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VegetablesHardyBiennial
Cabbage
Cabbage is a versatile heading brassica grown for crisp fresh leaves, slaws, soups and cooked dishes across much of the year. Different sowing times and varieties allow it to fill spring, summer, autumn and winter slots in a productive rotation.
Basic information
Category
Vegetables
Lifecycle
Biennial
Hardiness
Hardy
Planting partners
8 companions · 1 crop to avoid
Growth profile
Days to harvest
150 days
Germination window
7–14 days
Germination temperature
10–20 °C
Plant spacing
45 cm
Row spacing
60 cm
Sowing depth
1.5 cm
Height
45 cm
Spread
45 cm
Calendar
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
Sow Indoors
Sow Outdoors
Plant Out
Flowering / Harvest
Timings based on average frost dates in the UK. Sign up to set your frost dates.
Notes
Sow Outdoors: Usually sown in an outdoor seedbed or modules and transplanted once sturdy, rather than left crowded where sown.
Care tips
Plant cabbages firmly so stems do not rock in the wind, and keep plants growing steadily with moisture and fertile soil. Use mesh or netting to exclude butterflies, pigeons and root fly where needed, and harvest as soon as heads feel dense and solid.
Common pests
Cabbage root fly, caterpillars, clubroot, pigeons.
