I frequently get emails from impatient gardeners. Growing plants is a process that naturally takes time, I tell them. Seeds germinate on their time, not ours. Plants flower when they’re ready, not when we want them to. There are, however, ways to speed up parts of the process.

Choose the right cabbage variety

If you’re an impatient gardener and want to grow something fast, the first thing to do is to choose an early-season variety. Let’s take cabbage, since that is the subject of the last email I received.

Your best bet to grow cabbage quickly is to choose varieties such as FARAO F1 or Golden Acre. These varieties take 62 to 63 days to harvest, as opposed to others which may take as long as 140 days from planting to harvest.

Check your soil

While you should have your soil pH tested, the tests take time. I don’t recommend home tests as I recently read a university study that found them highly unreliable. So, that leaves your local cooperative extension service, which you can locate by visiting our Cooperative Extension Directory. To gather your samples, mail them in and wait for the results defeats the purpose of growing the crop quickly.

So, were I having a “cabbage emergency,” where I needed to grow it fast, I would skip the pH test, amend the soil with 3 or 4 inches of manure or compost, and then throw in a starter fertilizer — about 5 cups for every 50-foot row.

Post planting success

After planting, keep the cabbage starter plants moist. About an inch to an inch and a half of water a week is ideal, unless it rains. Watering is the single most important thing you can do to get the cabbage to grow quickly.

Fertilizer helps as well 

As soon as the new leaves start growing, side-dress the seedlings with a starter fertilizer (free shipping!) Dilute it to half the strength recommended on the label and use it twice a week. Don’t forget to water the fertilizer in. 

Side-dress? Learn how here. The list is alphabetical, so scroll down to the S section.

When the plants are 4 inches tall, switch to When the plants are about 4 inches tall, switch to a 46-0-0 fertilizer, side-dressed at the rate suggested on the label.

Cutting corners isn’t the ideal way to garden, but for those. . .ahem. . . lazy bugs among us, this ought to get the job done.

I am now sufficiently craving a nice Chinese chicken cabbage salad.

Learn how to grow cabbage in winter!

Featured image courtesy: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos