that much time and space in your garden? For those with small home gardens, it may not be. Figuring what the garden "winners" and "losers" are is vital. BUT - it's totally up to YOU and what you want you want in your space. If for example you have a special cabbage dish you love making, or are a kimchi maker, then go for it. You should plant whatever satisfies you, because that is the crop's value. In an upcoming post, I'm going to discuss this kind of garden goal setting and planning which helps us make decisions about how to design and what to grow.
As for me, my garden is big enough, and I no longer grow for market and rely on the cash it generates, to grow some year-long cabbage. In fact, it's time to start seeding for next year's crop... ;)
