I had a dozen heads this year, but the worms had some good meals. And
like you said, the droppings can be disgusting, and they do get trapped
within the leaves. I refused to use Sevin dust, which would have
helped, and spent lots of time gathering worms.

This year, I twisted the heads off the stalks. Last year I cut them off
with a butcher's knife. I like the twist method, which is easier for
me.

Next year, I plan on starting my cabbage early (like in March). This
will give the plant sufficient time to head-up before the moths come
around full swing. I might even try some netting of some sort. I just
don't like the idea of using poison on cabbage plants. Personally, for
some reason, I can't believe that Sevin (and other pesticides) are
harmless after 7 days.

GK wrote:
~patches~ wrote:
gwtx2 wrote:

Does anyone know how a cabbage head forms? Does it form by the outside
leaves wrappring over each other, or does it form from within? If ir
forms from the outside leaves, does pesticide become trapped within the
head?

I have 4 cabbages growing. The heads formed from the inside leaves that
had me wondering about the cabbage worm droppings. What I did was
remove any worms I found then sprayed the heads good with plain water.
The though of worm droppings in my cabbage was discusting. I would think
pesticide could become trapped within the head just on principle. The
pesticide I used indicates a harvest date so you have to spray so many
days before harvesting. I think after that time the pesticide is
harmless? I'm sure commercial growers use pesticides on cabbage
otherwise they would have a diminished crop.

My spray says to wait 7 days after spraying to harvest cabbage. That's
what I'm going to do. I'll let you know if I survive.

Seriously, I gave them a good soak several times. They should be fine.

How do you harvest cabbage? Just take up the whole plant? Or twist out
the cabbage itself? Any recipe ideas? I have 4 cabbages also, one
ready to harvest.