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Brassicaceae FAMILY

Brassica oleracea capitata

Brassica oleracea capitata

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitBiennial
Growth—

The cultivated cabbage was developed in the temperate zone and can withstand quite cold winters. It can also be grown in the tropics - though there it is best grown at elevations above 800 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 24°c, but can tolerate 7 - 32°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -10°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,500mm[1]. A difference of about 5°c between day and night temperatures appears to be necessary for adequate head development. Normally, flower initiation and stem elongation are induced by low winter temperatures of the order 4 - 7°c for several weeks[1]. Cabbages are adapted to 60 - 90% relative air humidity and low humidity may cause wilting[1]. Succeeds in full sun in a well-drained fertile preferably alkaline soil[2, 3, 4]. Prefers a heavy soil and a cool moist climate[2, 5]. Succeeds in any reasonable soil. Succeeds in maritime gardens[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 5 - 8.3[1]. There are three main types of cabbage:- The common hearting cabbage has dark green leaves, becoming paler towards the middle of the heart, Dutch cabbages form a much larger heart and the leaves, which have a milder flavour, are a pale green or even white. Red cabbages, as the name implies, have red leaves. There are many named varieties of each type and by careful choice of varieties it is possible to ensure a year round supply of fresh leaves. Several cultivars are hardy enough to stand the rigours of a temperate winter, there are also some less-hardy varieties that can be harvested in early winter and stored for a few months in a cool place to provide leaves in areas with very severe winters[4]. Some varieties have been selected for the ornamental value of their leaves, these tend to be of poor culinary quality[6]. Early maturing varieties can be ready to harvest within 60 - 90 days from sowing, whilst winter or spring maturing forms can take 200 days or more[1]. Yields of cabbages varies widely depending on the cultivar grown, but yields are generally within the range 12 - 40 tonnes per hectare[1].

Propagation

Seed - this can be sown from early spring to late summer in a seedbed outdoors, depending on the cultivar. The plants are moved to their final positions when about 7 - 15cm tall. Do not let the seedlings get overcrowded or they will soon become leggy and will not make such good plants. If your seedlings do get leggy, it is possible to plant them rather deeper into the soil - the buried stems will soon form roots and the plant will be better supported. For a summer crop, the seed is sown in early to late spring, autumn maturing cultivars are sown in mid to late-spring and winter maturing cultivars in late spring. Winter to spring maturing cultivars are sown in mid to late summer, these are often sown in situ and thinned as required. Seed of fast-growing summer cabbages can also be sown in a greenhouse in January/late winter in order to provide an early crop. This is planted out in early to mid-spring as the weather allows and can be harvested in late spring and early summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Brassica+oleracea+capitata>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  3. [3]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  6. [6]Oriental Vegetables — Larkcom J. · John Murray · 1991 · ISBN 0-7195-4781-4 ↩︎Well written and very informative.
  7. [7]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  8. [8]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.
  11. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