GardenBiennial Leafy Green · zones 2–11 · 52 varieties
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea Cabbage Group
Brassicaceae — the same plant family as radish, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and 12 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea Cabbage Group) is a biennial leafy green for USDA zones 2–11. It wants full sun and pH 6–7 soil, with about 1–2 in of water weekly. It matures in about 60–90 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for aphids and black rot. Below: its full sourced profile from 11 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 2–11
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Soil texture
- Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Hardy
- Suffers in days above
- 80 °F
No published figure for a warm-night limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 0.8–2 ft
- Mature spread
- 1–2 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 12–18 in
- Between rows
- 24–36 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25–0.5 in
- Container size
- 5 gal
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Transplant, Direct sow
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1–2 in/wk
- Critical water
- Establishment, Headingest
- Feeding
- Moderate
- Stop feeding once heads start to form — extra nitrogen then makes them loose and split.
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 60–90 days from transplant
- Harvest cues
- Head formingest
- Takes cold in the ground down to
- 25 °F
- Survives in the ground down to
- 15–20 °F
There is no line here for how long from sowing to the first pick, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Planted again for autumn
- South Carolina — Piedmont
- Jul 15 – Aug 31
- South Carolina — Coastal Plain
- Aug 15 – Sep 30
Published by the extension service for its own regions, and quoted here for those regions only — converting them would mean assuming a frost date somewhere else. The chart says when, not whether to sow seed or set out plants, so we do not either. Only South Carolina so far.
- Set plants out by
- late Aug typical · zone 6b
60 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Edible parts per source: leaf.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Mixed, strong-smelling plantings make brassicas harder for pests to find — real research, modest effect. Keep mint in a pot.
Dill flowers feed the tiny parasitoid wasps that hunt cabbage worms. Let some of it bloom near the bed.
A trap strip pulls flea beetles off young seedlings. UMN found mixes of three-plus trap species beat any single one.
On the classic chart's companion list for the cabbage family.
On the WVU companion list, with an aphid-magnet reputation. If aphids pile on, pull those plants before they breed.
Old chart pairing; both hold cool-season beds.
Old chart pairing.
Chart canon says no. Nobody's proven why. Cheap to respect.
Flagged on the classic charts, including WVU's. Mechanism murky; the canon is consistent.
Flagged on the classic charts, mechanism murky. Skip the pairing if you've got the space.
Companion pairings from university extensions; badge = how strong the evidence is.
Open one and add it to your garden — it lights up here. The rest of the 52 are in the full list below.
| Variety | Type | Days | Color | Size | Disease | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcosa F1 | Savoy | 72 | Green | Medium | ||
| All Seasons Heirloom | Green Round | 65 | Green | Very Large | Reimer Seeds describes this astakes the heat | |
| Apollo Napa F1 | Napa | 65 | Green | Medium | Reimer Seeds describes this astakes the heat · takes the cold | |
| Bilko Napa F1 | Napa | 57 | Green | Large | CLUB_ROOT FUSARIUM_YELLOWS | |
| Blue Vantage F1 | Green Round | 72 | Green | Medium | Reimer Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Blues Napa F1 | Napa | 57 | Green | Medium | ||
| Bravo F1 | Green Round | 85 | Green | Large | BLACK_ROT FUSARIUM_YELLOWS TIPBURN | |
| Brunswick Heirloom | Flat Dutch | 88 | Green | Large | Urban Farmer describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Caraflex F1 | Pointed | 68 | Green | Small | ||
| Charleston Wakefield Heirloom | Pointed | 75–85 | Green | Medium | GrowVeg describes this astakes the heat | |
