Cabbage Growing Made Easy: From Seed to Harvest
Updated: 2 hours ago
You can grow cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group) by sowing seed 1 cm deep in modules, then planting the young plants firmly into rich soil 30 to 50 cm apart after about six weeks. By choosing spring, summer, autumn and winter varieties, you can harvest cabbage almost all year round in Ireland and the UK. The keys to success are firm, fertile soil and netting against pigeons and caterpillars.
Cabbage is a hardy, productive crop that thrives in the cool, moist Irish climate. This guide covers choosing varieties for each season, sowing, planting out, care, pests and diseases, and harvesting, including how to get a second crop from the same plant. At the end we look at perennial brassicas that crop for years without replanting.
Cabbage Quick Facts
Latin name: Brassica oleracea Capitata Group
Sowing depth: 1 cm, in modules or a seedbed
Germination: 5 to 10 days at 15 to 20°C
Plant out: 5 to 6 weeks after sowing, with 5 or 6 true leaves
Spacing: 30 cm (spring cabbage), 35 to 45 cm (summer and autumn), 50 cm (winter and savoy)
Soil: firm, fertile, moisture-retentive, pH 6.5 to 7.5
Position: full sun or light shade, sheltered from strong wind
Time to harvest: 12 to 30 weeks depending on type
Harvest: possible in every month of the year with the right varieties
Main problems: pigeons, cabbage white caterpillars, cabbage root fly, slugs, clubroot
Step 1: Choose Cabbage Varieties for Each Season
Cabbages are grouped by when they are harvested. Growing two or three types gives you a supply for most of the year.
Spring cabbage: sow July to August, plant out September to October, harvest March to May as loose spring greens or hearted heads. Try Durham Early or April.
Summer cabbage: sow February to April (under cover early on), harvest June to September. Try Greyhound, Hispi or Primo.
Autumn cabbage: sow April to May, harvest September to November. Red cabbages such as Red Drumhead fit here.
Winter cabbage and savoy: sow April to early June, harvest November to March. Very hardy savoys such as Tundra and January King stand well through Irish winters.
Step 2: Sow Cabbage Seeds
Sow 1 or 2 seeds per module, or per small pot, 1 cm deep in seed compost. Thin to the strongest seedling.
Keep at 15 to 20°C. Early sowings in February and March need a greenhouse, polytunnel or bright windowsill; later sowings can be made outdoors in a seedbed.
Grow on in good light so seedlings stay short and sturdy.
Harden off indoor-raised plants for 7 to 10 days before planting out.
For more on raising healthy seedlings, see our guide to starting vegetable seeds.
Step 3: Prepare the Soil and Plant Out
Cabbages are hungry plants and need firm ground. Loose soil leads to wobbly plants and loose, open heads.
Add plenty of well-rotted compost or manure, ideally the autumn before, then let the soil settle. Don't dig just before planting.
Aim for a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. On acidic soil, add garden lime in winter, which also helps deter clubroot.
Plant out when seedlings have 5 or 6 true leaves, about 5 to 6 weeks after sowing.
Plant slightly deeper than they grew, up to the lowest leaves, and firm in well with your heel or hands. Tug a leaf: the plant should not move.
Water well after planting, and rotate brassicas to a new bed each year.
Step 4: Care for Cabbage Plants
Watering: keep the soil evenly moist, especially as heads form. Heavy rain after a dry spell can split heads, so water thoroughly during dry weather rather than letting plants dry out.
Feeding: a mulch of compost after planting supports steady growth. Summer and autumn cabbages benefit from a nitrogen-rich liquid feed as heads start to form; home-made comfrey tea works well. Feed spring cabbage in late winter, not in autumn, to avoid soft growth before the cold.
Weeding and mulching: keep the bed weed free while plants are small. A mulch of compost or grass clippings holds moisture and suppresses weeds.
Earthing up: draw soil around the stems of winter cabbages in autumn to steady them against wind.
Step 5: Protect Against Pests and Diseases
Pigeons: a major problem in Ireland, especially in winter. Cover plants with netting on a frame, clear of the leaves.
Cabbage white caterpillars: cover with fine insect mesh from May to October, or check leaves weekly and remove eggs and caterpillars.
Cabbage root fly: larvae eat the roots and plants wilt. Fit a collar of card or felt around each stem at planting, or grow under mesh.
Slugs: most damaging to young plants. Check after rain and protect new transplants.
Clubroot: swollen, distorted roots and stunted plants. It persists in soil for many years; lime acidic soil, rotate crops, and grow resistant varieties such as Kilaxy where it is a problem.
Companion plants: calendula and nasturtiums attract hoverflies and other predators, and nasturtiums act as a sacrificial crop for cabbage white butterflies. Strong-scented herbs and alliums nearby may also help confuse pests.
Step 6: Harvest Cabbage
Cut heads when they feel firm and solid when squeezed. Spring greens can be picked as loose leaves before they heart. Winter cabbages and savoys can stand in the ground for weeks until needed.
Cut the head with a sharp knife, leaving the stalk and a few outer leaves in the ground.
Cut a shallow cross in the top of the stump. On spring and summer cabbages, this often produces a second crop of four or five small heads a few weeks later.
Red and firm white cabbages store for several weeks in a cool, frost-free shed.
Clear old stumps at the end of the season to reduce pests and disease.
FAQ: Growing Cabbage
When should I plant cabbage in Ireland?
It depends on the type. Sow summer cabbage from February to April, autumn and winter cabbage from April to early June, and spring cabbage in July and August. Plant out about 5 to 6 weeks after sowing.
How long does cabbage take to grow?
Cabbage takes about 12 to 20 weeks from sowing for summer types, and up to 30 weeks or more for winter cabbages and spring cabbage, which overwinter before harvest.
Why are my cabbages not forming heads?
Cabbages fail to heart when the soil is loose, too dry, or short of nutrients. Plant firmly into fertile, well-settled soil, keep plants watered, and make sure they aren't crowded.
How do I stop caterpillars eating my cabbages?
Cover plants with fine insect mesh from May to October so cabbage white butterflies cannot lay eggs. Without mesh, check the undersides of leaves weekly and remove eggs and caterpillars by hand.
Can you get a second crop from a cabbage?
Yes. After cutting the head, leave the stump in the ground and cut a shallow cross into the top. Spring and summer cabbages will often produce several small heads a few weeks later.
Perennial Brassicas: Cabbage Family Crops That Come Back
Cabbages are cut once and replanted every year. A few perennial members of the same family stay in the ground and crop for years, which makes them ideal for a low-maintenance vegetable bed or food forest.
Perennial kale Taunton Deane is a rarely flowering perennial kale that grows into a large, leafy bush. You can pick its leaves in every month of the year, it shrugs off Irish winters, and one plant can keep cropping for five years or more. New plants are easily grown from cuttings.
Perennial cauliflower 9 Star produces a crop of small white heads each spring, just as the rest of the garden is bare. If you harvest every head before it flowers, the plant keeps producing for several years. Both are hungry plants like cabbage, so give them rich soil and a yearly mulch of compost; a nearby patch of comfrey makes an easy home-grown feed.
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