Vegetable · Brassicaceae
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea (Capitata Group)
Give it steady moisture, rich soil, and cool weather, and cabbage draws its leaves into a heavy, tightly packed head.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
41–77°F · 5–25°C
60–100 days
Overview
Cabbage is a cool-season vegetable whose broad leaves curve inward and overlap, layer on layer, until they close into a dense, heavy head. It sits in the brassica family beside broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts, and the head can be smooth and pale green, deep wine red, or crinkled and blistered savoy. As a biennial grown as an annual, it spends its first year drawing leaf after leaf into that ball, gathered well before any flower stalk rises.
The plant keeps low and broad, its outer wrapper leaves spreading flat before the inner ones cup and tighten. It tops out at just 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) tall, a squat rosette closing on a solid center. What shapes a clean, firm head is rich soil and even water, and a slip in either one shows plainly in the leaves themselves.
Cabbage takes its time, since the head needs 60 to 100 days to swell and harden into a tight, dense globe. Along the way its leaves draw caterpillars and a few stubborn diseases that mark the tissue. Stay ahead of those, keep the moisture even, and the leaves close into solid heads that hold for weeks and turn sweeter after a fall chill.
Care
The short version: full sun and cool weather, rich soil kept evenly moist with about an inch to an inch and a half of water a week, a feed at planting and again a few weeks on, and harvest once the heads have hardened into a firm, solid ball.
Light
Cabbage wants full sun, about six hours or more a day, which is what packs the leaves tight into a dense head. In partial shade it still grows, but the leaves stay looser and the head firms more slowly, so a shadier spot suits hotter weather when a little relief 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. Even moisture is the point, because once the leaves close into a firm head, a sudden drink after a dry spell swells the inner leaves until the head splits.
Soil
Set cabbage in fertile, well-drained sandy loam worked full of organic matter, so it stays moist without going soggy around the roots. Aim for a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, since slightly acidic to neutral ground also helps keep clubroot out of the roots.
Temperature
Cabbage is a cool-season crop that grows best between 41°F and 77°F (5°C to 25°C). It takes a light frost without marking the leaves, and a fall chill sweetens the head, but real summer heat sends up a flower stalk instead of a tight ball of leaves.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits cabbage, so there is no figure to hit. Good airflow does more for the leaves than any reading, since crowded, damp foliage holds the moisture that diseases need to mark and rot the 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 carry the plant through heading. Cabbage is a hungry feeder, and that mid-season nitrogen is what swells the inner leaves into a full head.
Pruning
Cabbage needs no real pruning. Strip away yellowed, damaged, or pest-chewed outer leaves as they appear, and cut the firm head free with a sharp knife at harvest. Leave the outer leaves on the stalk and small mini-heads may sprout from the cut.
Size & spacing
The plant stays low and broad, 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) tall and 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) across as the outer leaves spread. Give each one that much room so the head sizes up fully and air moves between the leaves to keep disease down.
When to plant
Cabbage runs on cool weather, not heat. Start seeds indoors in late winter and set the young plants out a few weeks before the last frost for an early summer harvest, or sow again in mid to late summer for heads that firm up in fall, their leaves 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 shows its troubles in the leaves and the head themselves, in chewed holes, curled tissue, or a cracked crown. A close look at the color and texture usually separates a chewing pest from a disease or a watering fault. Match what you see below, then act early, while the head can still be saved.
Leaves yellow and drooping in the heat over swollen, clubbed roots
This is clubroot, a soilborne disease that thrives in acidic ground and swells the roots into thick, distorted clubs that can no longer feed the plant, so the leaves yellow and wilt in the heat. There is no saving an affected plant, so lift it and destroy it rather than composting it. Lime the bed toward a pH of 6.8 to 7.2, set out 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-shaped wedges biting inward from the leaf rims, veins blackening
Those yellow, V-shaped wedges driving inward from the leaf margins, their veins blackening as they go, are black rot, a bacterial disease carried in on infected seed and transplants. Cut stems may show darkened tissue inside. Pull and destroy any plant that shows it, and stay out of the patch while the leaves are wet so it is not spread down the row. Start 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
Ragged-edged holes, plump green caterpillars, and pellets of dark frass
The pests are cabbage caterpillars: the velvety green imported cabbageworm, the looper that arches its body into a hump as it crawls, and the small diamondback moth larva. Their dark frass pellets sit in the chewed holes and leaf folds. Handpick them on sight and spray Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) while the larvae are still small, moving to spinosad only if pressure stays heavy. A floating row cover laid on at transplanting keeps the butterflies and moths off the leaves in the first place.
