Growing Pumpkins and Harvesting Late Savoy Cabbage

by Sarah Flint

Pumpkins

If you are a bit uneasy about growing your own vegetables, I’d recommend growing pumpkins. They’re a very satisfying thing to grow, not particularly difficult and an impressive sight at the end of summer when they’ve taken over the garden with their foliage and huge fruit. Their only drawback is that you do need a fair amount of space in your garden: allow at least a metre per plant.

Seed Varieties

If you want to grow a classic Hallowe’en pumpkin, try ‘Connecticut Field’ which can grow up to 11kg. At the other end of the scale is the tiny 8cm ‘Jack be Little’, ideal for stuffing. If you want something with a bit more flavour then grow ‘Potimarron’, which has a chestnut flavour and only weighs up to 1.5kg.

To avoid decimation by slugs, it is advisable to start pumpkins indoors. In late April, sow the seeds singly in 75mm (3in) pots and germinate at a temperature of 18-21º C (64-70º F). Harden off the seedlings in late May.
Pumpkins thrive in a sunny spot and appreciate a lot of compost in the soil. In June, dig holes of about 38cm (15in) and fill with well-rotted compost. After planting, replace the soil to form a mound and put a layer of mulch around it.
They need lots of water and if you have ambitions to grow a weighty pumpkin for Hallowe’en, then you’ll need to feed regularly with a liquid fertiliser once the fruits have set. Huge specimens can be achieved by encouraging the leaf joints to develop roots. Do this by heaping soil over the laterals branching from the main stem.
Cut small-fruiting varieties in summer and leave the large ones until autumn. They can be stored for several months in a frost-free shed.

Stuffed miniature pumpkins
(serves 4)

• 4 small pumpkins
• 28g (1oz) butter
• 100g (3½ oz) onions, chopped finely
• 120g (4oz) cooked rice
• 60g (2oz) cooked chickpeas
• 60g (2oz) tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1 beaten egg
• ¼ tsp of ground allspice or cinnamon
• Salt and pepper

Put the whole pumpkins in a roasting dish. Pour in 3cm of boiling water and then bake at 180 ºC/350º F for 30 minutes. They’re ready when a sharp knife can penetrate the skin easily.
Let them cool, then cut off the tops, retaining the “lid”. Get rid of the seeds, then remove and save as much of the flesh as possible. Melt the butter in a pan and cook the onion until soft. Remove from the heat and mix in the retained flesh and the rest of the ingredients. Then stuff the pumpkin shells with the mixture. Put the lids back and return to the roasting tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Serve hot with a good crusty bread.

Harvesting the Last of the Savoy Cabbages

Savoy are those handsome, crinkly cabbages. I prefer them to most other types as they don’t go soggy when cooked and have a good taste. They’re rewarding to grow as they are very hardy and succeed on poorer soils than most other varieties. Also, some varieties can be cropped all winter, even up to April.
There are many seed varieties available but the ones that over-winter into spring are ‘Cantasa F1’ or ‘Wintessa F1’. Traviata F1 doesn’t last as long but has both frost and high disease tolerance.
Winter cabbage needs a long time to grow, so they’re started off in April or May. Like all cabbages, they are sown in a seedbed then transplanted later. Sow them thinly in drills 5mm (¼in) deep, 15cm (6in) apart.  Transplant the seedlings to a permanent bed six weeks after sowing and plant them 45cm (18in) apart, leaving 60cm (2ft) between rows. If you can put them somewhere that’s been manured for a previous crop, so much the better. Otherwise, rake in a general fertiliser at a rate of 60g per square metre (2oz per square yard) a week before planting. Avoid following them on from another crop of brassicas. Firm them in well or they may resemble the leaning tower of Pisa by January. Earthing up the soil around their stems also helps to prevent this.  Water them well and keep weed-free during summer. From October to early spring, cut the heads as they mature.

Pests

Cabbages are prone to pests. Use netting to deter pigeons, which are very partial to cabbage seedlings. Insect netting, such as fleece, helps deter cabbage-white butterflies, as does planting garlic chives nearby, apparently. Putting collars around their stems stops adult cabbage root flies laying eggs.

Cooking With Savoy Cabbage

Savoy is far less likely to turn into a soggy mess than many other cabbages, and its crispness is part of its pleasure. Pan-frying finely shredded leaves in butter, adding a splash of white wine and finishing with grated nutmeg is a simple gourmet dish. For something a bit more exotic, fry shredded leaves in oil with diced potato, a teaspoon of mustard seeds, chopped ginger and half a teaspoon each of cumin and cayenne. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon before serving.
Slower cooking is effective too. Add shredded cabbage to melted butter in a pan, cover and cook gently for about ten minutes until tender. When cooked, stir in teaspoon of caraway seeds and two tablespoons of cream. 
Smoked bacon goes well with savoy. Blanch shredded leaves for two minutes, fry chopped smoked streaky bacon and a chopped onion together for five minutes and then add the cabbage. Cook for a further five minutes and season to taste with salt, pepper and ground allspice.

Braised whole cabbage with chestnuts
This is much easier than stuffing individual leaves
(serves 4)

• Large savoy cabbage
• 170g (6oz) good-quality sausage meat
• 60g (2oz) chopped chestnuts, either dried and soaked, or fresh and cooked
• Stick of celery, finely chopped
• 2 rashers of smoked, streaky bacon
• ¼tsp mace or nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• A beaten egg
• 280ml (half-pint) cider
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 carrot sliced

Put the whole cabbage into boiling water and cook for ten minutes. Remove it and drain upside down. Place it on a wooden board and gently open out the leaves from the centre like a flower. You may to cut a little of the hard centre away.
Mix together the rest of the ingredients, apart from the cider, carrot and onion. Spread this mixture between the leaves, working outwards. When it’s all used up, mould the cabbage back into its approximate shape and, using string, tie it up like a parcel. This is a bit tricky; don’t expect it to look exactly like it did.
Put the onion and carrot in a closely fitting pot that can go in the oven. Put the cabbage on top and pour over the cider. Either cover with a lid or tin foil and cook at 170 ºC /325º F for about 2 and a half hours. When it’s ready, cut it up in slices like a cake and serve with mashed or baked potatoes, using the cooking juices as sauce.