Baby Napa Little Jade Cabbage
Our top-quality mini Napa or "Chinese" cabbage has juicy, tangy-sweet flesh and a delicious cool and crispy texture. Extremely vigorous, with excellent disease resistance, Little Jade plants form dense, vase-shaped 8 to 10 inch heads. Enjoy the versatile and nutritious crunchy stalks as a snack, with dips or in coleslaw. Stirfry for everyday meals; sauté quickly with garlic and ginger and add a handful of toasted peanuts or cashews and a splash of hot sauce. Or consider making your own kimchi!
Seed Count: Approx. 144
TO START INDOORS
Start seeds 4 to 5 weeks before last spring frost. Sow 1 inch apart in seed starting mix, cover 1/4 inch deep and keep evenly moist. Provide a strong light source until seedlings are ready to plant out. When several inches tall, transplant seedlings 10 inches apart into rich soil in full sun, after gradually acclimating to outdoor conditions.
TO START DIRECTLY OUTDOORS
When all danger of frost is over, plant in well-worked, fertile soil in full sun. Sow clusters of 2 to 3 seeds 10 inches apart in rows spaced 1 foot apart. When seedlings are several inches tall, thin to 1 strong plant every 10 inches. In mild winter climates, sow seeds again at midsummer for a fall crop.
GROWING NOTES
Baby Napa cabbage needs full sun and rich, well-drained soil to produce firm, sweet heads. To avoid stunting growth, don’t let seedlings get crowded before thinning or transplanting. Keep weeded and evenly watered. Feed monthly with fish emulsion or an all-purpose fertilizer; strongly growing, healthy plants resist pests much more successfully. Use non-toxic B.T. (Bacillus thuringiensis) for caterpillar pests. Floating row covers provide a good barrier method to exclude pests. Remove covers when heads begin to form.
HARVEST AND USE
Cut the 8 to10 inch tall vase-shaped heads when they are very solid and well-formed and about 4 to 6 inches wide.