Vegetable · Brassicaceae
When to plant cabbages
Spring, summer and winter cabbages are selected for different harvest seasons. Follow the named variety's sowing instructions; moving a winter cabbage into an arbitrary short summer slot may not give a usable head.
Start seed indoors
8 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Plant out
3 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Days to maturity (estimate)
70-100
From planting out to first harvest; cultivar and conditions matter.
Choose a place for estimated dates and local climate checks.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
These offsets are the starting assumptions used by our calendar for cabbages. They do not establish suitability in every climate. Your seed packet, cultivar and local growing advice take priority; in frost-free places the calendar uses monthly temperature patterns instead.
- Start seed indoors 8 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant out 3 weeks before the last frost.
- Expect 70–100 days to maturity, counted from planting out.
- Can also be sown in late summer for an autumn crop or to overwinter.
Getting the timing right
Decide whether you want small fresh heads or large storage heads. This affects spacing, time in the bed and the number of plants worth growing.
Frost tolerance
Cold tolerance varies with cultivar, plant age, acclimatisation and the duration of a freeze. A plant surviving frost does not mean its leaves, heads, flowers or developing crop will remain undamaged. Check the forecast and the variety's local advice.
Classified as hardy, with a catalog cold-damage reference of -8°C (17.6°F)17.6°F (-8°C). Exposure duration, growth stage and acclimatisation change cold tolerance.
Before you plant cabbages
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 7°C (44.6°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
- Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
- Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Choose the cabbage season before choosing the date
Decide whether you want small fresh heads or large storage heads. This affects spacing, time in the bed and the number of plants worth growing.
Transplant healthy plants into firm, fertile ground with drainage. Check young growth for caterpillars and inspect any protective netting so that pests are not trapped inside with the plants.
Cut firm heads when ready rather than leaving every plant until the same date. Record splitting or weather damage so that next season's batch size matches the rate you can use the crop.
Growing in a container
Choose a small-heading cultivar and give each plant its recommended spacing. A cabbage is not a cut-and-come-again salad simply because its young leaves fit in a small pot.
What to record this season
Did the intended harvest season match the variety, and did the heads split? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: RHS cabbages growing guide . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
The RHS guide is written for UK growing conditions. Use its cultivation advice with local cultivar and seasonal guidance; its calendar months are not worldwide recommendations.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy