Vegetable of the month: Savoy cabbage

With its beautiful, dark-green, rumpled leaves, Savoy cabbage is one of the most popular seasonal vegetables. Its robust flavour and texture make it perfect for cooking in hearty winter dishes.>

Cold hardy

Savoy cabbages are traditional at this time of year. They are a great variety for autumn and winter as they’re cold hardy and once they get up to size, they’ll “hold” really well. This means you don’t have to harvest them as soon as they ripen- they’re happy living on the field until you’re ready to pick.

Big and bountiful

We planted 2,000 in late summer, began harvesting in mid-October and will continue right through December. This year, all of our brassicas are coming in four to five weeks early because of the mild and wet weather. These conditions accelerate their growth, some are even too big to fit inside the vegetable box. It’s a shame, as it looks like we might have a glut this year!

Prone to pests

Savoy’s are prone to pest damage, particularly from slugs and caterpillars. This autumn has seen plenty of rain and no frosts. This is great for slugs – but bad news for us. On an organic farm there’s not much you can do about the blighters, although they don’t like it when we weed, as it disturbs the ground. So get out the hoe and you’re effectively doing two jobs at once. If it looks like your outer dark-green leaves have been nibbled, simply peel them off. The heart of the cabbage is the best bit, and they won’t have snuck in there!