«Goblet» - Organic Napa Cabbage Seeds

Top-quality Napa or "Chinese" cabbage has juicy, tangy-sweet flesh and a delicious cool and crispy texture. Extremely vigorous, with excellent disease resistance, Little Jade plants form dense, wineglass-shaped 8" - 10" heads.

Enjoy the versatile and nutritious crunchy stalks as a snack, with dips for in coleslaw. Stir-fry for everyday meals; sauté quickly with garlic and ginger and add a handful of toasted peanuts or cashews and a splash of hot sauce. Or consider making your own kimchi!
 

Chinese cabbage is an excellent crop for late summer when days are long and nights are warm. At other seasons it bolts readily and is satisfactory only as mini leaves. Sow in very fertile soil and water carefully to ensure good growth and to suppress bolting. Sow thinly outdoors from June to August, every three weeks for successional crops, 1cm (½in) deep in rows 38cm (15in) apart.

Thin seedlings to 30cm (12in) apart for large heads or to 15cm (7in) apart for ‘cut and come again’ salad leaves.
 

Chinese cabbage needs a deep, moisture-retentive soil and a firm bed on an open sunny site; it benefits from some shade in summer. Add manure and fertiliser before sowing.

Acidic soils should be limed if necessary as this crop is very susceptible to clubroot disease – a fungal organism suppressed by alkaline conditions. Water before the onset of drought, to keep the soil moist and prevent ‘bolting’. Keep soil weed free.
 

Harvest ‘cut and come again’ crops, from seedlings to semi-mature plants, using scissors or a sharp knife. Plants that are harvested once the root has established will re-sprout several times then finally ‘bolt’. When this happens, harvest the flower heads before they start to open, as you would broccoli.

Most cultivars form hearts well,  but some might need binding. Tie up the heads of hearting varieties with soft twine or raffia when they reach maturity. Protect maturing plants with cloches, from autumn onwards, to stop moisture from rotting the heart.

Mature heads can be cut and stored in a frost-free shed or refrigerator. Remove the head and leave the stump to produce more, smaller heads or ‘cut and come again’ leaves.