Why You Should Grow Cabbage
If you want an easy win in the garden, grow cabbage. It is a cool-season crop and one of the friendliest vegetables a beginner can plant.3 It brings hearty greens to your garden in both spring and fall.1
This guide walks you through cabbage planting, care and harvest tips, from seed to harvest, one simple step at a time.
A cabbage forms a very round, dense head made of many tightly wrapped layers of thick, sturdy leaves.1 Choose green cabbage to keep things traditional, or try red cabbage to add color to your favorite dishes.3
Pick the Right Cabbage Varieties
Cabbage varieties range from softball-sized heads to others that weigh as much as 50 pounds.4 Some are best eaten soon after harvest, while others suit months of storage and winter eating.4
Plant a combination of early-, midseason-, and late-maturing cabbages.4
The earlies give you your first harvest and can be eaten right away.4 The lates are the slow growers and the best keepers for winter.4
Write the type and sowing date on each plant label. It takes a minute, and it helps you remember which row is which when harvest time comes.
Time Your Cabbage Planting
Cabbage prefers short days and cool temperatures.4 Grow it in spring so it comes to harvest before the summer heat.4
You can also start it in mid to late summer, so it comes to harvest during the cool days of autumn, winter, or early spring.4
One guide advises sowing seeds outdoors about a month before your last frost date for a fall harvest.6 That differs from the mid-to-late-summer start above. Compare both with your local frost dates before you choose.
If autumn has already arrived, save this plan for spring.
How to Sow and Plant Out Cabbage, Step by Step
Follow these steps for a spring crop.
- Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost, and sow them 1/2 inch deep.3
- Set transplants, the young plants you raised indoors, in the garden once they are 3 to 4 inches tall.3
- Space transplants 12 to 24 inches apart in rows.3
- Expect seedlings and young plants to cope with a light frost.4
Cabbage Planting Care: Soil, Sun and Water
Give cabbage a spot in full sun.1 Rich, well-drained soil at pH 6.5 to 6.8 suits it.3 The pH number tells you how acidic or alkaline your soil is.
Another guide simply lists neutral soil pH.1 Cabbages will grow in most soils, so a modest bed can be a good place to start.4
Keep the soil moist but not soggy, about 1 to 1.5 inches of rain per week.3 If the sky does not deliver, water to make up the difference. Water needs are moderate overall.1
Grow Cabbage on a Budget
Cabbage is container-friendly, so a pot can work if you lack bed space.1 That saves you the cost of building a new bed.
A big harvest does not have to go to waste. Cabbage can be frozen, canned, eaten fresh, or turned into sauerkraut, a tangy fermented cabbage.3
Sowing a mix of early, midseason and late types also spaces out your picking. You eat the earlies fresh, then store the lates for winter.4
Cold-Hardy Cabbage and Garden Safety
Cabbage is cold hardy.1 Mature cabbages can withstand cold temperatures as low as 20°F.4
If you ever treat a pest or disease problem, read the product label and follow your local regulations. Keep children, pets, pollinators and waterways away from treatments.
Harvest Tips for Firm Cabbage Heads
Harvest when heads are 4 to 10 inches across and firm, usually 80 to 180 days from seed.3 The lates are the slow growers, so expect the long end of that range from them.4
A head that feels loose can wait a little longer.
Eat the early types soon after harvest, and keep the storage types for winter meals.4
Cabbage Planting Mistakes to Avoid
- Letting heads grow into summer heat. Cabbage prefers cool temperatures.4
- Skipping the sun. Cabbage wants a full-sun spot.1
- Overwatering. Aim for moist, not soggy, soil.3
- Crowding plants. Leave 12 to 24 inches between transplants.3
- Skipping the mix. Early cabbages give you a first harvest, midseasons follow for fresh eating, and lates keep for winter.4
Grow Cabbage: Quick Answers
When should I plant cabbage?
Plant it in spring so it comes to harvest before the summer heat.4 You can also start it in mid to late summer, so it comes to harvest in the cool days of autumn, winter, or early spring.4
How far apart should I space cabbage?
Set transplants 12 to 24 inches apart in rows once they are 3 to 4 inches tall.3
How much water does cabbage need?
Aim for moist but not soggy soil, about 1 to 1.5 inches of rain per week.3 Water needs are moderate overall.1
Can I grow cabbage in a pot?
Yes. Cabbage is container-friendly, so a pot can work if you lack bed space.1
How do I know when to harvest?
Pick when heads are 4 to 10 inches across and firm, usually 80 to 180 days from seed.3
Quick-Reference Checklist
- Pick a full-sun spot.1
- Aim for rich, well-drained soil at pH 6.5 to 6.8.3
- Mix early, midseason and late types.4
- Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost.3
- Time spring crops to reach harvest before the summer heat.4
- Space plants 12 to 24 inches apart.3
- Keep soil moist but not soggy.3
- Harvest firm heads that are 4 to 10 inches across.3