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.
My varieties
| Variety | Rating | Years grown |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Green Curled | – | – |
| Early Jersey Wakefield | – | – |
| F1 Hirzia | – | – |
| Snowball | – | – |
Take it with you
The Early cabbage in buckets Guide
Coming soonEverything on this page and more, as a printable PDF: sowing to harvest, my varieties, the month-by-month schedule.
Join the letter — hear when it landsA 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.