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Some people, who desire to lose weight quickly, utilize the well-known Cabbage Soup Diet and this is how they make this vegetable grow. The cabbage is a tough vegetable that grows well when planted in fertile soils. Various shades of green cabbages are available. But there are also purple or red types. The shape of the cabbage head varies from the typical round to pointed or flattened. Most varieties of cabbage have smooth leaves. However, the leaves of Savoy types are crinkly textured.

The Varieties of Cabbages and Cultivation

Cabbage can be grown easily if you choose suitable varieties and observe correct insect management and proper culture. Cabbage has always been regarded as a very good source of vitamins and has disease-preventive properties.

Cabbage varieties are enumerated below, with their respective properties:

' Green Cabbage - perhaps the most common.

' Cheers ' have solid round heads; can be harvested in 75 days and are tolerant to black rot and thrips.

' Early Jersey Wakefield ' have pointed headsand is harvested in 63 days. It stands well and resists splitting.

' King Cole ' have large, firm and extremely uniform heads and can be harvested in 74 days

' Savoy King ' takes 85 days to harvest with dark green color and have very uniform heads.

' Savoy Queen ' harvested in 88 days and weighs 5 pounds it has deep green color and is tolerant to heat.

' Red Meteor ' takes 75 days to harvest its firm and good for all seasons.

' Ruby Ball ' harvested in 71 days and can weigh 4 pounds, they are slow to burst and resists both cold and heat.

Planting of Cabbages

Early cabbages are transplanted soon enough so they will mature before the heat of summer. They are easily transplanted from either cell-pack-grown or bare-root plants. Late cabbages should be started during mid-summer. However, its main head develops during fall. It can either be seeded directly in the garden or transplanted. Whenever possible, seedbeds or seed flats are put in places protected from the sun. This is the normal way of planting cabbage:

' Plants are spaced 12 to 24 inches apart from each other in the row. The space primarily depends upon the variety and the size of the head.

' Sow the cabbage seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in the soil and keep it thin and most or transplant the seedling to the spacing desired.

' Starter fertilizer is used when transplanting while for plants that are already half grown, they are side-dressed with nitrogen fertilizer.

' To keep the weeds down, shallow cultivation is done. Sufficient soil moisture is essential throughout the growing season.

Another important factor in growing cabbages is irrigation. This will help the young plants endure the intense sunlight and summer heat and will supply them will sufficient water. There is really no particular time when the cabbages can be harvested, for as long their heads are already formed and solid and firm to hand pressure. However, they must be harvested before their heads crack or split.

In conclusion, cabbage can be grown easily if you select suitable varieties and perform correct insect and irrigation management. Good cabbages are essential for a good Cabbage Soup Diet.