Iron head cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Sabauda)

Iron Head Savoy Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Sabauda): heirloom variety of autumn and winter cabbage, particularly rustic and vigorous, it is easy to grow. It tolerates cold well even temperatures close to freezing. As a winter variety, it suffers drought and excessive heat, so it will be important to sow it in time that the cultivation period ends with the increasing of the temperatures. The plant grows slowly, from sowing to transplanting there will be about 35 days, while the harvest period varies from four to five months, depending on the desired size and temperatures. The size of each head must be considered in the planting space, 70 cm between lines and at least 50cm between the plants. It does not require particular fertilization, even those of the previous summer crop may be enough. It is good to keep the soil worked to avoid water stagnation (it does not like humidity). Cabbage is particularly appealing for snails and aphids, fortunately none of these are active with low temperatures. To get the seeds, wait for small pods to appear afrer the flowers and turn brown, collect them and put them to dry , in a ventilated shaded place and store them away from humidity for the next season. This allows for a yearly selection of the plants that are increasingly suitable for the soil and climate of your area and your cultivation method. Cabbage has important nutritional qualities, like almost all brassicaceae, it will be enough to do a little research to find hundreds of recipes, not only Italian ones, it is actually very popular all around Europe, because of its rusticity and temperature tolerance.