Cabbage is the most well known member of the Cole crop family of vegetables, which also includes cauliflower, kale, and broccoli, amongst others. Growing cabbage in your home garden can be very rewarding come harvest time, with both a spring and fall crop being produced in the right climates and conditions. There are dozens of varieties of cabbage, ranging from fast-growing types, robust-flavored types, and even disease-resistant types.

Are you going to plant cabbage in your garden? According to our research, we don’t recommend planting beans, eggplant, mustard, pepper, tomato, and strawberry near cabbage in the garden.

When starting cabbage from seed, begin the seedlings 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last spring frost in your area. Add the cabbage sprouts to the garden bed 2 to 3 weeks before the last expected frost. Cabbage is very freeze-tolerant, and actually becomes sweeter when grown in cooler temperatures. Plant each cabbage 1 to 2 feet apart in full sun, leaving room for a full-sized head of cabbage to grow. Mulch the area to retain moisture, and regularly water the cabbage patch with 2 inches per week.

Most cabbage varieties take 60 to 70 days to produce a 1 to 3 pound head that has the desired firmness you’ll find at produce stands and supermarkets. To ensure your cabbage is ready to be harvested, squeeze the head to check for firmness. If it’s still soft, give it more time. To harvest your cabbage, use a sharp knife and cut the head at the base of the plant. Remove the harvested plant from the garden to prevent any soil borne diseases or insects from infesting the bed.