Cabbage & Brassica Seeds
34 heirloom varieties from the Brassicaceae family — cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Asian greens, turnip, daikon and mustard. Open-pollinated, cold-tolerant, bred for flavor rather than industrial uniformity.
-40%
Savoy Cabbage Verona Purple
Deep violet crinkled leaves, frost-hardy to −10°C, matures in 85–95 days. A classic Northern Italian heirloom rarely found outside specialty seed houses — intense flavor, holds shape in long braises and winter stews.
What is the Brassica family?
Cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts are not just relatives — they are the same species, Brassica oleracea. Human selection over more than 2,500 years transformed a single wild Mediterranean plant into six vegetables so different most people don't realise they are eating the same species. Other brassicas — turnip, daikon, Chinese cabbage, pak choi, tat-soi, mizuna — come from Brassica rapa, while rutabaga is Brassica napus. Together the family Brassicaceae gives us most of the world's leafy and cruciferous vegetables.
Most commercial brassica seed sold in Western garden centres is F1 hybrid, bred by Dutch or German seed houses (Bejo, Enza Zaden, Rijk Zwaan) for industrial uniformity, shelf life and harvester compatibility. The Oreshka collection focuses on open-pollinated heirloom varieties — Russian June white, Ural Petrovskaya turnip, Japanese Tat-soi and Mizuna, Italian Savoy Verona. These grow true from saved seed, tolerate cold, and carry regional flavour profiles that no F1 catalogue reproduces.
Seeds sourced and germination-tested by our collection team in the Ural region, Russia. Parent plants documented and selected for flavor, cold tolerance and regional authenticity — not hybrid vigour metrics. About our collection →
At a glance
How to grow brassicas from seed
Choose your sowing window
Most brassicas bolt in heat. Sow early spring (March–April) for a summer harvest, or mid-summer (July–August) for autumn and winter crops. Asian greens, radish and turnip tolerate shorter windows and succeed in both slots.
Sow shallow, keep warm
Press seeds 0.5–1 cm into fine, moist seed compost — no deeper. Maintain 18–22°C soil temperature. Cover trays with vermiculite or a clear plastic dome to hold humidity until the first seedlings break.
Watch for germination in 4–10 days
Cabbage, kale and kohlrabi germinate in 4–6 days; cauliflower and broccoli in 6–10. If nothing appears within 14 days the seed is either old, or was held above 30°C — brassica seed goes dormant in prolonged heat.
Transplant at four true leaves
Seedlings are ready at 4 true leaves, usually 3–5 weeks after sowing. Harden off over 7 days, then bury the stem deep — up to the first true leaves. Brassicas form adventitious roots along the stem and anchor better this way.
Feed heavily, water evenly
Brassicas are heavy nitrogen feeders. Top-dress with compost or a 10-5-5 fertiliser at transplant and again mid-growth. Uneven watering causes cauliflower curd browning and cabbage head splitting — aim for 25–30 mm of water per week, steady.
Harvest at peak maturity
Heading cabbages when the head is firm to hand pressure. Kale — continuous harvest of bottom leaves, leaving the top tuft untouched. Broccoli before any florets open. Brussels sprouts after the first hard frost — cold converts starch into sugar.
The 80% brassica failure fix
Brassicas absorb calcium at roughly 0.6% of dry weight — about twice most other vegetables. In acidic soils (pH below 6.0) they cannot take up enough calcium, and clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) thrives. Test soil pH before sowing and lime to pH 6.5–7.0 at least two weeks before transplant. This one intervention prevents an estimated 80% of home-garden brassica failures — clubroot, tip burn, hollow stem and bolting all trace back to pH.
Heirloom vs. hybrid — what you actually get
| Trait | Oreshka heirloom | F1 hybrid (Bejo, Enza) | Supermarket-grade seed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed type | Open-pollinated | F1 hybrid | F1 industrial |
| Save seed, grow true | Yes | No | No |
| Cold tolerance | High (Russian / Ural / Japanese origin) | Medium | Low |
| Flavour profile | Strong, varietal | Mild, uniform | Flat |
| Varieties available | 34+ heirlooms | 8–12 dominant lines | 3–5 commodity |
| Price per packet | €3.00 | €3.50–5.00 | — |
Common mistakes
Sowing too late for the autumn crop
Most brassicas need 90–110 days to mature. A cauliflower sown in August in Zone 5 will be hit by hard frost before forming a head. Count backwards from your average first frost date and sow accordingly.
Shallow transplant → weak stem
Brassica seedlings need deep planting. Burying only the root ball leaves a long bare stem — plants topple as heads develop. Bury up to the first true leaves; new roots form along the buried stem and anchor the plant.
Skipping lime on acidic soil
Clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) destroys entire plantings in soils below pH 6.0 and persists in soil for 7–10 years once established. One liming pass before planting is cheaper than a decade of brassica losses.
No cover against cabbage white butterfly
Large and small white butterflies (Pieris rapae and P. brassicae) find brassica plantings within days. Floating row cover (Agryl P17 or equivalent) from transplant through harvest eliminates 95% of caterpillar damage without spraying.
Frequently asked
Yes. Most brassicas tolerate light frost and many — Brussels sprouts, kale, savoy cabbage — actually improve with cold. In Zones 4–5 start seed indoors February–March, transplant after last frost, and sow the autumn crop by early July.
All four are the same species — Brassica oleracea — bred into radically different forms over 2,500 years. Cabbage is the terminal bud grown into a tight head; kale is the loose-leaf form; broccoli is the flower cluster before it opens; cauliflower is the undeveloped inflorescence. Seed is handled identically for all four.
No. Unlike tree and perennial seeds, brassicas germinate fresh at 15–25°C in 4–10 days with no cold treatment. Seed older than 3 years may germinate erratically — always check the packet date.
Yes for smaller types: kohlrabi, kale, pak choi, tat-soi, radish and dwarf cabbages thrive in 15–20 L containers. Full-size heading cabbage and cauliflower need a minimum 30 L pot with deep root room.
Heat stress above 25°C during head formation causes “buttoning” (tiny heads) or no heads at all. Cauliflower is the least heat-tolerant brassica — grow in spring or autumn, never mid-summer in warm zones.
Botanically yes — all belong to the family Brassicaceae. Turnip (Brassica rapa) is genetically closer to Chinese cabbage than to common head cabbage. Daikon (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus) is the Asian radish form — same family, different genus.
Explore All 34 Brassica Varieties
Open-pollinated · Russian & Asian heirlooms · Worldwide shipping from Poland
View Full Collection →oreshka-seeds.com · Sealed moisture-proof packets · 2–3 day dispatch