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How to grow cabbage

Frost-hardy · Cabbage family

When to sow and plant

  • Start indoors 22 February – 8 March
  • Plant out 29 March – 5 April
  • Sow outdoors 29 March – 5 April

Based on: average for Germany, last frost 19 April, safe from 6 May

Planting calendar for your area
Where the dates come from

The weeks come from our sources; the dates use the average frost in Germany. Enter a German postcode to get dates for your area.

  • Start indoors: 6–8 weeks before the last frost (Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County: Beginning a Vegetable Garden)
  • Plant out: 2–3 weeks before the last frost (USU Extension: How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden)
  • Sow outdoors: 2–3 weeks before the last frost (USU Extension: How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden)

Good and bad neighbours

Good neighbours · 5

  • TomatoStudy· B

    In two field trials in Myanmar, cabbage next to tomatoes had markedly fewer diamondback moth caterpillars. Cooler climates were not tested.

    B: Hint from one study

    Tomato

  • Chilli pepperStudy· B

    In the same Myanmar trial, cabbage next to chilli had fewer diamondback moth caterpillars.

    B: Hint from one study

    Chilli pepper

  • French marigold (tagetes)Study· B

    In a two-year field trial in India, cabbage next to marigolds had fewer diamondback moth caterpillars.

    B: Hint from one study

    French marigold (tagetes)

  • Pea, Sugar snap and snow pea, Bush bean, Pole bean, Runner bean, Broad bean (fava bean)Expert rule· C

    Legumes fix nitrogen that cabbage can use – but it is only released once their roots rot.

    C: Expert rule with a reason

    PeaSugar snap and snow peaBush beanPole beanRunner beanBroad bean (fava bean)

  • Butterhead lettuce, Loose-leaf lettuceExpert rule· C

    Lettuce grows fast in the gaps between young cabbages and is picked before the cabbage closes the rows.

    C: Expert rule with a reason

    Butterhead lettuceLoose-leaf lettuce

Disputed · 3

  • GarlicDisputed· X

    Charts call garlic a bad neighbour for cabbage. Field trials in China and India instead found fewer cabbage white caterpillars, aphids and diamondback moths.

    X: Sources disagree

    Garlic

  • OnionDisputed· X

    Charts call onions a bad neighbour for cabbage. A field trial in India found fewer diamondback moth caterpillars next to onions.

    X: Sources disagree

    Onion

  • KohlrabiDisputed· X

    According to the garden academy, early kohlrabi fits the gaps between young cabbages; BUND advises against other brassicas as neighbours.

    X: Sources disagree

    Kohlrabi

Gardeners’ lore, not proven · 3

  • Celeriac, CeleryLore: good· D

    Considered a good pair (often said to deter cabbage whites); no study found.

    D: Tradition, named by at least two sources

    CeleriacCelery

  • RadishLore: good· D

    Considered a good pair; radishes are said to lure flea beetles away from cabbage. Not proven. Both are brassicas (clubroot).

    D: Tradition, named by at least two sources

    Radish

  • NasturtiumLore: good· D

    Nasturtium is said to lure pests away from cabbage (trap crop); this is not proven.

    D: Tradition, named by at least two sources

    Nasturtium

Crop rotation

After the cabbage family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years).

  • The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.
  • Example: grown here in 2026, again from 2031.
  • If clubroot has appeared in the bed: no plants of the cabbage family for at least 7 years, not even mustard as green manure.
  • Heavy feeders two years in a row on the same bed are not a mistake, but they take more out of the soil.

At a glance

Family
Cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Nutrient needs
Heavy feeder
Frost
Hardy, tolerates frost
Spacing (row × plant)
50 × 50 cm (20 × 20 in)
Plants per m²
4
Per square foot (30 × 30 cm)
1 plant
Life cycle
Annual
Harvest
After 50–75 days from planting

Spacing according to Bayerische Gartenakademie (LWG): Sä- und Pflanztermine auf einen Blick (2018). Other sources: 76 × 38 cm (30 × 15 in) (USU Extension: How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden); 46 × 46 cm (18 × 18 in) (Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide).

Questions and answers

When can I plant out cabbage?

Plant out, average for Germany: 29 March – 5 April. Enter a German postcode above for your area, or your own frost date in the planting calendar.

How far apart should I plant cabbage?

50 × 50 cm (20 × 20 in) (row × plant), according to Bayerische Gartenakademie (LWG): Sä- und Pflanztermine auf einen Blick (2018).

What grows well next to cabbage?

Tomato: Good neighbour (B), Chilli pepper: Good neighbour (B), French marigold (tagetes): Good neighbour (B), Pea, Sugar snap and snow pea, Bush bean, Pole bean, Runner bean, Broad bean (fava bean): Good neighbour (C) and Butterhead lettuce, Loose-leaf lettuce: Good neighbour (C).

How long a break do cabbage need in the same bed?

After the cabbage family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years). The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.

More from the cabbage family

Sources

Show 20 sources
  1. Südtiroler Bauernbund: Merkblatt Fruchtfolgen im Gemüsebau (Oktober 2022)
  2. Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein: Fruchtfolge im Garten (Gartenmerkblatt, 2020)
  3. Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide
  4. UT Extension D59: Cole Crops for the Tennessee Vegetable Garden
  5. Bayerische Gartenakademie (LWG): Sä- und Pflanztermine auf einen Blick (2018)
  6. USU Extension: How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden
  7. UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Tulare & Kings: Square Foot Gardening Plant & Seed Spacing
  8. Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County: Beginning a Vegetable Garden
  9. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (über die GBIF-API, species/match)
  10. Thu Zar Aung et al.: Effect of Intercropping on the Infestation of Diamondback Moth on Cabbage (Yezin Agricultural University, Feldversuche 2015/16)
  11. BUND: Mischkultur – Gute und schlechte Nachbarn (August 2026)
  12. Sharma et al. 2022: Potentiality of intercropping in managing Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). Indian J. Agric. Sci. 92(8): 1010–1014
  13. Oregon State University Extension: Companion Planting (Guides for beginning gardeners, Juni 2021)
  14. RHS: Growing Your Own – The three sisters
  15. Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Anbauplanung im Gemüsegarten (o. J.)
  16. RHS (Guy Barter): Three ways to use companion planting
  17. Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Übersicht – Kultur verschiedener Gemüsearten im Hausgarten (o. J.)
  18. Miao, Gao, Jiang, Wang 2013: Effects of Intercropping of Cabbage and Garlic on Major Pests and Arthropod Community in Spring Cabbage Fields. J. South China Agric. Univ. 34(3): 352
  19. Utah State University Extension (Mohr, Trundle, Hagevik): Creating Sustainable School and Home Gardens – Companion Planting (Juli 2025)
  20. Oregon State University Extension: Herbs and Flowers in the Vegetable Garden (o. J.)

Retrieved on 23 October 2026. Facts in our own words, one source per value.