Description
Right now it is what is called an “experimental seed mixture” – I have made it in the seed garden, a cross between two cabbages, which is to become something new. With time a new variety. The experimental seed mixture is a preparation for you, so you can start selecting in the crosses between:
Couve Tronchuda
which is a buttery light green Portuguese Portuguese cabbage
+
Scarlet cabbage
dark red kale (yes, a little confusing name),
but nevertheless a quite unusually beautiful thing in the garden.
Both cabbages are types of kale that can cross with each other. Not everyone can. They are biennial, which means that they only bloom after the second year of growth. It is thus 2 years since I sowed the first seeds for this mixture.
In the summer of 2019, the cabbage grew large and strong in the Zealand soil at Svanholm Estate. The following year, they were transplanted into a bed at the Farm of Ideas – so the flowers and bees could dance close between the cabbages.
Thereby, hopefully, genes have been exchanged, which as I said come from a dark red slightly curly stature (Scarlet cabbage) and a buttery light green thick-leafed glory! What can it become? Stripes, pink, spotted or?
That will show this season. It will be fun to follow and I hope you will join. We share our experiences on Instagram and email.
Through this season in 2021 (and beyond), I show on @copenhagenseeds and website how to grow your own seeds and maybe even contribute to new varieties by crossing the beautiful cabbages. I share my photos with tags #copenhagenseeds # cabbage crosses – you are also welcome to – so we can see the many different fun expressions and colors that come out of it.
See you in the cabbage field!
Feel free to contact me if you want to join, via Insta or email. @signevoltelen
Sowing depth: 0.5-1 cm.
Distance between plants: 40 cm
