Cabbage planting dates by zone

Spring crop or fall crop

Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Home & Garden Information Center calls cabbage a cool-season vegetable for early spring or fall. University of Minnesota Extension plants it in spring for a summer crop and again in midsummer for a fall crop, and warns that cabbage sown late in spring matures in the hottest part of summer, with poor quality.

University of Illinois Extension sets early cabbage out soon enough that it matures before the heat of summer, and says hardened plants tolerate frost and go out among the earliest cool-season vegetables. Late cabbage, it says, is started in the heat of midsummer and makes its main head as fall cools.

Pick a variety for the season. Utah State University Extension names ‘Golden Acre’ (65 days), ‘Ruby Ball’ (red, 55 days), ‘Savoy Ace’ (80 days) and ‘Danish Ball Head’ (100 days). Illinois says early varieties make 1- to 3-pound heads and later ones 4- to 8-pound heads, and that two or three varieties of different maturities spread the harvest.

Starting seeds and planting out

The table dates indoor sowing 6 weeks before each zone’s median last spring freeze and setting plants out 3 weeks before it, the offsets our seed-starting tool uses. Utah State sets transplants out 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost-free date and says growing them takes 6 to 7 weeks. Minnesota starts seed in early April, or four to six weeks before transplanting, without a heating mat, under bright overhead light.

Minnesota sows one-fourth inch deep, feeds seedlings once the first true leaf appears, cuts back watering at five true leaves and hardens plants off over a week or two, bringing them in on cold nights. It says cabbage seedlings are sensitive to frost even though the seed germinates in cool soil.

Clemson says cabbage bolts, sending up a flower stalk, after ten or more days of cold following good growth. Illinois says plants with stems as thick as a pencil are open to this, so plants set out too early or caught by a cold snap may bolt instead of heading.

Spacing, water and feeding

Spacing decides head size. Illinois spaces plants 12 to 24 inches apart and says the closer the spacing, the smaller the heads. Clemson sets plants 9 to 12 inches apart in rows 36 to 44 inches wide for 2- to 3-pound heads; Utah State gives 12 to 18 inches in rows 2 to 3 feet apart; Minnesota 15 to 18 inches.

Water evenly. Minnesota calls an inch of rain a week enough and says uneven water makes poor texture, excess bitterness or no head at all; Utah State gives 1 to 2 inches a week, deep and infrequent, by drip if possible. Clemson keeps the soil pH at 5.8 to 6.5 and Minnesota at 6 to 7.

Utah State side-dresses with nitrogen 4 weeks after transplanting and stops once heads begin to form, because nitrogen then makes loose, split heads. Illinois side-dresses when the plants are half grown, and says irrigation matters most for fall plantings growing through summer heat.

Rotate. Minnesota plants where cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, rutabaga or Brussels sprouts have not grown for the last four years.

Planting for fall

Minnesota sows fall cabbage direct in early July, three seeds every 15 to 18 inches, thinned to one, and says direct-seeded cabbage takes up to three weeks longer to mature than transplants. Utah State picks early maturing cultivars for fall and plants 50 to 75 days before the expected harvest, which it times for one to two weeks after the first fall frost.

The table’s last fall planting counts back 56 days from each zone’s median first fall freeze: our crop table’s 70 days from transplant to harvest less the 14 days of light frost it takes. Clemson says mature cabbages stand a hard freeze, and Minnesota says cabbage tolerates below-freezing nights late in its growth.

Southern timing

Clemson’s transplanting table gives the South Carolina Piedmont March 15 to April 30 in spring and July 15 to August 31 in fall, and the Coastal Plain February 1 to March 31 and August 15 to September 30. It names ‘Bravo’, ‘Market Prize’, ‘Rio Verde’, ‘Savoy Express’, ‘Tropic Giant’ and ‘Green Jewels’.

UF/IFAS plants cabbage in North Florida from August through February, in Central Florida from September through February and in South Florida from September through January, and says ‘Bravo’ and ‘Bronco’ are the two most popular green cabbages grown commercially there. Texas A&M AgriLife plants cabbage 4 to 6 weeks before the frost-free date in spring and 10 to 16 weeks before the first freeze in fall, and gives 60 to 90 days to harvest.

