Two Heads are Better Than One

I discovered something interesting in the garden recently. Did you know a cabbage can grow more than one head?

A month ago or so I began harvesting from the cabbage patch. When I cut the head off the first plant I harvested, I left behind a few of the big outer leaves. I usually leave the roots of these plants in the soil to rot and become compost. (For certain plants like tomatoes, you should remove the whole plants after the season ends, including the roots, to prevent disease problems.)

After a week or so, I noticed some new leaves appearing around the spot where I cut the head from the stalk. After another week, those leaves turned into four small heads.

I repeated the process for all of the cabbage heads I’ve harvested since then. Now I have four cabbage plants with four new heads growing on each one.

I searched the web and found out that many other gardeners have experienced this phenomenon. From what I’ve learned, cabbages can sprout “mini-heads” from nodes, also called axial leaf buds, located where the lower leaves attach to the stem. Broccoli plants do this, too. After you harvest the main broccoli head, the plant will continue to produce smaller “side-heads.”