Vegetable · Brassicaceae
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea (Capitata Group)
Hand it steady moisture, rich soil, and cool weather, and cabbage rewards you with a heavy, rock-solid head.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
41–77°F · 5–25°C
60–100 days
Overview
Cabbage is a cool-season vegetable that builds a dense head from layer upon layer of tightly wrapped leaves, and watching it pack together never gets old. It runs with the brassicas, right alongside broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts, and it shows up in smooth green, deep red, and crinkled savoy. Here is the clever part: it is a biennial grown as an annual, so it throws everything into that one head its first season, and you harvest long before it ever shoots for flowers.
It chases the cool weather and powers through a light frost, which is exactly why it pulls double duty as a spring crop and a fall one. It stays compact, topping out at just 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) tall, so it slots into a tight bed with ease. What fires it up most? Rich soil and even water, and almost every cabbage hiccup tracks straight back to a slip in one of those.
Cabbage asks for a little patience, since a head needs 60 to 100 days to firm up, but the payoff is worth the wait. It also draws a steady parade of caterpillars and a few stubborn diseases. Stay a step ahead, keep the moisture even, and you finish the season with solid heads that store for weeks and only sweeten once a fall chill rolls through.
Care
The short version: full sun and cool weather, rich soil kept evenly moist at about an inch to an inch and a half of water a week, a feed at planting and another a few weeks on, and harvest the second the heads turn firm.
Light
Cabbage craves full sun, six hours a day or more, to drive a dense, heavy head. It will soldier on in partial shade and still grow, but the head comes in looser and slower, so put those shadier corners to work in hotter weather when a little relief actually helps.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist with about 1 to 1.5 inches of water a week, soaking down at least 6 inches and watering in the morning. Steady moisture is the whole game, because once a head firms up, a sudden gulp after a dry stretch splits it wide open.
Soil
Plant it in fertile, well-drained sandy loam packed with organic matter, so it stays moist without bogging down. Shoot for a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, since that slightly acidic to neutral zone also helps shut clubroot out.
Temperature
Cabbage is a cool-season crop that hums along between 41°F and 77°F (5°C to 25°C). It powers through a light frost, and a fall chill even sweetens the head, but pile on real summer heat and it bolts instead of forming tight leaves.
Humidity
Plain outdoor humidity suits cabbage fine, so skip chasing a number. Good airflow pulls far more weight than any reading, since crowded, damp leaves roll out the welcome mat for the diseases that spoil a head.
Feeding
Work a balanced fertilizer into the bed at planting, guided by a soil test, then side-dress with nitrogen about 3 to 4 weeks after transplanting to power the plant through heading. Cabbage is a hungry feeder, and that mid-season boost is what really pumps the head full.
Pruning
Cabbage skips real pruning, which is a win. Strip off any yellowed, damaged, or pest-chewed outer leaves as they crop up, and cut the head with a sharp knife at harvest. Leave the outer leaves on the stalk and you might just coax a bonus crop of small mini-heads.
Size & spacing
Plants stay compact at 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) tall and 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) across. Hand each one that much elbow room so the heads bulk up well and air rips through to keep disease down.
When to plant
Cabbage thrives on cool weather, not heat, so timing is where the win is. Fire up seeds indoors in late winter and move the transplants out a few weeks before the last frost for an early summer harvest, or plant again in mid to late summer for heads that wrap up in fall, sweeter after the cold.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6-8 weeks before last spring frost
- Plant: Set hardened transplants out 2-4 weeks before the last spring frost; for a fall crop, transplant in mid-to-late summer about 6-8 weeks before the first fall frost
- Harvest: Harvest when heads are firm and dense, typically early summer for spring plantings and mid-to-late fall for fall plantings; flavor improves after light fall frost
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 2–11
Temperature: down to -46°C
Troubleshooting
Cabbage wears its troubles right out on the leaves or in the head, so a quick scan tells you plenty. Figure out fast whether a chewing pest, a disease, or a watering slip is at work, then jump in early, while there is still a head worth saving.
Plants drooping in heat, leaves gone yellow, roots swollen
This one is clubroot, a soilborne disease that thrives in sour ground and warps the roots into useless clubs. Nothing saves a plant once it has it, so yank the affected ones and destroy them instead of composting them. Then sweeten the bed with lime toward a pH of 6.8 to 7.2, grab clean transplants, and keep brassicas off that ground for several years.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected plants; do not compost them
- Lime soil toward pH 6.8-7.2 in affected beds
Yellow V-wedges pushing in fast from the margins
Those yellow wedges with blackened veins are black rot, a bacterial disease that sneaks in on infected seed and transplants. Pull and destroy anything showing it, and steer clear of the patch while the leaves are wet so you do not drag it down the row. Kick off with certified disease-free stock, water at the base, and rotate brassicas on a 2 to 3 year cycle.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected plants
- Avoid working among wet plants to limit spread
Green caterpillars chewing ragged holes, dark frass left behind
The raiders here are cabbage caterpillars, usually the imported cabbageworm, the looper that humps its back as it crawls, or the small diamondback moth larva. Snatch them off the second you spot them and hit them with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) while the larvae are still tiny, only stepping up to spinosad if pressure stays heavy. Better yet, drape a floating row cover at transplanting and lock the butterflies and moths out from day one.
