Week 38 - Bed 8 Planting

Some of the cabbages in this bed are doing well, but there are a few stunted plants, which could be removed to make space to plant something else - perhaps broad beans. The two sprouting broccoli plants in the foreground have reached a reasonable size. The Ragged Jack Kale seeds that we sowed last week have not sprouted yet. We gave all of the plants a watering with diluted worm tea from the neighbor's worm bin which will help to boost the growth for the rest of the season if the weather remains reasonable.

Underneath all of the cabbage plants we sowed:

• White Clover - a low lying nitrogen fixing crop that is suitable for undersowing

The clover will grow where there is space and light for the next few months and will survive the winter. As the cabbages are harvested, the clover can remain until we are ready to sow into the bed next spring, at which time it can be dug in as a composting crop, adding fertility to the soil.

The largest of the winter cabbages is only starting to form a head.

The largest of the summer cabbages is firm and is probably ready to harvest. The other two plants are quite a bit smaller (especially the one to the top right of the photo) and will likely not produce anything, and can probably be pulled out when the large one is harvested if we wanted the space to plant something else.

The largest of the red drumhead cabbage plants has formed a small head. the other two plants are farther behind. The dark marks on the leaves are from our hands as we felt the firmness of the cabbage.

The largest of the savoy cabbage plants is looking great with the crinkled leaves, with a small head starting to form.