Cabbage — Vegetables

Brassica oleracea (Capitata)

Full sun, moderate watering — hardy anywhere in the UK.

Photograph of Cabbage — iNaturalist / GBIF

Sow: Mar–Jul
Plant out: May
Harvest: Aug

Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Difficulty: Easy
Hardiness: H7
Season: summer
Height: 10–50 cm
Spacing: 50 cm
Pets: Safe around pets

Grows well with

French Marigold — In a trial, cabbages grown with marigolds took less damage from cabbage looper and imported cabbageworm caterpillars.Nasturtium — In a trial, cabbages grown with nasturtium took less damage from cabbage looper and imported cabbageworm caterpillars.Broccoli — A few Chinese cabbages near your broccoli act as a decoy, pulling cabbage white butterflies away from the main crop.Brussels Sprout — A few Chinese cabbages near your Brussels sprouts act as a decoy, pulling cabbage white butterflies away from the main crop.Birdsfoot Trefoil — A low carpet of trefoil around your cabbages hides the plants from cabbage root fly, which hunts by sight.Coriander — Coriander left to flower beside cabbages draws in predatory insects and parasitic wasps that take out pests.Dill — Let dill flower next to your cabbages. The open flower heads feed the predators and parasitic wasps that work through the pests.Wild Fennel — Flowering fennel near cabbages brings in predators and parasitic wasps. Give it room, as it grows tall and seeds about.

Growing notes

Grows to 0.1-0.5 metres. Space about 10-50cm apart. At its best in summer.