Katarina Hybrid Cabbage Seeds

Days to Maturity: 45 from transplant

All-America Selections (AAS) Winner 2016

Beating all other varieties to harvest by several weeks, Katarina hybrid is a very sweet, compact summer cabbage you can grow in large tubs and raised beds as well as the vegetable garden. It earned its national All-America Selection award with quick growth, delicious flavor, and smooth texture.

This white cabbage is reminiscent of the heirloom favorite Golden Acre, with its smaller heads and uniform growth. It holds well in the field at harvest, and will set smaller side heads after the main head is picked. Very productive, quick, and delicious—what's not to love.

Katarina reaches about 4 inches in diameter, round and smooth, with tightly packed leaves. Try growing it in large containers as well as the garden—it will spring right up and grow readily in any sunny, well-drained setting! And if you live in a short-season climate, you can bring in big harvests of this quick producer.

Children tend to prefer Katarina to other varieties because it is much milder, even sweeter, than most others, without a trace of bitterness. Great for slaw and salads, it also holds up well in stir fries.

For spring crops, sow the seeds indoors about 5 weeks before last anticipated frost, using your Bio Dome or seed flats. If using the Bio Dome, just drop the seeds into the pre-drilled holes; if using flats, cover them with at least 4 times their thickness. Germinate them at 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit; they will sprout in about 10 to 14 days, and are ready to transplant when they have at least 2 sets of true leaves. Space the seedlings about 6 to 8 inches apart in the garden, in rows at least 12 inches apart.

For fall crops, sow the seeds directly into the garden in midsummer. In warm climates, Katarina will grow happily into winter, the frost only improving its flavor! Sow in early fall for winter crops. In most climates, sowing seeds successively every 2 or 3 weeks will give you a nice long season.