How to Grow Cabbage
Cabbage At a Glance
Difficulty
Moderate
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -9°C
Plant Family
Brassicaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Biennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Cabbage handles frost, so sow it about 3 weeks before your last spring frost, and again in early summer for a fall crop. Sow 2 to 3 seeds 0.5 cm deep every 45 cm and press the soil down over them. They sprout in 5 to 10 days: keep the strongest seedling at each spot and snip off the others.
Cabbage needs firm soil to make a tight head, so press the soil down after sowing or planting and avoid digging near the roots. Small early types like Early Jersey Wakefield and Red Express are ready first and suit pots, while Savoy and big green types take longer. A late crop keeps for months in a cold spot, so fall cabbage can feed you well into winter.
When To Start
First chance to plant
45 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
60 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant Cabbage?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Cabbage Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Cabbage Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow cabbage outdoors now, it handles light frost
3 weeks before your last frost· every year
Optional: start cabbage indoors in small cells
6 weeks before your last frost· every year· optional
Plant indoor cabbage seedlings out and firm the soil around them
2 weeks before your last frost· every year· optional
Cut cabbages once the heads feel firm all the way through
90 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Did you water your cabbage seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your cabbage is growing well! Keep the soil steadily moist so the leaves stay tender.
About 33 days after you plant it
Your cabbage is heading up. Water evenly now, because big swings in water can make heads split.
About 57 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your cabbage.
About 70 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Cabbage's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
0.5 cm
Seeding Depth
45 cm
Plant Spacing
90 cm
Row Spacing
1
Plants / Sq Ft
Vertical Growing
Yes: Tower.
Method: Tower.
Succession Planting
Yes.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 5–10 days
Growing Tips
- 1Grow cabbage in full sun, at least 6 hours a day.
- 2Mix plenty of compost into the soil before planting, since cabbage is a hungry plant.
- 3Water deeply about once a week so the soil stays evenly moist, because a dry spell followed by a soaking makes heads split.
- 4Feed with worm castings or compost tea every 3 to 4 weeks until the heads start to firm up.
- 5Cover the plants with row cover from the day you plant them, because small white butterflies lay eggs that hatch into green caterpillars.
- 6Look under the leaves every few days and pick off any caterpillars or eggs by hand.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~70
Days to Maturity
40 cm
Mature Height
45 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
45 days
When to Pick
Cut head when firm
How to Harvest
- 1Squeeze the head, and when it feels firm and solid all the way through, it is ready.
- 2Cut it off at the base with a sharp knife, leaving the stalk and outer leaves in the ground.
- 3On early types, a few small new heads often sprout from the stalk, and you can pick those too.
- 4If a ripe head starts to crack after heavy rain, pick it right away, or twist the whole plant a quarter turn to slow its growth for a few days.
- 5Keep heads in a bag in the fridge for several weeks, or in a cold spot that does not freeze for a few months.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Cabbage only flowers in its second year, after a cold winter, so saving seed takes some planning. In fall, dig up a few of your best plants with their roots, keep them somewhere cold that does not freeze, and replant them in spring, or leave them in the ground under a thick mulch where winters are mild. Cabbage crosses with broccoli, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and collards, so let only one of them flower within about 800 m, and let at least 6 cabbages flower together for good seed. Hybrid F1 seeds will not grow true. Pull the plants when most pods are dry and brown, crush the pods in a bag, and store the seeds labelled in a cool, dark, dry place for about 5 years.
Seed Production
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