I’m back early from a trip to the farm. Yesterday, I helped weed a cabbage patch. It was a great job, because I was given a sharp hoe and could stand most of the time. I just reached under the cabbage and scraped the soil around the side, scything several weeds down. There were some bugs in the weeds and a few leaves looked well-gnawed, but the cabbage had defenders as well:
There was another problem facing the cabbage. I think it is called ‘clubroot‘:
The symptoms first noticed will be a decline of the plant including yellowing of leaves, and a tendency to wilt during hot days. Examination of the roots will reveal swollen, club-shaped roots instead of the normal fine network of roots.
The photos at the linked site above don’t really resemble what I saw. At the farm, the roots were more spongy than they appear at the website. Here are a few roots we broke off the plants:
This problem may be the answer to Robert Neff’s question, “Where’s the kimchi?“
UPDATED SEVERAL DAYS LATER (OCT 6): Man, I had no idea we were picking gold! Damn that clubroot – it may have cost us millions! Millions!
Recent new reports on cabbage prices:
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