Let’s grow the world’s most eaten vegetable by humans and caterpillars.
Misha: This time it’s cabbage.
Hachibee: Nice cabbage! Add it to Fried noodles, Cabbage rolls, or serve it in a pile next to tonkatsu…
Misha: Hachibee is still preoccupied with eating, even though he’s a bee. Well, cabbage is a familiar part of our diet, but I don’t think many people have tried growing it themselves from seeds.
Hachibee: I buy it at the supermarket.
Misha: It’s nice to buy cabbage at the supermarket, but eating cabbage that you grew yourself is a very new experience. There’s no greater luxury than having fresh cabbage available at all times.
Hachibee: I see! I’ll make a lot of cabbage and eat my fill of cabbage every day!
Cabbage “almost weekly” cultivation report
9/17 Planting seeds
Hachibee: It’s black and round and looks like a vegetable seed.
9/24 Germination!
Misha: They will germinate right away if you sow them. I’m happy with this sense of stability.
10/1 Leaves appear
Hachibee: The leaves have grown so big already!
10/8 Leaves increase
Hachibee: The fifth leaf has come out.
Misha: The leaves that came out later are getting bigger, but the leaves that came out first are still working hard.
10/15 The first leaves that appear will wither and fall.
Hachibee: Good job!
10/22 Planting in the ground
Misha: Plant it outdoors when it has about 5 true leaves.
Hachibee: So it’s going to grow a lot from here, right? ?
10/29 Leaves are starting to grow!
Hachibee: It’s really starting to grow!
11/5 The leaves begin to curl
Hachibee: Bumpy, jerky transformation!
Misha: I don’t know what you’re talking about! ? The whole leaf has become fleshy, and it’s starting to look like a vegetable.
11/12 The middle of the stock starts to bunch up.
Hachibee: Mmm! This looks kind of like a cabbage! ?
Misha: It’s cabbage.
11/19 The leaves are large and wide.
Hachibee: That’s amazing. I don’t know where one leaf ends.
Misha: It’s like a green carpet. And now the caterpillars have finally arrived in earnest. Every day is a battle against insect bites.
11/26 The density in the center of the stock increases
Hachibee: It looks like the leaves are springing up and coming out…
12/3 Bug eating battle
Hachibee: The center of the stock has finally become round.
Misha: The green caterpillar lurks in the “overlap” of the leaves in this rounded part, so don’t look down on it…
12/17 Leaves begin to form
Hachibee: Oh! Are the “cabbage balls” finally starting to form?
Misha: Cabbage ball is a new expression.
12/24 Cabbage body begins to grow
Hachibee: It’s finally starting to look like cabbage!
Misha: It’s cabbage.
12/31 Cabbage balls grow even more
Hachibee: It’s getting bigger and bigger.
Misha: Yes. And now, inside this sphere, there are many leaves overlapping each other, and their density should be increasing.
1/7 Cabbage balls grow even bigger
Hachibee: It’s starting to look really tasty!
1/14 Start of ripening phase
Hachibee: Now, the cabbage looks great, but the only thing left to do is when to harvest it.
Misha: If you harvest it too early, the fruit won’t be full, but if you harvest it too late, it will burst into pieces. For now, let’s wait and see.
1/21 Maturation progresses
Hachibee: The color is starting to turn nice.
1/28 Further matures
Hachibee: I think it’s starting to look pretty good, but have you harvested it yet?
Misha: Yes. A good guideline for harvesting is when you press the bulb and it dents the size of 1 or 2 leaves. It’s okay to harvest if it feels like it’s packed tightly.
2/4 Maturation is in the realm of completion
Hachibee: Oh! It’s about to explode!
2/11 Harvest!
Misha: It’s time to harvest the long-awaited harvest. The leaves were stuffed inside really nicely. Feels good!
Hachibee: Very nice! Cabbage, good job! A fresh scent is rising! Now, let’s make cabbage rolls!
Misha: I guess Hachibee didn’t forget about the cabbage rolls until the end.