'Dottenfelder' Cabbage

Brassica oleracea 

Origin: Germany

Improvement status: Cultivar 

Seeds per packet: ~100

Germination tested 11/2023: 98%

Life cycle: Biennial

'Dottenfelder' is a great green cabbage, with dense, cream-colored insides. It is considered an excellent storage cabbage, lasting well through winter. It was developed in Germany by the biodynamic plant breeder Dieter Bauer. It was introduced to this country by our friends at Meadowlark Hearth in Nebraska. This is just about the perfect cabbage for kraut, but is also great cooked or used raw in coleslaw or curtido. Heads weigh in at about three pounds, and are not uniform (some are more round, others more flat), an indication of the diversity in its genetic heritage. This is a wonderful open-pollinated cabbage at a time when hybrid cabbages dominate the seed industry. Our seeds were grown by Kass McKinnon and Clint Freund in Wisconsin.

GROWING TIPS: Probably best to transplant in healthy plant starts, but you could also direct seed. Plants could end up 18-22 inches apart, the more space they have the bigger they can get. In places further north we'd suggest getting them going early in the spring, as in short seasons there can be issues with cabbages maturing in time if you plant, for example, in late July for fall harvest.