Garden calendar for the kitchen garden - vegetables and herbs. See what to plant right now and for next month.

Growing Cabbage

(Brassica sp.)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		S	T	T	T		S	S	T	T

(Best months for planting Cabbage in Australia - temperate regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays. T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings.

Easy to grow. Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 5°C and 18°C. (Show °F/in)
Space plants: 50 - 75 cm apart
Harvest in 8-15 weeks.
Compatible with: Dwarf (bush) beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb, aromatic herbs (sage, dill, chamomile, thyme)
Avoid growing with: Climbing (pole) beans, tomato, peppers (chili, capsicum), eggplant (aubergine), strawberry, mustard, parsnip

Winter cabbage

There are many varieties of cabbage.

Those which stand winter weather usually have darker leaves and a stronger flavour, e.g. Savoy Red cabbage is grown in a similar way to green varieties.

If you choose a selection of types you can have cabbage growing all year round in temperate zones.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Cabbage

Young spring cabbage can be chopped and added to salad greens.
Steaming preserves the goodness and flavour of cabbage.
Can also be used in stir-fry.
Red cabbage chopped and cooked with brown sugar, red wine, onions, vinegar and stock is served with boiled bacon or pork.

Your comments and tips

11 Nov 11, Barrie (Australia - temperate climate): Why have my cabbages gone to seed before they were formed properly. Planted seedlings early October
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11 Nov 11, Dee (Australia - temperate climate): Hi Barrie From what I understand, cabbages usually bolt to seed due to stress - mainly heat / water stress. The same thing happened to mine
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02 Sep 11, Evan (Australia - sub-tropical climate): All very nice growing cabbage for the cabbage moth worms to eat! That is my story as reluctant to use chemicals and time consuming removing grubs by hand. How do I keep the pests at bay without chemicals? Would appreciate assistance. Thanks for access to a great website also, although eco-tips for pests would be good too with each plant link.
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19 Sep 11, Daniel (Australia - temperate climate): Make a spray using molasses. There are varying recipes out there on the net. I can't even remember the quantity I used last time as I still have 5 litres of the stuff ready to be used but it works. Some people use 1TSP molasses to 1 litre water. I added washing up liquid to help it stick. I would prefer not to use washing up liquid next time as then you can use it as often as you like without worrying about harming the plant/soil. In fact using a molasses spray will do nothing but good for your plants. Daniel
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13 Sep 11, Aase (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I was growing cabbage with succes, all I used was a garlic mixed with water spray, and plated mariegold around the vegtble garden, Cabbage was growing in rich organic soil.
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08 Jun 11, arthur (Australia - temperate climate): Samatha 6th May. Try this for all your greens.First dig the area where your going to plant your cabbage.or seedlings.,cover with dried grass clippings,this is like eggs &.bacon to the insects instead of toast(cabbage} to them.Clear a plate size area then plant your seedlings. Arthur (the mad gardener)
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14 May 11, arthur (Australia - temperate climate): I read a book by Alex Bristow called How To Bring Up Plants. Why I mention this because plants require air & water.they also discharge unnessary waste back into the soil.t (they go to the loo.) If any one knows anything that takes in air and water with out discharging please Iet me hear from you.(The mad gardener).If you like to hear some more say so.Note Ive been on the earth 81 years & still going strong.Arthur.
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05 May 11, Samantha Diplaris (Australia - temperate climate): Ive just planted cabbage seedlings that I bought from Bunnings, and already 2 weeks after I did this - I noticed that all the small leaves have been eaten...?? What could this be & how best do I stop it from happening to new leaves?
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13 May 11, arthur (Australia - temperate climate): I tried something ive never done before in my garden. A landscape gardener drop me off trailer loads of grass chipping, which put all over my growing plots (this was at the start of the summer). it was up to 100mm 150 thick.I watered it well and left it for two weeks or untill it brown on top.(I never buy seedlings always grow from seeds.) You can then make amake acircle and plant all your greens with out fear of wasting you time. cabbage,lettuce .caul,etc.If ever you in Kingsley area look for the vegies in the front garden.( the mad gardne.)Arthur
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04 Nov 10, Sasha8268 (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I planted wombok starting from seed - it has grown beautifully but it is prickly on the leaves (not edible at all) and did not grow to the normal head of cabbage is just fallen leaves. Has anyone else had this problem?
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See planting calendar for these countries and climate zones

Australia - arid, Australia - cool/mountain, Australia - sub-tropical, Australia - temperate, Australia - tropical, New Zealand - cool/mountain, New Zealand - sub-tropical, New Zealand - temperate, South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical, South Africa - Humid sub-tropical, South Africa - Semi-arid, South Africa - Summer rainfall, United Kingdom - cool/temperate, United Kingdom - warm/temperate, USA - Central West Coast, USA - Maritime Northwest, USA - Mid-Atlantic, USA - North East, USA - South East and Gulf States, USA - South West, USA - Upper Midwest

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.

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