Kitchen Garden Forum

I had two rows of healthy looking "Peter" cabbages growing nicely, back in May. They'd been started off in our garden, then transplanted and covered in netting.

By the end of May, some of them had some slug damage, but I'd harvested a few. However by the start of June, several were showing signs that I can only describe as "shredding".

Tonight, around 80% of the remaining plants have healthy looking dark green outside leaves. However the paler pointy core on them is shredded as if someone had run a knife over them several times.

Guess I've missed the chance to harvest these, but is this just a prelude to bolting, as it's been fairly dry here?

Hello Colin
I think 'Peter' is a spring cabbage so they are well past their sell-by date now. It sounds as though they have matured a while ago and the tight heart is now breaking up.

A gardener who lives a few doors down from me grew these for the time last winter and reckoned they were the best spring cabbage he'd ever grown. They certainly were impressive looking and stood in good condition for a long time. So they're on my list now for next winter.

John

Hi Colin,
I viewed your gallery but thought there would be a photo of 'Peter'. I do not quite understand the shredding bit as everything inside the heart when it heads up to flower should be leaf.
Cabbages seen to explode in growth when they head up.
One day they appear as pointed cabbages the next they are about 3ft tall with flower buds.
I am not familiar with 'Peter' but if this is not an F1 then transplant one plant with a very big root ball to a selected position and allow it to seed. This should give most of us all a supply!
JB.