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I've not grown any kind of cabbage afore so tips needed pls good peeps. what i think i know; rich ground that has been firmed well, net for cabbage white, grow in seed trays and transplant. which is where i am now as i have 20 plants about 2 inches tall. is that a good size for planting out? I want to get them in now as i will be away from base for 6 weeks as of wednesday, although my apprentice will be around to water those in need. I am thinking about putting them in a rich bed with afternoon shade as that's the hottest time of the day. is that good thinking? mulch? distances? any tips gratefully received.

I assume slugs are not a problem, otherwise better if you plant out when they are bit bigger and have been hardened off. You could experiment with shade netting as well.

Two inches is a bit small for planting out, but if you're going away they will probably be OK.
Why I wonder did you sow them in seed trays, the best way for me at this time of year is to sow them outdoors in a seed bed, then they can make a nice deep root system and you don't have to worry about transplanting so much, any size between 4" and 10" which gives you leeway when you have better things to do.
I only sow mine indoors during winter to get an early crop of summer cabbages or calabrese, and even then I sow about a dozen seeds in an 8" pot to give them root space.

Edit > I then wrote about how you use a dibber to transplant, but on re-reading it looked so complicated that even I didn't understand what I was getting at.

However you plant them, you should give them and the ground a good soaking and then no more for at least a few days, otherwise if you keep watering them every time they wilt the plant won't grow the necessary deep root system and will need watering a lot more often.
Mulch, most definitely. Spacing, depends on the variety but 18" to 2' is reasonable.
Good luck.

good moro tony. i battle with things drying out here which is why i put them in trays first, i have a mini poly tunnel with dappled shade that is kind of tropical and moist all the time. the winds are so drying here. i will transplant my poor seedlings and sow more seed with them to see what happens. i am thinking of putting plastic bottle cloches over the seedlings. other peeps doing cabbages here started earlier i notice.
good point about not micro watering....
thanks!

no slugs gra, and no hardening off needed now in this climate. lucky ain't we?!