Divisi
How to grow Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata · Brassicaceae
Photo: Timothy A. Gonsalves · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cabbage is a cool-season leafy vegetable that packs its whole harvest into one dense, round head on a short stem. You don't sow it straight into the field — you first raise seedlings in a nursery for about 4–6 weeks, then move the strongest into a rich, well-drained bed. From there it is a steady crop: it likes cool weather (heads fill best at 15–20 °C), drinks often because its roots are shallow, and is a heavy feeder that needs as much potash (potassium) as nitrogen to firm up the head. Its big enemies are the diamondback moth — a small caterpillar that resists sprays fast — and the soil diseases clubroot and black rot, which is why clean seed, liming, and rotating away from all cabbage-family crops matter so much.
Iwai-Dialax · CC BY 4.0 
George Chernilevsky · Public domain
- Days to maturity
- 60–140 days
- Row spacing
- 65 cm
- Plant spacing in the row
- 40 cm
- Sowing depth
- 1–1.5 cm
These are general figures for the crop, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. The right choice for your field depends on your soil, rainfall and the yield you are aiming for.
Will cabbage actually do well on your land? Check your field against every crop in the catalogue — free, no signup. Run the free crop check →
Other names for Cabbage
kool · ጥቅል ጎመን (tikil gomen) · cabbage · head cabbage · chou pommé · kabeji · ikhabishi · kabichi · repolho · couve · khabetjhe · kgabeche · ikhaphetshu
Working in buckets, bags or paces? The farming glossary turns the measures growers actually use into kilograms and hectares — what a 20 litre bucket of each crop really weighs, and how to size a field by walking it — alongside the Shona, Swahili, Ndebele and Yoruba words used in the field. Open the glossary →
Growing cabbage, stage by stage
Your cabbage season, step by step — raising strong seedlings in the nursery, transplanting into a rich, cool-season bed, then feeding, watering and guarding the crop steadily so every plant makes one big, firm head.
- Raise your seedlings and ready the beds
- Prepare the beds and get your seedlings
- Transplant and get every seedling growing
- Build the leaf frame that feeds the head
- Cup and start the head — the make-or-break window
- Fill and firm the head to market density
- Cut the heads at their peak
- Trim, grade and cool for market
21 step-by-step tasks in the app
Every task for cabbage — what to do, when to do it and why it matters — with the amounts worked out for your own field, reminders as each one falls due, and warnings before extreme weather.
Pests and diseases that attack cabbage
15 more threats tracked in the app
Divisi tells you which of these is a risk on your cabbage right now, when to walk the field looking for it, and what to do the moment you find it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does cabbage take to grow?
Cabbage takes about 60–140 days from sowing to maturity, though the exact length varies with variety, temperature and how the season runs.
What spacing should I use for cabbage?
Space cabbage rows about 65 cm apart, with roughly 40 cm between plants within the row.
How deep should cabbage be planted?
Sow cabbage at about 1–1.5 cm deep. Shallower risks drying out; deeper wastes seed energy before the shoot reaches light.
What pests and diseases attack cabbage?
The ones covered in this guide are Alternaria leaf blight, Aphids, Bacterial soft rot. Each has its own page explaining how to identify, scout for and control it.
Grow cabbage with a plan, not a guess
Divisi turns this guide into a dated plan for your own field — what to do each week, reminders as tasks fall due, and warnings before extreme weather. Free for farmers, works offline.
Or check your field first