How to Grow Cabbage at Home in the UK

Cabbage is one of those crops that quietly earns its keep. With a little planning you can cut firm, fresh heads from your own plot in almost every month of the year, and once the plants are in the ground they mostly look after themselves. It is not the fastest vegetable to grow, but it is forgiving, hardy and genuinely useful in a UK kitchen.

This guide walks you through the whole journey: choosing the right type for the season, getting the soil right, planting firm and deep, keeping the pests off, and harvesting heads that store for weeks. If you have grown a leafy crop before you can grow cabbage — and if you haven't, this is a sound place to start.

Why grow cabbage (year-round heads)

The single best reason to grow cabbage is continuity. Unlike a courgette plant that crops in a glut for a few weeks, cabbages are a slow, steady crop that you plan across the seasons. Sow the right types at the right times and you can be cutting heads in spring, summer, autumn and the depths of winter, when there is little else fresh to pick.

Cabbages are also tough. Winter types shrug off hard UK frosts and stand in the ground for weeks, ready to cut when you want them — a living larder rather than a single harvest. They cope with our cool, damp climate far better than warm-season crops like tomatoes, and many varieties are happy in the open ground without any protection.

They are good value, too. A packet of seed costs little and gives dozens of plants, and a single autumn head can feed a family for several meals. If you are building up a productive plot, cabbage sits alongside reliable staples like kale and onions as a crop that keeps the kitchen supplied through the leaner months.

Types by season

Cabbages are grouped by when they mature, and choosing the right group is the most important decision you will make. Pick a type to suit the slot in the year you want to fill.

Spring cabbage is sown in late summer, overwinters as small plants, and matures the following spring. These are the loose, pointed "spring greens" and the smaller hearted spring cabbages that fill the hungry gap in March, April and May when little else is ready. They are a brilliant way to use a bed over winter.

Summer cabbage is sown in early spring and cut from midsummer onwards. These are often round, smooth-leaved ball-head types — quick, tender and good for coleslaw and salads. They give you cabbage through the warmer months.

Autumn and winter cabbage is the workhorse group. Sown in late spring and cut from October right through to February, these are dense, hardy heads that stand through frost. Many are "storing" types with tight white hearts that keep for weeks in a cool shed.

Red cabbage is grown like autumn/winter cabbage but with deep purple leaves. It is firm, stores extremely well, and is the classic partner for slow-cooked dishes and pickling. Treat it exactly as you would a winter ball-head.

Savoy cabbage has crinkled, dark-green leaves and is the hardiest of the lot. It stands the worst of a UK winter without flinching, so it is the type to grow if you want fresh cabbage to cut on a frosty January morning. The crinkled leaves are also more forgiving of cold and look handsome on the plot.

Choosing varieties

You do not need to overthink varieties — start with one reliable type per season and expand later. Here are dependable choices that suit UK gardens and are widely sold.

• 'Greyhound' — a fast, pointed summer cabbage that is one of the easiest for beginners. Sow in spring for tender heads by midsummer.
• 'Hispi' (an F1 hybrid) — a sweet, pointed summer cabbage, very uniform and quick. Excellent first choice if you want a near-guaranteed crop.
• 'January King' — a hardy, drumhead winter cabbage with a slightly purple tinge, standing well into the new year.
• 'Tundra' (F1) — an exceptionally hardy winter savoy-type cabbage that holds in good condition for months in the ground.
• 'Red Drumhead' or 'Kalibos' — reliable red cabbages for autumn cutting and long storage.
• 'Pixie' or 'Durham Early' — compact spring cabbages for cutting the following March to May.

An F1 hybrid costs a little more but gives very even, predictable heads, which is reassuring for a first attempt. Open-pollinated varieties like 'Greyhound' are cheaper and you can save your own seed in time.

Where to grow

Cabbages want an open, sunny site with rich, moisture-retentive soil. They are hungry, leafy plants, so the more fertile the ground, the better the heart. Dig in plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost the autumn or winter before planting, and they will reward you.

The single quirk that catches beginners out is that brassicas want firm, limed soil — quite different from the loose, fluffy bed that carrots prefer. Cabbages, broccoli and kale are all members of the brassica family, and they form better hearts in ground that is firmed down rather than freshly dug and airy.

Brassicas also prefer soil that is not too acidic. A pH of around 6.5–7.5 helps the plants grow strongly and, crucially, reduces the risk of clubroot. If your soil is on the acid side, work in garden lime in winter, well ahead of planting. Improving the structure and richness of your ground first — see improving your soil — pays off across the whole brassica family.

