Cabbage Seeds - Red Acre

Minimum Seeds per Packet: 200

Packet Weight: 2g

Planting Season: Spring or Fall

Sowing Method: Transplant

Seed Depth: 1/4"

Direct Seed Spacing: N/A

Soil Temperature: 45-85 ℉

Days to Sprout: 4-10

Mature Spacing: 12-24"

Sun Requirement: Full Sun

Frost Tolerance: Moderately Tolerant

Days to Harvest: 75

When to Seed Cabbage

Cabbage can be grown for a late spring or early summer harvest, or for a fall harvest. For a spring crop, sow seeds indoors six to eight weeks before your last frost date. They can be transplanted outdoors after your last frost, or two to three weeks before, ensuring you utilize frost protection measures should a surprise late frost occur. Chinese cabbage varieties tend to perform better in the fall, as they can be quick to bolt, but can be planted in the spring if they’re planted early with frost cloth or in a cold frame. 

Where to Plant Cabbage

Cabbage prefers full sun, however can tolerate some afternoon shade in hot climates. They’ll love loose, well-draining soil, rich in organic matter. Because so much of what we grow in the spring are Brassicas, it’s a good idea to rotate your crops as you’re able. Try not to choose a location that has had other Brassicas growing in it in the last three years. 

Growing Cabbage

Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in a high quality seedling mix. Seedlings should be transplanted outdoors 12 to 24 inches apart, depending on the size head you expect to harvest. It’s a good idea to mulch around your cabbage plants to keep the soil moist and regulate weeds. Cabbage can be very susceptible to pests, so you may consider keeping it under a light row cover to protect them. 

Harvesting Cabbage

Once the heads have reached the desired size, and before the leaves on the heads have started to curl and open, harvest your cabbages by cutting at the base of the head with a sharp knife. After harvesting, pull up the rest of the plant and compost it.

Cabbages (Brassica oleracea) are an insect-pollinated biennial. They will flower and go to seed in their second season after overwintering. If you are growing in a fairly mild climate, you can overwinter cabbage plants under row cover. If your area experiences regular hard freezes, you may need to dig up the plants you want to save seed from and keep them in pots in cool place such as a root cellar for the winter, then plant them back out as the soil becomes workable again in early spring. An important note: leave the head intact on any cabbage plants you want to use for seed saving. You can’t have your cabbage (seed) and eat it too! The flower stalk of a cabbage plant emerges from the central growth tip, which is in the middle of the head.

The seeds are mature when the seed pods turn brown. Mature pods will shatter and drop their seeds quickly, so it’s best to pull up the plants and bring them indoors to finish drying on tarps once many of the pods begin to turn brown. Thresh the seeds from the pods by stomping on them on a tarp, or hitting the stalks against the inside of a clean trash can, or smashing the seed pods inside a pillowcase. Winnow out the chaff by pouring seeds and chaff from one container to another in front of a box fan set on low. Once you have clean seed, make sure that it is fully dry before storing it in an airtight container in a dark, dry, and cool location.