Red cabbage Cabeza Negra 3 is a very large, firm and dense, light purple-red cabbage variety and it's surrounded by large, wrinkled dark grey-green leaves. The heads can weigh up to 1½ - 2 kilo each. This late variety needs a lot of time and space to grow large enough to harvest. Cabeza Negra 3 can be cooked and stir-fried or it can be used raw and finely sliced in salads.
Indoor sowing (greenhouse): march - april
Outdoor sowing: may - june
Germination: 10 - 15 days
Germination temp. : 15 - 20 °C
Sowing depth: ¼ - ½ cm
Plant distance: 45 cm
Plant position: sunny
Days till harvest: 140 - 170
Sow from march on in a greenhouse or outdoors under glass, about 5 - 7 weeks before You want to put Your seedlings in the soil. Sow in separate pots, 1 seed per pot and cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Keep the seeds moist during germination. Germination takes about 10 - 15 days. Put the seedlings outdoors at the end of april or early may, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Keep the seedlings about 45 cm apart.
Sow outdoors in may, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Sow about ¼ - ½ deep, 2 - 3 seeds in one hole. Keep about 45 cm apart. The germination takes about 10 - 15 days, depending on the weather. Thin the seedlings when they're about 3 - 5 cm in size to one strongest seedling in each hole. Cabbage needs a lot of water and fertilizer during the growtht. Be carefull: to much water can cause the heads to crack and rot.
Protect the cabbages against birds, snails, slugs and other pests. Don't sow and grow cabbage in soil where cabbage has been grown in previous years. Sow to prolong the harvest little amounts of seeds spred after eachother. The cabbage heads can be harvested when the head is firm. Cut the stem above the lowest leaves with a knife and remove the whole cabbage with a pitchfork.
