Cabbages can be grown and harvested all year round. Used in salads and cooking, cabbages are an essential crop in the vegetable garden. There is a cabbage for every season.
Cabbages are members of the Brassica family and are susceptible to club-root disease. Club root stunts your plants and results in a pathetic crop. Crop rotation and careful soil preparation will help to prevent this developing.
Site and Soil
Cabbages need a sunny position in a fertile soil that was manured for a previous crop. Plant following pod vegetables, salads and spinach. Never follow Brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) with more Brassicas as this encourages club root to develop.
Sowing Seed
Sow seedlings in a seed tray or a short drill in the garden and plant out seedlings in batches to ensure successive cropping.
Germination is in 10 to 14 days.
Timing
Summer cabbages are sown inside in mid through late winter. Prick out and move into a larger send tray when large enough to handle. Harden off before planting in the garden.
Winter cabbages should be sown outside in spring.
Cabbages for spring harvest are sown outside in spring and mid to late summer.
Care
Planting out Lime can be added when planting out seedlings to raise the pH to the 6.5-7.0 that these plants prefer.
Add spare compost or manure, a couple of handfuls of fish, blood and bone for every square metre is also beneficial.
Seedlings are planted up to 25-45cm (10-18in) apart depending on variety. Firm the ground around transplanted seedlings well. Water after planting out and until established.
 Planting in squares 45cm is a good solution, rather than conventional rows. A handful of lime added for every metre or so of plants will benefit the crop.
Planting some seedlings under cloches will give earlier cropping summer of summer cabbages, with the balance of the plants planted out once they have been hardened off.
In late summer through autumn plant out spring cabbage sown a month earlier.
Slower growing varieties will mature for mid to late winter harvest. 'Savoy' is perhaps the best known of these.
If you garden in no-dig or raised beds closer planting in blocks is possible, with plants 15cm (6") apart in staggered plantings. Alternate plants should then be harvested leaving more room for the maturing remainder.
Maintenance Cabbage needs regular watering when young, unless there is a good, steady rainfall.
Keep the plants weed free.
One of the keys to success with cabbage is consistency of care. Water regularly, weed and remove pests on as a routine.
Harvesting
 Cabbages are ready to harvest when the heart forms.
Always remove the roots completely to discourage pests and soil diseases, never leave these lying on the garden. These, plus the leaves, can safely be composted unless clearly diseased.
Winter 'Savoy' cabbages withstand heavy frosts and can be left in the garden until required. Red cabbages are ready to harvest when the heads are firm.
Spring cabbage can be harvested as "spring greens", before the heart forms, taking alternate plants and leaving the remaining cabbages more room to develop and harvest late spring through to summer.
Days to Harvest depending on variety, 40 to 90.
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Cabbages for spring, summer and winter
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Cabbage Varieties
There are three main types of cabbage- green, red and Chinese.
Green cabbage has smooth or ribbed green leaves that form a rounded head; red has purple-red leaves and Chinese has an oblong head, looser form and a slightly spicy taste.
Cabbages vary vastly in colour, size and texture. Choose carefully or you may have a 3kg heavyweight when you wanted a spicy Chinese cabbage.
- Savoy classic winter cabbage
- January King Savoy-type cabbage
- Red Rookie Easily grown F1 hybrid red cabbage resistant to splitting
- Red Drumhead Medium sized, dark red cabbage
- Sweet Eureka Sweet tasting variety, firm light green heads, early maturing
Chinese Cabbage
- Orange Queen Use young transplants as bolts easily
- Tat-soi Easily grown with spoon shaped dark green leaves
- Wong Bok Uprightheads, lettuce-like leaves and stalks like celery
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Read the Packet
Always check the seed packet to confirm sowing time, planting depth and spacing. | |
Cabbages vary in colour, size and texture
Pests and Diseases
Caterpillars The caterpillars of cabbage butterflies (white butterflies) can cause considerable damage. Row covers to deny the egg-laying parents access, or picking off the caterpillars by hand is recommended. Derris dust is often used but a caution, recent studies indicate possible links to Parkinson's disease.
Slugs Slugs will cause extensive damage, especially to newly transplanted seedlings. Beer traps, picking off at night, grit. Slug bait should be used carefully near any edible crop, and if children have access to the garden.
Cabbage root fly The female fly lays eggs on the ground around the stem of the cabbage. Collars or covering with a horticultural row cloth or fleece with prevent this
Club root Attacks the root system, crippling the plant and resulting in a pathetic crop. Crop rotation, soil preparation, good drainage, and liming the ground to reduce acidity.
Splitting Splitting of spring cabbage is caused by rapid new growth when irrigation or rain follows a period of little moisture. Consistent watering regimes and cultivating near the roots may help. |
Gardening in Small Spaces
 Cabbage is a slow maturing crop. If you garden in a small space then most cabbage varieties are best forgone.
Chinese cabbage is best fresh from the garden and is fast maturing (around 43 days), include this in your small space garden. |
More Vegetable Gardening
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