Harvest

Illinois cuts heads when they are solid, firm to hand pressure, but before they crack. Clemson says cabbage is ready 60 to 80 days after transplanting and to get cut heads out of the sun, which blisters them. Utah State leaves 2 or 3 wrapper leaves on the head.

Illinois says that after cutting the spring heads close to their base, buds in the leaf joints on the stump can form a second crop of small heads, 2 to 4 inches across.

To stop a mature head splitting, Minnesota twists it a quarter turn or cuts the roots on one side with a spade, which slows the water flowing into it; Clemson and Illinois describe the same root pruning, and Illinois says the head should then be harvested soon.

Common problems

Clemson names imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper and diamondback moth caterpillars, harlequin bugs, cabbage maggots, aphids and flea beetles as the main insects. Minnesota adds the swede midge, and says damage to the growing point on a young plant can leave it with no head at all.

For disease, Clemson says black rot does the most serious damage, with V-shaped yellow lesions from the leaf edge, and cannot be controlled once established; it prevents it with transplants tagged disease-free. Illinois names yellows (fusarium wilt), for which it grows yellows-resistant varieties, and blackleg, and Minnesota clubroot, which swells the roots.

Split heads come from water. Illinois says a heavy rain on a mature head can crack it open; Utah State says moisture swings while heading split the heads, and that tipburn, browned edges on the inner leaves, comes from uneven growth.

Common mistakes

• Sowing spring cabbage outdoors late. Minnesota says it then matures in the summer heat, with poor quality.
• Setting plants out before the weather settles. Illinois says a cold spell can make larger plants bolt.
• Feeding once the heads form. Utah State says late nitrogen makes loose, split heads.
• Uneven watering. Minnesota and Utah State say it makes bitter, split or headless cabbage.
• Leaving mature heads too long. Illinois cuts them firm, before rain can split them.
• Planting where cabbage-family crops grew recently. Minnesota waits four years.

We found no cabbage source for Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi that we read for this page. The Southern timing here is Clemson’s, UF/IFAS’s and Texas A&M AgriLife’s.

Questions

When should I start cabbage seeds indoors?

University of Minnesota Extension starts them four to six weeks before transplanting. The table on this page dates indoor sowing 6 weeks and setting out 3 weeks before each zone’s median last spring freeze, from NOAA records.

How late can I plant cabbage for fall?

The table’s last fall planting is 56 days before each zone’s median first fall freeze. Minnesota sows fall cabbage direct in early July, and Utah State plants 50 to 75 days before the expected harvest.

Why is my cabbage not forming a head?

Minnesota says damage to the growing point of a young plant, from cold, rough handling or insects, can stop it heading, and that uneven water can too. Illinois says plants chilled after reaching pencil-thick stems may bolt instead.

How do I stop cabbage heads from splitting?

Harvest firm heads promptly, Illinois says. To hold a mature head, Minnesota twists it a quarter turn or spades the roots on one side to slow the water reaching it.

How far apart should cabbage be planted?

Illinois spaces plants 12 to 24 inches apart and says closer spacing gives smaller heads; Utah State gives 12 to 18 inches in rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The planting rules are named beside the table. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

• University of Minnesota Extension, Growing cabbage in home gardens , by Marissa Schuh and Jill MacKenzie (Reviewed 2026). Written for: Minnesota (USDA zones 3a–5a).
• University of Illinois Extension, Cabbage (Home Vegetable Gardening) . Written for: Illinois (USDA zones 5a–7a).
• Utah State University Extension, How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden , by Dan Drost and Michael Johnson (Published March 2020). Written for: Utah (USDA zones 4a, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b).
• Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center, Cabbage & Chinese Cabbage (HGIC 1303) (Updated January 23, 2023). Written for: South Carolina (USDA zones 8a–9b).
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Cabbage (Accessed October 2026). Written for: Florida (USDA zones 8b–11b).
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide (EHT-077) , by Joseph Masabni (June 2014). Written for: Texas (USDA zones 6b–10b).

How we write our guides

Published October 29, 2026