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VegetablesHardyBiennial
Spring Cabbage
Spring cabbage is a hardy overwintered cabbage grown for compact tender heads at a time when fresh garden vegetables are still scarce. It fills an important hunger gap in the productive garden and is especially valuable on allotments with a planned brassica rotation.
Basic information
Category
Vegetables
Lifecycle
Biennial
Hardiness
Hardy
Planting partners
3 companions · 1 crop to avoid
Growth profile
Days to harvest
300 days
Germination window
7–14 days
Germination temperature
10–20 °C
Plant spacing
30 cm
Row spacing
45 cm
Sowing depth
1.5 cm
Height
45 cm
Spread
30 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 outside in a seedbed, then transplanted in autumn to overwinter in its final position.
Care tips
Sow in summer so plants are sturdy but not oversized before winter, then transplant firmly in autumn into fertile ground. Protect from pigeons and severe exposure through winter, and keep spring growth moving with water and nutrition as temperatures rise.
Common pests
Cabbage root fly, caterpillars, pigeons, club root.