Fix:
- Handpick caterpillars when first spotted
- Apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) consistently while larvae are small
- Use spinosad per label if pressure is heavy
A dense head split by a clean crack across the crown
Splitting opens a clean crack across a firm head when a dry spell ends in heavy rain or watering and the inner leaves swell faster than the outer skin can stretch. It is not a disease, so it shows up after a downpour on heads already dense and tight. Harvest a split head right away and use it, and slow the uptake in the others 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
Leaves curled and puckered under a waxy gray-green crust of insects
These are cabbage aphids, soft gray-green bodies under a powdery whitish wax, clustered thick on the leaf undersides and in the folds of the head until the tissue curls and puckers around them. Knock the colonies off with a strong jet of water, then work insecticidal soap or horticultural oil right into the clusters. Inspect transplants before they go in, leave room for ladybugs and other natural enemies, and clear out crop residue once the harvest is done.
Fix:
- Dislodge with a strong spray of water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, ensuring contact with colonies
Toxicity
Cabbage is one of the safest plants you can grow around a household. Nothing in its leaves or stem is toxic, and pets, livestock, and people can all eat it. The only thing to watch is quantity, since a big serving of the raw leaves can leave any animal a bit gassy.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cabbage holds nothing that harms a cat. A nibble of cooked leaf now and then is harmless, though most cats will not bother with it.
Dogs None
It is safe to share in small amounts. A dog that wolfs down a lot of the raw leaves may turn a little gassy or pass a soft stool, but that is digestion, not poisoning.
Horses Safe
There is no toxic risk to horses. Big helpings of any brassica leaf can leave a horse gassy, so keep it to an occasional treat rather than a staple.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits will nibble cabbage readily, the crisp leaves a good green for them. Start with small torn pieces and add them slowly, since a sudden mound can trouble a sensitive stomach.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep graze brassicas without harm. Cabbage leaves and 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, pulling strips from the leaves, and many keepers use one to keep a flock busy. Nothing in it does them harm.
People Safe
Cabbage is a kitchen staple, the leaves eaten 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 is far more varied than the smooth green ball most people picture, ranging from pointed cones to deep red globes to puckered savoy leaves. A few stand out for the shape, color, and texture of their heads.
Early Jersey Wakefield
Early Jersey Wakefield is an heirloom early type with a distinctive pointed, conical head and a sweet flavor.
Stonehead
Stonehead is an early hybrid that forms very dense, solid round heads which resist splitting.
Ruby Ball
Ruby Ball is a red cabbage with firm round heads of deep color and a slightly peppery flavor that holds well in the garden.
Savoy King
Savoy King is a savoy type whose deeply crinkled, blistered blue-green leaves turn milder once cooked.
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 is grown from the small seed up, started indoors for an early crop or sown later for a fall one. There is no cloning here, just a seed that breaks ground into a pair of leaves and a head start under cover.
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 grows easily from seed. Start it indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, or sow for a fall crop in mid to late summer, and the seed breaks ground in about 4 to 10 days, pushing up a pair of seed leaves. The seedlings are garden-ready in 4 to 6 weeks, but harden them off first. Direct-seeded plants skip the transplant shock yet can take up to three weeks longer to mature.
Myths
Frost ruins a cabbage crop, so every head must come in before any cold weather.
Cabbage is a hardy cool-season crop whose leaves shrug off light frost, and a fall chill actually sweetens them. Only a hard freeze damages a mature head, so there is no rush to cut the bed at the first cold night.
A head cracked open is the mark of disease in the ground.
The crack across a split head is a physical break, not an infection. A firm, ripe head pulls up water fast after uneven watering or heavy rain, and the swelling inner leaves burst the outer skin. No pathogen is involved, just the swing from dry to wet.