How to Grow Cabbage Canada
On this page
- Cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group)
- Regional Planting Calendar
- Quick Facts
- At a Glance
- Soil & Growing Conditions
- Growth Stages
- Harvest & Storage
- Diseases
- Pests
- Nutrient Issues
- Companion Planting
- Recommended Varieties
- Plan your Cabbage planting
- Growing Cabbage in another region
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
In Canada, cabbage planted out late February to early March.
Timing is the decision that matters most in Canada: there are 6 separate regional planting out windows, ranging from late February in Pacific Coastal Mild to mid May in Far North & Alpine.
The short answer
- Plant out
- Late February to early March
- Site
- 6+ hours of sun, soil pH 6–7.5
- Biggest risk
- Club root
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group)
12 sources cited · Verified
Regional Planting Calendar
| Region | Plant out |
|---|---|
| Pacific Coastal Mild derived | late February to early March |
| Central Continental derived | early April to mid April |
| Inland Valleys & Southern Lakes derived | early April to mid April |
| Atlantic Maritime derived | mid April to late April |
| Prairies & Short-Season Continental derived | late April to early May |
| Far North & Alpine derived | mid May to late May |
Rows marked derived are interpolated between regions our sources do state, because no source we consulted gives a figure for that region specifically. They are deliberately wider to reflect that uncertainty.
Pacific Coastal Mild - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Transplants of 4-6 mature leaves may be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost free date; mature brassicas are frost tolerant but young transplants much less so. Applied to a mean last frost of 18 March (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 25 February to 4 March. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Central Continental - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Transplants of 4-6 mature leaves may be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost free date; mature brassicas are frost tolerant but young transplants much less so. Applied to a mean last frost of 30 April (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 9 April to 16 April. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Inland Valleys & Southern Lakes - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Transplants of 4-6 mature leaves may be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost free date; mature brassicas are frost tolerant but young transplants much less so. Applied to a mean last frost of 30 April (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 9 April to 16 April. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Atlantic Maritime - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Transplants of 4-6 mature leaves may be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost free date; mature brassicas are frost tolerant but young transplants much less so. Applied to a mean last frost of 7 May (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 16 April to 23 April. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Prairies & Short-Season Continental - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Transplants of 4-6 mature leaves may be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost free date; mature brassicas are frost tolerant but young transplants much less so. Applied to a mean last frost of 21 May (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 30 April to 7 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Far North & Alpine - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Transplants of 4-6 mature leaves may be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost free date; mature brassicas are frost tolerant but young transplants much less so. Applied to a mean last frost of 5 June (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 15 May to 22 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 6 - 7.5 |
| Sunlight | 6-10 hours direct sun |
| Germination temp | 12.8°C |
| Optimal growing temp | 15-24°C |
| Minimum survivable temp | -10°C |
| Soil texture | RHS: "fertile, free-draining soil". |
| Drainage | RHS: free-draining; avoid "waterlogged" ground. |
| Lifecycle | biennial (requires two growing seasons, but treated as an annual) |
| Edible parts | heads (leaves) |
At a Glance
Soil & Growing Conditions
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Germination & seedling | 0 | Cabbage is grown from seed, usually sown in modules or a seedbed rather than sown direct. Univ. of Maryland: seed germinates well at warm temperatures and transplants are set out when they have about 4–6 true leaves. RHS: sow in spring (or late summer for spring cabbage), thinly, and grow on before transplanting. Harden off module-raised plants before planting out. |
| Vegetative growth (transplanting & leafing) | 3 | Transplant firmly into fertile, well-firmed soil — loose planting gives poor hearts. Spacing depends on type: RHS spaces plants roughly 30–45 cm apart (closer for small/spring types, wider for large winter heads); Univ. of Maryland gives about 12–24 in between plants in rows 24–36 in apart. Water in well, keep weed-free, feed with nitrogen for leafy growth, and net or cover against pigeons and cabbage white caterpillars. |
| Head formation (cupping & heading) | 4 | The inner leaves begin to cup and then wrap into a dense head. Steady, even moisture is critical at this stage: RHS and Univ. of Maryland both note that irregular watering — dry spells followed by heavy watering or rain — makes maturing heads split. Keep plants consistently moist and mulch to hold soil moisture. |
| Maturity & harvest | 8 | Harvest when heads are firm and full-sized for the variety, cutting through the stem at the base with a sharp knife. RHS: cut when the head is a good size and firm to the touch; harvest before heads split or, in winter types, stand in the ground until needed. Cutting a shallow cross in the remaining stump can encourage a flush of smaller secondary greens. |
Harvest & Storage
Diseases
Pests
Nutrient Issues
Companion Planting
Recommended Varieties
- Wheelers Imperial — a classic spring cabbage producing compact, pointed heads; reliable and widely available.
- Hispi F1 — a pointed summer cabbage with sweet, tender leaves; fast-maturing and one of the most popular UK varieties.
- January King — a frost-hardy drumhead with red-tinged outer leaves and flavour that improves after frost; harvest December-February.
- Red Jewel F1 — deep red, round heads with good colour retention and disease resistance; harvest August-October.
A shallow X-cut in the stump after cutting a spring or summer head often encourages a second flush of small secondary heads.
Plan your Cabbage planting
When to sow and plant Cabbage depends on your own frost dates. Check the Canada vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Cabbage in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 12 sources behind this guide (Clemson Cooperative Extension, FAO EcoCrop, Royal Horticultural Society and others) is in the references of our UK guide to cabbage; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I plant cabbage out in Canada?
In Pacific Coastal Mild, from late February. In Far North & Alpine, wait until mid May. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to plant out only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.
What soil pH does cabbage need?
A pH of about 6–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect cabbage?
Our data links 5 diseases and 12 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Short-season growing is arithmetic before it is technique: days to maturity against frost-free days decides what will finish at all. The Canada Garden Planner does that subtraction for your region before you sow.
Get the Canada Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for Canadian growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against Canadian hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with provincial agriculture and university extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Vegetable Growing Guides Canada
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Last verified 2026-07-30
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