Fix:
- Handpick caterpillars when first spotted
- Apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) consistently while larvae are small
- Use spinosad per label if pressure is heavy
A packed, mature head burst right open
Splitting strikes when a dry spell ends in heavy rain or watering and a dense head guzzles faster than its skin can stretch. It is no disease, so hunt for it after a downpour on heads that are already firm. Grab a split head right away and put it to use, then throttle back the water uptake on the rest by giving each plant a quarter twist or slicing down one side of the root zone with a spade.
Fix:
- Harvest split heads immediately and use promptly
- Twist plants a quarter turn or spade one side of the root zone to slow water uptake on remaining mature heads
Puckered, curled leaves swarming with waxy gray-green aphids
These are cabbage aphids, gray-green and dusted with a whitish wax, and they jam into leaf undersides and the folds of the head. Blast the colonies off with a strong jet of water, then drive home insecticidal soap or horticultural oil right into the clusters. Scout transplants before they go in, leave room for ladybugs and other natural enemies, and clear out crop residue the moment the harvest wraps.
Fix:
- Dislodge with a strong spray of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, ensuring contact with colonies
Toxicity
Cabbage might be the most easygoing thing you can plant when it comes to safety. It carries zero toxins, so pets, livestock, and people can all dig in. Just watch the portions, because a big helping of raw brassica can leave any animal a touch gassy.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cabbage carries nothing that can hurt a cat. A nibble of cooked leaf now and then is harmless, though most cats breeze right past it.
Dogs None
It is safe to share in small amounts, and some dogs go for the crunch. A dog that wolfs down a lot of raw cabbage might turn a little gassy or pass a soft stool, but that is digestion, not poisoning.
Horses Safe
There is no toxic risk for horses at all. Big helpings of any brassica can leave a horse gassy, so keep it to an occasional treat rather than a staple.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can eat cabbage, and the leaves make a fine green. Ease it in slowly and in small pieces, since a sudden pile can upset a tender gut.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep graze brassicas without harm. Cabbage and its trimmings are a common feed, best balanced against other forage so it is not the whole diet.
Birds Safe
Chickens and other birds peck happily at a hung cabbage head, and plenty of keepers use one to keep a flock busy. Nothing in it does them harm.
People Safe
Cabbage is a kitchen staple, great raw, cooked, or fermented, and safe for everyone. Only chronic, very high intake of raw brassicas raises any goitrogen concern.
No special handling needed. Large quantities of raw brassicas can cause mild gas in pets and people, and brassicas contain goitrogenic compounds that matter only with chronic, very high intake; this is a dietary note, not poisoning.
Varieties
Cabbage runs way past that plain green ball most people picture, and exploring the types is half the fun. A handful really shine for flavor, for timing, or for how long they hang tough in the garden.
Early Jersey Wakefield
Early Jersey Wakefield is a beloved heirloom early type that delivers a pointed, conical head and a sweet flavor.
Stonehead
Stonehead is an early hybrid that cranks out very dense, solid round heads built to resist splitting.
Ruby Ball
Ruby Ball is a red cabbage with firm round heads and a slightly peppery flavor, and it holds tough in the garden.
Savoy King
Savoy King is a savoy type sporting deeply crinkled blue-green leaves that mellow once you cook them.
Companions
Plant near
dill: Aromatic herb that attracts ladybugs and parasitic wasps that prey on cabbage pests
sage: Aromatic herb traditionally interplanted with cabbage to help deter cabbage moths
mint: Aromatic herb reported to deter cabbage pests; best kept contained due to spreading roots
onion: Onion-family crops grow well alongside cabbage-family crops and may help confuse pests
beet: Compatible root crop that shares cool-season conditions without competing with cabbage heads
Keep apart
strawberry: Companion planting guides list strawberries as incompatible neighbors for cabbage-family crops
tomato: Traditional companion charts advise keeping tomatoes away from cabbage plantings
pole bean: Companion planting guides list pole beans as poor companions for the cabbage family
How to propagate
Cabbage springs from seed, started indoors for an early crop or sown a bit later for a fall one. Forget cuttings or cloning here. Grab a packet, give it a head start under cover, and you are rolling.
SeedEasy
Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost, or direct sow/transplant in mid-to-late summer for a fall crop · Germinates in about 4-10 days; transplants are garden-ready in 4-6 weeks
Cabbage takes off from seed, so it is a fun crop to start. Fire it up indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, or sow for a fall crop in mid to late summer, and the seed pops up in about 4 to 10 days. The seedlings hit garden-ready size in 4 to 6 weeks, but harden them off first. Want to skip the transplant shock? Direct-seed it, though it can take up to three weeks longer to mature.
Myths
Frost spells doom for cabbage, so every last head needs cutting ahead of the cold.
Cabbage is a hardy cool-season crop that laughs off light frost, and a fall chill actually sweetens the flavor. Only a hard freeze damages a mature head, so there is zero rush to clear the bed at the first cold night.
A burst cabbage head means a soilborne disease has taken hold.
Splitting is a physical hiccup, not an infection. A firm, ripe head guzzles water fast after uneven watering or heavy rain and bursts its own skin. No pathogen is involved, just the swing from dry to wet.