Adapting to ground animals when gardening...Cabbage

Here in Minnesota we continue the "ups and downs" of mother earth and the weather.  Such a long and cold winter and spring has been quite late, or at least it seems that way.  Then a few days of 80-90 degree F weather and now we are back to the 40's where I live.  I have the fireplace on to get some heat in this house and I am still cold.  And this cold weather will pass and then we will be concerned about the hot weather and the effect on our gardens.

Just as we have to adapt to the weather, we also when gardening need to be alert to the adaptations we need to make in many areas.  One that is a big one for me is adapting to the ground animals, rabbits, moles, voles and gophers.  We have a lot of these in our area, especially the gophers and moles.  The rabbits are a few but growing.  About three years ago, while I was taking my daily walk in the gardens with my cup of tea in hand, I noticed that the cabbage was looking pretty limp and wilted.  As I examined it I realized that the roots had been eaten.  Sure enough there were these underground tracks under the soil and under my cabbage.  The gophers love the roots of these vegetables.  Each day one or two more cabbage plants "hit the dust".  So it was adaptation time or lose them all. 

From that day on I started growing my cabbage plants in ten gallon containers and they have done beautifully.  I outsmarted the gophers and even the moles/voles and I grow cabbage successfully and have lots of sauerkraut in the fall.

A little about cabbage.  For me, cabbage is pretty easy to grow.  I just need to watch for the white moths that fly around in my garden in early to mid spring.  These moth lay their eggs on the underside of the cabbage leaves and become those effervescent colored cabbage loopers which chew on the leaves. I spray Bt on the leaves and when the cabbage loopers chew on the leaves with the Bt they die but it takes a few days.  If I miss the eggs/larvae stage, I need to hand pick the cabbage loopers and throw them in soapy water.  This seems to be pretty effective in controlling them and the effects on the leaves.

Cabbage is a "cool weather" plant and I usually plant them just before or after the last frost date.  They can tolerate frost and light freezes.  They are heavy feeders, especially in nitrogen and potassium and need a rich well-drained soil to grow in.  Because I grow them in containers, I use an organic potting mixture.   About every two weeks I will "side dress" the cabbage.  This means that I add compost along side the cabbage and gently dig it into the soil in the container, avoiding the "root zone'.  Their root depth is anywhere from 12 inches to 5 feet so you can see why the gophers love this vegetable.  The roots  are a great "fill me up" meal for them.

Water as you would for most vegetables, however water heavily early in their growth.  When planting in containers, you will need to check daily for the moisture level and then water if it is dry.  It is really important to keep container plants moist daily.  Mulching helps keep the moisture in the soil and the weeds down.  I use straw as it is organic and inexpensive to use.

Have fun growing this beautiful and tasty vegetable.