Brassica oleracea Seeds | Red Express Cabbage Capitata
LATIN NAME: Brassica oleracea
COMMON NAME: Red Express Cabbage
Plant Profile
Red Express is a compact red cabbage that hearts early, in around 65-75 days from transplanting, on plants that stay small enough for a raised bed. Heads are round, tight and deep purple-red, 1.5-2 kg, standing well into autumn without splitting.
The leaves are blue-green with red veins when young, and the colour deepens as the head forms. The plant is a brassica of the familiar cabbage architecture: a short stem, a rosette of outer leaves, and a dense head of overlapping inner leaves that blanches itself as it grows.
Red cabbages in general come from the same species as white cabbage and kale, Brassica oleracea, and the red types are an old European selection grown for winter storage, pickling and braising. Red Express was bred for earlier maturity and better uniformity than the traditional late varieties.
Science & Biotechnology
The colour is anthocyanin, specifically cyanidin glycosides, and it behaves like an indicator: cook red cabbage in hard water or in an aluminium pan and it turns blue-green; add acid and it returns to red. That is why recipes for braised red cabbage include vinegar or apple.
Brassicas defend themselves with glucosinolates, sulphur-containing compounds that break down into isothiocyanates when the cells are crushed. Red cabbage is a good source, and the compounds are the subject of a large body of research on chemoprevention. Boiling leaches them into the water; steaming or stir-frying keeps more in the leaf.
The dense head is a storage organ, and its tightness is why red cabbage keeps for months in a cool shed. The trade-off is a susceptibility to storage rots if the head is damaged at harvest, so cut with a clean knife and leave two wrapper leaves on.
Uses & Benefits
Red cabbage is a winter kitchen staple: braised with apple and vinegar, pickled for slaw, fermented as sauerkraut, or shredded raw with oil and lemon. It also makes a strong natural dye and a pH indicator for anyone teaching chemistry.
In the garden the compact heads suit small plots and containers, and the colour is ornamental enough to plant in a border. Red cabbage is a useful follow-on crop after early potatoes or peas, and it stands through light frost, which extends the harvest into November. Commercially the crop is grown for winter storage and for the fresh market, where red heads command a premium over white.
Growing from Seed
Sow from March to May at 15-20°C, 1 cm deep, in modules. Germination takes seven to twelve days. Grow the seedlings on cool, and plant out when they have four or five true leaves, at 40 cm apart, with the stem buried to the first leaf.
Water steadily and firm the soil around the stem, which brassicas need to heart well. Net against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies from June onward. Feed once with a nitrogen-rich dressing after four weeks, then leave it; too much nitrogen gives loose heads. Harvest when the head is firm, cutting with a long stalk, and store in a cool, dark, humid place.
Our Take
The most useful red cabbage for a small garden, early enough to follow a spring crop and firm enough to keep into the new year.
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