My space-saving trick: start brassicas in January, grow them in buckets in the greenhouse, and carry the buckets outside when the greenhouse is needed for tomatoes.
Picking varieties
- Early Jersey Wakefield (pointed cabbage)
- Vorbote 3 (savoy)
- Cauliflower All the Year Round
- Kale Dwarf Green Curled
Sowing
Sow indoors in January. Pot on as soon as roots show at the bottom — first to a 7.5 cm pot, then an 11 cm one. Feed when needed.
Care
In March, move each plant to a big bucket in the greenhouse — one plant per bucket, fed with bokashi and chicken manure, two layers of fleece on top. In May the greenhouse is needed for other things, so the buckets go outside and the plants finish growing there.
Harvest & storage
Harvest in June and enjoy. Growing cabbage early in buckets is very good — it saves both space and time.
Tips & lessons learned
The important part is being quick with the potting-on: repot as soon as roots show under the pot. They handle going into greenhouse buckets early. And when the tomatoes claim the greenhouse in May, lifting the buckets out is the easy part.
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Join the Vegocracy newsletterStep-by-step notes for every stage — sowing depth, spacing, care and what to watch for.
What to think about when picking a variety for your own garden, not just which ones earned their place in mine.
Do's and don'ts — what worked, what I'd skip next time, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
Full sow, transplant and harvest calendar for early cabbage in buckets.
The background knowledge behind the how-to — why it behaves the way it does, and what it actually needs.
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A friendly reminder: every garden plays by its own rules. Zones, soil, weather and a hundred small things decide what works — so this is how I did it and what worked for me, not a promise. Try, learn, adjust, try again.. that's half the fun anyway.