How to Grow Pointed Cabbages
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Pointed cabbages (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. acuta) — biennial grown as an annual.
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Pointed Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. acuta)
2 sources cited · Verified
At a Glance
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil texture | chalk, clay or loam (RHS); deep, humus-rich loam preferred (Grove.eco) |
| Drainage | well-drained |
| Lifecycle | biennial grown as an annual |
| Edible parts | leaves, head |
Soil & Growing Conditions
Water: moist but well-drained (RHS)
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing | 0 | Sow 2cm deep; spring cycle starts indoors early February for a late June/early July harvest, autumn cycle direct-sown early April or transplanted in May for a mid-September to mid-November harvest (Grove.eco). |
| Transplanting | 3 | Transplant after a 40-day pre-growing period; space 50cm apart in 60cm rows, in firm, fertile, full-sun soil (RHS, Grove.eco). |
| Head formation | 4 | Heavy feeder; conical, pointed heads develop over roughly 95 days total growing period (Grove.eco). |
| Harvest | 8 | Cut the stem with the root using a sharp knife once the head is dense and pointed, late spring to early autumn depending on sowing (RHS, Grove.eco). |
Harvest & Storage
When to pick: Harvest late spring through early autumn depending on sowing time, once heads form their characteristic dense, pointed shape (RHS). Cut the stem along with the root using a sharp knife to help prevent clubroot spreading (Grove.eco); refrigerate for about a week.
Diseases
Pests
Pointed Cabbage, Seedling to Cone
Plan your Pointed Cabbages planting
Timing for Pointed Cabbages follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Pointed Cabbage in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
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A grower reference rather than a university or horticultural authority, used only for sowing depth/spacing/companion-planting detail RHS does not cover, not contradicted by it. Sow 2cm deep; row spacing 60cm, plant spacing 50cm; 40-day pre-growing period before transplanting. Germinates at minimum 8°C, optimum 18-22°C. Spring: start indoors early February, transplant mid-March onward, first harvest late June/early July. Autumn: direct sow early April or start indoors for May planting, harvest mid-September through mid-November. Growing period about 95 days total. Heavy feeder, prefers deep, humus-rich loamy soil in full sun; enrich with compost and organic fertiliser at planting. Good companions: peas, beans, lettuce, celeriac, carrots, herbs. Avoid other heavy feeders, alliums and other brassicas nearby. Best predecessors: legumes (nitrogen-fixing); avoid brassicas before/after. Harvest by cutting the stem along with the root using a sharp knife, to help prevent clubroot; store refrigerated about a week.
These source is specific to this region. The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Grove.eco, Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to pointed cabbages; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What problems affect pointed cabbages?
Our data links 1 disease and 4 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.
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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 international horticultural research and extension sources. 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.
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-08-29
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Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
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Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.