Red cabbage · Bitlis, Bitlis, Turkey

When to plant red cabbages in Bitlis

Main outdoor window

9-30 Apr

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

24 April

In Bitlis, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Sep - 30 Nov

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Estimated soil-warming check. The historical frost estimate is 3 Apr. An air-temperature model suggests soil suitable for red cabbages may warm to about 7°C (44.6°F) around 9 April. This is a planning estimate, not a soil measurement. The calendar uses the later date; measure your bed at sowing depth and check the forecast before planting.

Step by step in Bitlis

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Start indoors

27 Feb - 20 Mar

Eight weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Transplant

9-30 Apr

Delayed by a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. The frost-only date would be 3 Apr. Measure your soil before planting.

Harvest

1 Sep - 30 Nov

Frost tolerance
Hardy
Damaged below
-8°C (17.6°F)
Days to maturity
90–120
Min soil temp
7°C (44.6°F)
Spacing
45 cm
Sowing depth
12 mm (0.5 in)
Sun
Full

Red cabbages through the year

Against the frost risk in Bitlis

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

Frost risk Start indoors Plant out Harvest Today
Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Bitlis

April has the highest average precipitation (88 mm); August has the lowest (3 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 83 mm
Feb 83 mm
Mar 88 mm
Apr 88 mm
May 58 mm
Jun 16 mm
Jul 6 mm
Aug 3 mm
Sep 11 mm
Oct 56 mm
Nov 62 mm
Dec 84 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Bitlis

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January -9.1°C (15.6°F) -0.5°C (31.2°F) 30.7
February -7.5°C (18.5°F) 1.1°C (33.9°F) 27.3
March -2.3°C (27.8°F) 6.1°C (43°F) 22.7
April 2.4°C (36.3°F) 12.4°C (54.4°F) 6.9
May 7°C (44.6°F) 18.2°C (64.8°F) 0.2
June 11.9°C (53.4°F) 26.2°C (79.2°F) 0.0
July 16.1°C (61°F) 32.3°C (90.1°F) 0.0
August 16.7°C (62.1°F) 32.3°C (90.2°F) 0.0
September 12.1°C (53.7°F) 26.3°C (79.4°F) 0.0
October 6.4°C (43.4°F) 18.1°C (64.6°F) 1.7
November -0.4°C (31.3°F) 9.6°C (49.2°F) 15.6
December -5.6°C (22°F) 2.8°C (37°F) 28.2

For red cabbages, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing red cabbages for Bitlis

  • April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 88 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant red 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 a red cabbage for the head size and season you need

Allow final spacing for the head and outer leaves, and keep the plant growing steadily after transplanting. A cramped seedling cannot make up lost establishment simply because the weather becomes warm.

Cut firm, sound heads before splitting or deterioration. Inspect between leaves for pests and plan staggered quantities if you cannot use or store many heads together.

What to record this season

Did the named cultivar mature at the head size and season you needed? 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

Why these dates

Allow final spacing for the head and outer leaves, and keep the plant growing steadily after transplanting. A cramped seedling cannot make up lost establishment simply because the weather becomes warm.

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.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Red cabbages are timed from 8 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 3 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Bitlis.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

The median frost-free season here is 191 days, against 90 to 120 days to maturity for this crop counted from planting out. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Bitlis →

Growing red cabbages in Bitlis

Can I grow red cabbages in Bitlis?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 88 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant red cabbages in Bitlis?

Aim for 9-30 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 16 Apr - 7 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

Can I plant red cabbages earlier in Bitlis?

The historical frost estimate is 3 Apr. For Red cabbages, an air-temperature model estimates soil warmth of about 7°C (44.6°F) around 9 Apr. This is not a soil measurement or a forecast. Check your bed at sowing depth; cold, wet conditions can slow growth and increase decay risk.

When might red cabbages be ready to harvest in Bitlis?

The estimated period is 1 Sep - 30 Nov, based on 90 to 120 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will red cabbages tolerate?

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.