Growing Cabbage

Brassica sp. : Brassicaceae / the mustard or cabbage family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    S     S S S        
      T     T T T      
      P     P P P      

(Best months for growing Cabbage in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 41°F and 64°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 20 - 30 inches apart
  • Harvest in 11-15 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Dwarf (bush) beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb, aromatic herbs (sage, dill, chamomile, thyme)
  • Avoid growing close to: Climbing (pole) beans, tomato, peppers (chili, capsicum), eggplant (aubergine), strawberry, mustard, parsnip

Your comments and tips

02 Nov 20, (USA - Zone 10a climate)
Stake them.
26 Sep 20, Lesley (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My red cabbages grow to a certain point then the top starts to split, why is that?, still tastes good and the inside is just like a bought one, am I watering too much, every day in Bundy or is it something else
06 Apr 21, Vincent (United Kingdom - cool/temperate climate)
I´m from a farm that grows a lot of cabbage and we observed this aswell in some parts of the arable. We explained it, that the cabbage defines its biggest state at an early point in its life. It seems to depend on how much water is avaiable in that state. So to prevent it from breaking you need to water it in the early stages more than in the later stages. If it has not enough water when it begins to grow it and to much later on it will break.
27 Sep 20, (Australia - temperate climate)
I'm from Bundy and it is too much water. I water 3 times a week.
19 Aug 20, philip hope (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I am growing curly leaf cabbage, and which are growing well, and I think almost ready for harvest. Do we treat and cook these the same as the other types and harvest when the heart is pretty high and hard?
20 Aug 20, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Google how to use it - similar to normal cabbage. More for salady stuff I feel. It is a looser leaf head, so if big enough and hard start eating. The weather is going to turn warm and hot over the next 4-6 weeks.
08 Aug 20, Robyn (Australia - temperate climate)
My cabbages and cauliflowers are not forming hearts this year. They are very healthy looking, lots of leaves, and planted about 10 - 12 weeks ago. What have i done wrong?? Is it lack of sunshine, lack of nutients, or pollination..have bith green and red varieties of cabbage.
10 Aug 20, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
I am sub-tropical and I'm just finishing picking my broccoli and cabbage. I had a couple of weird red cabbage and ice berg lettuce that were all big leaf and no heart. Same plants right next to each other, one good, one just leaf. If massive leaves then I think too much N fertiliser or just a rogue seed or something. I bought these as seedlings. Talking to an agronomist last week and he said these winter crops need cool/cold weather to form a heart. He said if the weather was hot for week or so when they were to head up then this might have stopped them. I have only grown red cabbage the last 3 years and have a big variation in the size and quality of the heart.
03 Jul 20, Ann McKenzie (Australia - temperate climate)
My radishes and cabbage have small holes in the leaves. No caterpillars, eggs or butterflies as it is quite cold now. I’ve also checked the leaves. What do you think is causing this? Thanks, Ann
06 Jul 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Could be grasshoppers. If they are not causing too much damage I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not into what all the different things bus/insects do and how to treat the problems. Rain is a big factor in bug/insect populations - it's breeding time.
Showing 41 - 50 of 226 comments

Hello Rhonda. I have some suggestions: (i) patience (haha), (ii) think about the varieties of cabbages and caulies that might be suitable for your area (meaning choose quick growing varieties), (iii) plan your autumn planting and growing around your first frost and your spring planting around your last frost, (iv) buy a max/min thermometer for use in the poly tunnel, and (v) think about the effectiveness of a "double skin" poly tunnel. By suggestion (iii) above, I mean try to calculate how many weeks/months into autumn and winter you would like to keep growing your brassicas. Ditto for spring plantings. Hope that this helps. Kevin Tasmania

- Kevin Anderson

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