How to grow cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
Get your exact dates
The windows below are relative to your frost dates. Enter your ZIP for the calendar dates.
Open the planting calendarWhen to plant cabbage
Start seeds indoors10 weeks before your last spring frost to 8 weeks before your last spring frost
Transplant outdoors3 weeks before your last spring frost to 2 weeks before your last spring frost
Direct sow3 weeks before your last spring frost to 2 weeks before your last spring frost
Fall planting10 weeks before your first fall frost to 5 weeks before your first fall frost
Growing conditions
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart, rows 24 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25 in
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- 1 in per week
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
Common problems
- flea beetles
- imported cabbage worm
- cabbage looper
- diamondback moth
- cabbage maggots
- alternaria leaf spot
- black rot
- clubroot
- tipburn
- head splitting
Cabbage by hardiness zone
Planting dates for a typical location in each zone:
Sources
- Utah State University Extension: How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden
- University of Minnesota Extension: Growing cabbage in home gardens
Last updated 2026-06-11.