Leaning Tower of Cabbage

I run many experiments on the garden, (plants, techniques, timing, breeding), only to find out what happens if ... Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, and other times I am just surprised. The results of this experiment is the latter.

Cabbage is a cool weather crop not bothered by frost, so I wondered what would happen if cabbage was left in the ground over the winter. Would it continue to grow and produce a bigger cabbage next year? Would I be able to harvest it in January? Would it die back?

A cabbage in the front flower garden was left in, being about the size of a baseball -- 3 inches in diameter (75 mm). You see the results. A loose head remained intact throughout the winter, but disappeared in early spring as a rosette of new leaves began to emerge from the core. I thought I was going to get a big head, in more than one way.

But then, it began shooting up. It stopped at 6-feet high (1.5 m). Flowers happened, which is only logical since cabbage seeds must come from somewhere. It leaned to one side when the flowers appeared -- that's why they are growing in one direction. I straightened the plant for the photo.