| China Express Napa F1 | Napa | 80 | Green | Medium | Reimer Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| Citrus Napa F1 | Napa | 54 | Green | Large | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asan unusual color | |
| Copenhagen Market Heirloom | Green Round | 65 | Green | Medium | Urban Farmer describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Danish Ballhead Heirloom | Green Round | 125 | Green | Medium | Urban Farmer describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Deadon F1 | Savoy | 105 | Red | Large | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asan unusual color | |
| Discovery F1 | Green Round | 75 | Green | Medium | ||
| Earliana Heirloom | Green Round | 60 | Green | Small | ||
| Early Flat Dutch Heirloom | Flat Dutch | 85 | Green | Very Large | ||
| Early Jersey Wakefield Heirloom | Pointed | 60 | Green | Small | ||
| Glory of Enkhuizen Heirloom | Green Round | 95 | Green | Large | ||
| Golden Acre Heirloom | Green Round | 65 | Green | Medium | ||
| Golden Cross F1 | Mini | 45 | Green | Small | Reimer Seeds describes this ashappy in a pot | |
| Gonzales F1 | Mini | 55–66 | Green | Small | ||
| Green Rocket F1 | Michihili | 70 | Green | Medium | Reimer Seeds describes this astakes the heat · takes the cold | |
| Greenboy F1 | Green Round | 80 | Green | Medium | Reimer Seeds describes this astakes the heat | |
| Haku Napa F1 | Napa | 55 | Green | Large | CLUB_ROOT DOWNY_MILDEW | |
| Integro F1 | Red | 85 | Red | Medium | ||
| Jade Pagoda F1 | Michihili | 65 | Green | Large | Reimer Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat | |
| January King Heirloom | Savoy | 160–210 | Green, Purple | Medium | Adaptive Seeds describes this astakes the cold | |
| Katarina F1 | Mini | 45 | Green | Small | Territorial Seed Company describes this ashappy in a pot | |
| Late Flat Dutch Heirloom | Flat Dutch | 100–110 | Green | Large | Urban Farmer describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Mammoth Red Rock Heirloom | Red | 95 | Purple | Large | Pinetree Garden Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Megaton F1 | Green Round | 90 | Green | Very Large | ||
| Melissa Savoy F1 | Savoy | 85 | Green | Medium | FUSARIUM_YELLOWS TIPBURN | Fedco Seeds describes this astakes the cold |
| Michihili Napa Heirloom | Napa | 55–100 | Green | Medium | ||
| Minuet Napa F1 | Napa | 48 | Green | Small | DOWNY_MILDEW | |
| Monument F1 | Michihili | 80 | Green | Medium | Reimer Seeds describes this astakes the heat · takes the cold | |
| Omero F1 | Red | 73 | Red | Medium | ||
| Premium Late Flat Dutch Heirloom | Flat Dutch | 100 | Green | Very Large | Reimer Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Red Acre Heirloom | Red | 75–100 | Red, Purple | Small | Botanical Interests describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Red Express | Red | 62 | Red | Small | ||
| Red Jewel F1 | Red | 60–90 | Red | |||
| Red Trumpet F1 | Michihili | 60 | Red | Medium | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asan unusual color | |
| Ruby Ball F1 | Red | 78 | Purple, Red | Medium | Territorial Seed Company describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Ruby Perfection F1 | Red | 85 | Red | Medium | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| Savoy Ace F1 | Savoy | 80 | Green | Medium | ||
| Savoy King F1 | Savoy | 80 | Green | Medium | TIPBURN | |
| Savoy Perfection Heirloom | Savoy | 90 | Green | Large | Sow True Seed describes this astakes the cold · takes the heat | |
| Stonehead F1 | Green Round | 70 | Green | Medium | ||
| Storage No. 4 F1 | Storage | 95 | Green | Large | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this askeeps a long time after picking | |
| SuperStar F1 | Green Round | 90 | Green | Medium | ||
| Tendersweet F1 | Flat Dutch | 71 | Green | Medium |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
- Harvest to Table
- Johnny's Selected Seeds
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- NC State Extension
- UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento County (UC ANR) — Garden Notes GN 154
- University of Maryland Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 19 of the 23 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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