Heirloom Organic Danish Ballhead Cabbage Seeds
(40 Seeds)
WINTER HARVEST. Danish Ballhead cabbage seeds produce heirloom cabbages that are mild and tender. This is a great, general-purpose cabbage that is good for sauerkraut, coleslaw, or general cooking. Big 8-25cm (7-10"), light-green, well-protected heads stand happily in the garden well into the winter. It happens that Denmark has the ideal geography for producing cabbage seeds. The wind and humidity and mild temperatures provide the perfect conditions for cabbage breeders. This is why so many cabbages refer to Denmark or Copenhagen in their names. Danish Ballhead was first introduced in 1887, and has remained a favourite ever since. Cabbage is another member of the Brassica family that is full of nutrients, including vitamins A, B1, B2, and C, as well as various antioxidants. The American Cancer Society strongly urges an increased intake of cabbage and other Brassicas in the diets of North Americans. Eating lots of cabbage may also protect the eyes from macular degeneration. To preserve its vitamins and mineral content, do not overcook cabbage. Store cut cabbage in the refrigerator in a plastic bag with holes in it and use as soon as possible. Cabbages are also highly ornamental in the garden -choose varieties for colour, deep-red, blue-green, dark-green or leaf texture, savoyed (crinkled), or flat leaf. To learn How to Grow Cabbage follow the easy instructions below.
115 days — 'Danish Ballhead' has been a standard storage-type variety since it was introduced by W. Atlee & Company in 1887. It has been a dependable variety, resisting bolting and splitting and keeping until late spring. Produces round, blue-green, seven to eight inch diameter heads weighing five to seven pounds. Adapted to the Northeast and does well in mountainous areas.
Although known as 'Danish Ballhead' in North American, it is actually a short-stemmed strain of the old Danish variety called 'Amager'. Danish records date 'Amager' as being developed by Dutch colonists, on the island of the same name, in the fifteenth century.
When introducing it as a new variety, here is how W. Atlee Burpee described 'Danish Ballhead' in their 1887 Seed Annual:
"While in Denmark last August, we discovered a variety of cabbage called, from the shape of the heads, Ballhead, which the Danes prize so highly that they grow it almost exclusively for winter cabbage, and annually export large quantities. In the winter of 1884-5 several large shipments were made to New York, where ready sales, at high prices, were realized. The variety has been selected and perfected for more than fifty years by the Danish gardeners and it is remarkable that the seed has not been offered before in America. We have imported, at a high price, a limited supply of the seed direct from the best growers in Denmark and can recommend it with full confidence. The heads are hard as they can be, round as a ball, of good marketable size, of extra choice quality, very fine grained, and remarkably good keepers.
Matures in 120 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)