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            
        T T T T        

(Best months for growing Cabbage in Australia - tropical regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • 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 5°C and 18°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 50 - 75 cm 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

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23 Sep 16, Narelle (Australia - tropical climate)
Hi Lee, I had success with dwarf drum head cabbages recently (my first ever). I was very happy with the result. No need to tie leaves together, the outer leaves spread out and the centre formed by itself. I did need to spray with my home made garlic-chilli spray to keep grubs away. This worked a treat. Good luck with your cabbages.
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18 Sep 16, Jennifer Gelloway (Canada - Zone 3b Temperate Warm Summer climate)
I also grow cabbage but they are not growing well :( . i dont know what to do. But your article give so much information to me. Thanks.
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24 Sep 16, Bob Dobbs (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Try some fertiliser - they respond well to fertiliser. Are they receiving enough water? Not too much, but enough to keep the soil moist. Are they in full sun, as they do best in full sun? All the best, Bob
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13 Jun 16, (Australia - tropical climate)
What type of soil is best for cabbage when growing it in a garden bed?
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27 Oct 15, Gwyneth (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi,I live in Brisbane and i'm new to growing vegetables. This is the first time that I have grown Red cabbage , well any cabbage really, what I would appreciate knowing is, at what stage or how long does it take for the young cabbage to start forming the head.
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18 Jun 14, graham scott (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
how do I know when to harvest my cabbage
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03 Sep 15, Ray (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
When the cabbage is of decent size squeeze the head. It should be very firm for most varieties. The sugarloaf types aren't quite as solid. If you leave them too long they start to expand as the flower stem begins to develop. Eventually the cabbage will burst as the flower stem pushes its way out.
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22 Jul 15, Roy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I suppose it depends on the variety of cabbage graham, example, recently I bought one I'd never seen before called Tuscan Cabbage which doesn't look like cabbage at all, more like Kale with long narrow leaves that can be taken off the parent plant. I use a method of growing which doesn't involve seeds which is to press into the soil/compost what remains from a bought half or even quarter cabbage which does produce roots and puts out like a stem from which small ones appear which are then cut off for cooking, size then is the criteria.
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07 Apr 14, Lynette (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a few cabbages growing what I want to ask if they're is a problem when the outer leaves are very big, will this take away the nutrients from the vegetable.
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17 May 14, Margaret (Australia - temperate climate)
I have been searching for an answer to this question too. I went on the site "Grow with Bonnie". They say farmers do not remove the outer leaves because they capture more sun and produce better cabbages. Hope this helps.
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I don't know the techie stuff about compost but I thought the greens (N) was only there to break down the brown (C) And you need to combine them with water and air to achieve compost. Once the N has been used up then the process loses the heat in it and it will go to cold compost. I didn't think there was much N in compost so different levels of G and B wouldn't make much difference. Be interesting to have them tested. My garden bed is a continuous bed so all the different plants are mixed up in rows. Low plants - lettuce radish shallots cabbage one end and the high plants - corn tomatoes snow peas the other end.

- Mike L

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