{"product_id":"cabbage-greyhound","title":"Cabbage Greyhound","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrassica oleracea 'Greyhound'\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eHeritage pointed summer cabbage\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cabbage for cooks who have always thought they did not like cabbage. Greyhound is the British pointed summer cabbage, an old reliable variety named — with admirable directness — for how fast it grows when happy. Sweet, tender, fine-flavoured, with a tightly-packed pointed head and almost no wasteful outer leaves. This is genuinely a cabbage that converts cabbage sceptics, and it grows so easily that it has been a kitchen-garden fixture for well over a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe conical head sets Greyhound apart from the round drumhead varieties. The leaves wrap more tightly around a smaller central core, giving a denser heart-to-outer-leaf ratio — more eating quality, less waste. The flavour is sweeter and more delicate than large round cabbages, and the texture is tender rather than tough, making Greyhound outstanding lightly steamed, braised, or used raw in coleslaw rather than boiled to grey submission. The pale green of the heart creates a lighter, more refined coleslaw than the dense purple-green of red types — subtle, sweet, and almost grassy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the best things about Greyhound is its early-harvest flexibility. Plants do not need to reach full heart maturity to be useful: at six to eight weeks from transplanting, before the heart has fully formed, plants can be pulled and used as spring greens — loose, tender, sweet brassica leaves that are among the first fresh green vegetables of the season. This extends Greyhound's useful harvest window from full mature hearts to early greens, and a succession of sowings from February to July provides fresh cabbage on the plate from May right through to November.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreyhound is open-pollinated heritage, meaning seed saved from your best heads will grow true to type the following year. The variety has been in continuous cultivation since the early twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA note on growing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSow indoors from February (heated propagator or warm windowsill) for the earliest crops, or in a seedbed from April to June for successive harvests. Sow at approximately 1.5cm depth in seed compost. Germination takes 7–10 days at 10–18°C. Once seedlings have four true leaves, transplant into their final position in firm, fertile soil, spacing 30–40cm apart between plants and 45cm between rows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree practices define Greyhound success.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNet immediately and without exception\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e— one unnetted day in summer is enough for the cabbage white butterfly to find the crop, and a single generation of caterpillars can reduce a healthy plant to skeleton in two weeks. Fine mesh netting from transplant to September removes the problem entirely.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlant firmly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e— so firmly that you cannot pull the plant out by a leaf without it tearing. Loose planting allows wind-rock that damages the root system and produces misshapen, hollow hearts.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSow successionally\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e— small batches every four to six weeks from February to July, rather than one large sowing all at once. Greyhound matures quickly (around 10–12 weeks from transplant) and a single sowing produces all the hearts simultaneously, leading to glut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreyhound is ready to harvest when the pointed heads feel firm and full to the gentle squeeze of a hand. Cut at the base with a sharp knife. If you score a 1cm-deep cross in the remaining stump, the plant often produces a second flush of smaller secondary heads — not as large as the original but a genuine bonus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it shines\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the kitchen, Greyhound is the pointed cabbage that earns its keep across every preparation. Lightly steamed with butter and a grating of nutmeg. Shredded raw into coleslaw with carrot and a vinegar-mustard dressing. Halved and braised in stock with bacon and apple. Stir-fried with garlic and chilli. Pickled into sauerkraut, where the sweetness of the heart produces an exceptionally fine ferment. Used at every stage from young spring greens (pulled at six weeks) through mature pointed hearts (cut at three months).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the garden, Greyhound's compact 30cm spread allows closer spacing than round-headed varieties, making it particularly useful in gardens where space is limited. A succession-sowing approach — four or five small sowings spread February to July — provides fresh hearts continuously without overwhelming you with simultaneous harvests.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlant alongside\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCabbage benefits from companion plants that deter cabbage white butterflies and aphids. Plant alongside\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.claudeusercontent.com\/products\/french-marigold-spanish-brocade\"\u003eFrench Marigold 'Spanish Brocade'\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhose strong scent confuses egg-laying butterflies, and Nasturtiums which act as a sacrificial decoy crop that aphids prefer to brassicas. Onions and leeks planted between cabbage rows deter cabbage root fly and aphids. Avoid planting near strawberries, runner beans, or tomatoes — brassicas share little common ground with these crops.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57887399346550,"sku":"CAB-GRY","price":1.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0716\/3566\/5206\/files\/Gemini_Generated_Image_xvwohdxvwohdxvwo.png?v=1779009116","url":"https:\/\/www.summerwoodenplanters.com\/products\/cabbage-greyhound","provider":"Summer Wooden Planters","version":"1.0","type":"link"}