We started harvesting our fall crop of Napa cabbage this week. This is a big project, as we estimate we’ll have roughly 3,000 lbs or more of cabbage in the cooler once all is said and done. Each head weighs in around 3-5 lbs--for those doing the math, that is roughly 1,000 heads of cabbage that we’ll harvest by hand! We make Napa available for farm shares, of course, but most of the crop will go to True Kimchi for kimchi. And speaking of True Kimchi, they just had their soft opening at their new spot in Fort Wayne, True Kimchi Cafe! Keep an eye out for details about the grand opening--we can't wait to visit. And don't forget, we have kimchi available through farm shares. When you buy a jar of True Kimchi, you're not only supporting a local small business, you are supporting local farmers (like us!).
After experiencing a total crop failure with our spring planting of Napa cabbage, it is very satisfying to have a bountiful fall crop. We switched up the variety for this planting, and we gave the plants some more space to grow, as well. The cabbage is actually the second crop for these beds this season--they grew garlic and potatoes through the spring and early summer. After we harvested the garlic and potatoes, the beds still had a nice covering of leaf mulch, so we just popped the cabbage transplants through the mulch and they took off. One reason to love Napa cabbage is that it is a fast grower. We started the seeds mid-July, then planted out the transplants in early August. Here we are around two months later and the harvest is on!
