Napa Cabbage Cold Tolerance

[karstopography]

IMG_3146.jpeg

Is perhaps better than advertised. This Chinese Cabbage “Blues” made it through a night of 20° and a subsequent night that went to 19° without any protection or cover, about a week ago. A Very heavy cabbage and looks great, definitely mature.

[MissS]

This is nice to know. It's now something I might try and let mature into October.

[Uncle_Feist]

Mature heads will survive into the teens.

[bower]

I saved seeds from Blues napa, and last winter I had F2 Blues under lights and in the greenhouse in every pot size and stage of growth putting up with the cold out there - air temperature definitely below freezing for part of a week - and they took it all very cheerfully. When spring rolled around I still had some in cell packs, as well as big ones in big pots, and they all finally bolted on the same day.
It is a lovely cabbage. Got some F3s out there now.

I still have a bit of a Napa in the fridge, last harvest from the farm. They keep perfectly in the fridge for months as well.
Some years they have stored them in the cellar.

[GoDawgs]

Thanks for that info, @karstopography. I might have to try it again but every time I do it's a major fight with flea beetles so I quit trying. Funny how they leave regular cabbage alone. When did you start yours? It's beautiful!

[karstopography]

@GoDawgs I bought two 4” containers with two each per container of the cabbage right around the end of October. The seedlings were small, they might have been 3 weeks old or so. I separated them all, one struggled and I eventually took it out, the other three did well, this one was the last I harvested. I see it listed from 52 days to 60 days to maturity from transplant and I would say that’s pretty accurate going from a normal sized transplant.

I had some sort of caterpillar get on one plant and eat up portions of a few outer leaves fairly early in the growth but Spinosad quickly did that caterpillar in. Flea beetles were absent as were aphids which those plant vampire nasties have come after Chinese cabbage in some prior seasons.


If I were to grow this particular Napa again and I probably will, I’d probably start some seed during the second half of September for transplanting during the middle of October on towards November. Maybe do another set of seed a couple of weeks later.