Cabbage is a brassica crop — related to broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts — that thrives in cold. Because of its frost tolerance, cabbage is perfect for starting your gardening season early in spring or for extending it into the fall. If you want to grow cabbage in your garden, here’s what you need to know.
You can also download my How Do I Grow Cabbage? one-sheet and keep the free resource handy for your reference.
Cabbage is a cool-season brassica crop that’s perfect for either spring or fall.
Where, When and How to Plant Cabbage
Cabbage isn’t just a cool-season crop — it’s a cold-season crop. It can tolerate frosts as cold as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, in hot weather, cabbage will “bolt,” which means it will send up a flower stalk before the plant is ready to harvest. A bolted cabbage will turn bitter and won’t form the head that gardeners desire.
To avoid bolting, cabbage planting should be timed for a spring crop or a fall crop. Note that fall-grown cabbage that matures in cool weather will be sweeter than spring-grown cabbage, and far less likely to bolt.
Cabbage seeds can be direct sown or started indoors. In regions with a short growing season, getting a head start indoors is the preferred method. Start seeds about four to six weeks before you plan to transplant the seedlings into your garden.
The key to a successful spring cabbage harvest is to plant seeds or seedlings early enough so they mature before the heat of summer sets in. If you’re directly sowing seeds, do so about four weeks before the last expected frost. If you’re starting seeds indoors, do so about 6 weeks before transplanting outdoors. Transplants are safe to plant outside after the last hard frost.
For fall-harvested cabbage, direct sow seeds 6 – 8 weeks before the first frost of autumn. If starting seeds indoors, allow about 6 weeks before transplanting outdoors.
In an area that gets full sun, plant seedlings or sow cabbage seeds into fertile, well-drained soil. A generous addition of compost worked into the top layer will work wonders to improve soil, but since cabbage is a heavy feeder, it also helps to supplement with a balanced organic fertilizer before planting.
Cabbage is cold hardy, but if you want extra protection for young seedlings outside, you can cover them with a frost blanket, row cover or mini hoop tunnel.
The number of days that it takes for transplants to reach maturity is different from one variety to the next. Some varieties are ready to pick after 50 days, while others require 95-100 days, and many land somewhere in between. The seed packet will tell you the days to maturity, and it is important to make a note of it before throwing the seed packet away.
Cabbage seeds should be sown a half-inch deep. Plant seeds and seedlings according to the recommended spacing on the packet for the varieties you’re growing. Cabbage plants that are packed in too tightly may fail to form heads. Also, overcrowded plants will have inadequate air circulation, which will make them more prone to disease.
Once seeds have sprouted or seedlings are in the ground, add plenty of mulch. As always, mulch does a lot of good. But for cabbage, one of mulch’s biggest advantages is weed suppression. Cabbage has very shallow roots and doesn’t like to be disturbed. So the fewer weeds you have around those roots, the better.
Space cabbage plantings according to the label for the variety you’re growing. Adding mulch is important for weed suppression. The shallow roots of cabbage don’t like to be disturbed by nearby weeds.
Cabbage Varieties
If you plant all the same variety of cabbage at the same time, naturally, it’s all going to mature at the same time. So, a good way around that is to either stagger your planting times, or better yet, grow several varieties.
For a quick-maturing variety, try “Fast Vantage.” Bolt-tolerant “Pacifica” is a perfect choice for slaws and soups. For a little color in the garden and on the plate, try split-resistant and later-maturing “Ruby Ball,” a reliable and consistent favorite in field trials.
Cabbage Pests & Diseases
For cabbage to perform its best, it needs steady, uninterrupted growth — basically, a consistent, stress-free life. (Don’t we all!) For cabbage, a stress-less life means even moisture and minimal root disturbance.
Cabbage is so appealing to certain pests, they’ve been named after it: Cabbage loopers and cabbage worms are the most common cabbage pests, but slugs come in a close second. Aphids and flea beetles like cabbage too.
Be on the lookout for small white butterflies casing out your plants in mid-spring and early fall. These are cabbage butterflies, and when they flutter above your garden, that’s a telltale sign they’re looking for a place to lay their eggs, which will become the worms that eat the leaves.
Don’t let pest concerns dissuade you from growing cabbage. None of the pests mentioned are devastating, and I find easy, chemical-free control by covering plants with a lightweight, translucent floating row cover from the day I plant my cabbage in the garden. You don’t have to keep it on all the time (you can since cabbage is not dependent on pollinators to mature) but leave it on at least until the plant is well on its way and toughened up in the garden.
Floating row cover provides a barrier to prevent flying pests from getting close enough to plant foliage to lay their eggs.
For cabbage worms and cabbage loopers specifically, you can use Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, a biological control used in organic gardening. Bt is specific to caterpillars and non-toxic to other insects.
Diseases affecting cabbage include Alternaria black spot, black leg, ring spot, Botrytis stem blight, clubroot and downy mildew.
To lessen the occurrence of cabbage diseases, refrain from overhead watering. Wet foliage provides an ideal environment for many of these pathogens, so watering around the base of the plants is the preferred method.
If you find diseased cabbage in your garden, the best control method is to remove the affected plants to reduce the spread. It is important to practice crop rotation so any remaining pathogens will not infect plants in the next few seasons. These brassica-specific diseases will not affect other crops, so wherever you grew cabbage, plant a non-brassica crop in its place.
Harvesting Cabbage
Cabbage heads are ready to harvest when they have grown to full size and firmed up. Instead of pulling out the cabbage plant entirely, cut off the head at the base of the plant. The remaining stem may even grow new heads. Make two cuts through the top of the remaining stalk, about ¼ inch deep (like a plus sign). These new heads won’t get as large, but if they have time to mature before heat or extremely cold temperatures set in, you could have a second harvest from the same plant.
Cabbage heads are ready to harvest when they have grown to full size and firmed up.
What tricks do you use to grow cabbage successfully? Let us know in the comments below.
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Links & Resources
Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.
Episode 37: Starting Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success, Pt. 1
Episode 69: The Fascinating Facts Behind the Plants We Eat, with Jeff Gillman
Episode 99: Understanding Crop Rotation: The Basics and Beyond, with Jack Algiere
Episode 122: Fall Vegetable Garden Success: Best Plants and Tips for Cool-Season Growing
Episode 174: Season Extension Practices for Getting More from Your Garden, with Niki Jabbour
joegardenerTV YouTube: How to Protect Cool-Season Crops in Hot Weather
joegardener How Do I Grow Cabbage? one-sheet free resource
joegardener Online Gardening Academy™: Three popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; and seed starting!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed — indoors and out.
Washington State University Extention – Cabbage disease photos
*Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we would get a commission if you purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us. None of the items included in this list have any bearing on any compensation being an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast were based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this writing, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post and podcast: Rain Bird, Corona Tools, Milorganite, Soil3, Exmark, and Wild Alaskan Seafood Box. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on our website. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.
