A successful cabbage crop starts with good seedlings

Growing your own seedlings requires experience. Mistakes are inevitable and you’ll need to adjust your system accordingly

- Bill Kerr

Before the introduction of cavity seedlings, most cabbage farmers grew their own seedlings in soil. This could be successful, but required careful attention every step of the way. There were also many hazards.

One of these was the cyst eelworm. Farmers were often left with surplus seedlings and would offer them to other farmers. This resulted in the spread of cyst eelworm to many districts.

Other diseases, such as blackleg, could also be spread if you were not careful enough.

I used to sow enough seedbeds to plant 50ha to cabbage, and it took much experimentation to perfect my system. Ultimately, I used raised beds and a home-made roller constructed from angle iron welded at the correct spacing to two old wheel hubs.

I would roll it over the level beds to form grooves for the seed.