Cabbage 'Early Jersey Wakefield'

Early Jersey Wakefield is a sugarloaf type cabbage with dense, conical heads. Sweet with excellent flavour. 9-10 weeks to harvest. 120 seeds per packet.

Price Per Packet: $ 2.50

Growing Advice

Species Name: Brassica oleracea Capitata Cultivar Group

Common Names: Cabbage 'Early Jersey Wakefield', Sugarloaf Cabbage 'Early Jersey Wakefield'

Family: Brassicaceae

Origin

This heirloom sugarloaf cabbage cultivar was bred by Francis Brill of New Jersey USA in the 1840's and released to the public by the seed merchant Peter Henderson in 1868. It was developed from seed taken from English Wakefield cabbages. Early Jersey Wakefield was a popular variety among early market gardeners.

Culinary Uses

Early Jersey Wakefield tastes great raw in coleslaw and salads or cooked briefly in soups and stews to retain its crunch. Produces a compact cabbage head resistant to splitting. Flavour is sweet and crisp.

Growing Tips

Plant a few cabbage seeds every week during the growing season to ensure a continuous supply. Cabbages prefer a neutral pH between 6.5 and 7.0 so add lime prior to sowing if your soil is acidic. Incorporate lots of well-rotted manure and compost into the soil and allow a few weeks for it to fully break down prior to planting. Mound soil around the lower stem to support any cabbage plants that are leggy. Keep an eye out for aphids and cabbage white caterpillars as your cabbages are growing. Cabbage white caterpillars can be removed by hand and fed to birds and aphid numbers can be reduced by planting flowers such as marigolds around the crop which are attractive to aphid predators. Water cabbages regularly or quality of heads will suffer, avoid wetting leaves if possible.

When To Sow

In colder regions of Australia sow cabbage seeds from September to November, in temperate regions sow from March to October and in subtropical areas of Australia sow from April to September. Cabbages will struggle in the tropics but you may have some success sowing from April to August during the dry season.

How To Sow

Sow Early Jersey Wakefield seeds 6mm deep spacing plants about 40cm apart to allow room for growth.

Time To Germination

Cabbage seeds take between 5 and 10 days to germinate after sowing.

Time To Harvest

Early Jersey Wakefield is an early-producing variety with heads ready to harvest in as little as 9 to 10 weeks.

EJ Wakefield Cabbage Head Forming