Sowing and transplanting

Most growers raise cabbages in a seedbed or in modules and then transplant them to their final position. This saves space and gives you sturdy young plants to set out at the right moment.

Sowing. Sow seed thinly, about 1cm deep, in a spare corner of the plot, in seed trays, or in modules of multipurpose compost. Keep the compost moist and the seedlings will appear within a week or two. If you are sowing very early in the year, start them under cover — a greenhouse, cold frame or windowsill — and remember to harden off the plants over a week or so before they face the open ground.

Transplanting. Move plants to their final bed when they have around four or five true leaves and stand 8–10cm tall. Water the seedbed well an hour beforehand so the roots lift with as little disturbance as possible.

Two rules matter enormously here, and they are where many first attempts go wrong:

1. Plant deep. Set each plant so the lowest leaves are almost at soil level — deeper than it grew in the seedbed. This anchors the top-heavy plant and encourages a strong root system.
2. Firm it in hard. Press the soil down firmly around the stem with your knuckles or the heel of your boot. A cabbage that wobbles when you tug a leaf is too loose. Firm ground is what gives you a tight heart rather than a loose, leafy plant.

Space summer cabbages about 35cm apart, and larger autumn, winter and red cabbages 45–50cm apart, with similar spacing between rows. Closer spacing gives smaller heads, which is no bad thing for a single household. Water the plants in well after transplanting.

Care

Once planted, cabbages are low-maintenance, but a few jobs make the difference between a loose rosette of leaves and a solid, satisfying head.

Watering. Keep young plants well watered until they are established, then water during dry spells, especially as the hearts begin to form. A good soak once or twice a week beats a daily sprinkle. Consistent moisture means steadier growth and reduces the risk of splitting.

Feeding. On rich soil cabbages need little extra, but spring and summer types appreciate a high-nitrogen feed midway through growth to push leafy growth. Overwintering spring cabbage benefits from a feed in late winter as it picks up speed.

Firming. After hard frost has lifted the soil, or after wind has rocked tall winter plants, re-firm the ground around the stems with your boot. Earthing up a little soil around the base of tall winter cabbages also helps them stand.

Netting. From late spring onwards, cover plants with fine insect-proof netting, held off the leaves on hoops or canes. This is the single most effective thing you can do, because it physically stops cabbage white butterflies laying eggs and keeps pigeons off too. A mesh of around 5–7mm excludes butterflies; finer mesh is needed for tiny pests but is rarely necessary for cabbage.

Brassica collars. Fit a "brassica collar" — a disc of card, felt or rubber about 12cm across — flat on the soil around each stem at planting time. This stops the cabbage root fly laying eggs at the base of the plant; its maggots otherwise eat the roots and can kill young plants outright. You can buy collars or cut your own from carpet underlay or thick cardboard.

Pests and diseases

Brassicas attract more than their share of trouble, but almost all of it is manageable once you know what to watch for. Prevention — netting and rotation — beats cure every time.

Cabbage white caterpillars. The classic cabbage pest. Cabbage white butterflies lay clusters of yellow eggs on the leaf undersides in summer, and the green or yellow-and-black caterpillars can strip a plant in days. Netting is the best defence; if some get through, pick off eggs and caterpillars by hand and check leaf undersides regularly. Our full guide on cabbage white caterpillars covers identification and organic control in detail.

Clubroot. This is the most serious brassica disease — a soil-borne organism that swells and distorts the roots, causing wilting and stunted, headless plants. Once in the soil it lingers for years, so prevention is everything: lime the soil to reduce acidity, improve drainage, rotate strictly, and never bring in infected plants. If you suspect it, read clubroot in brassicas for what you can still do to crop around it.

Pigeons. Wood pigeons love brassica leaves, especially in winter when other food is scarce, and can shred unprotected plants overnight. Netting keeps them off; without it, you may find your winter cabbages reduced to stalks. Keep the net taut and pegged down.

Slugs and snails. These feed on young transplants and can hide between the leaves of mature heads. Clear hiding places, protect new plants, and encourage beneficial insects and other natural predators to keep numbers down.

Whitefly and mealy cabbage aphid. Small sap-suckers that cluster on leaf undersides. A strong jet of water knocks them off, and a healthy plot full of pollinator plants supports the hoverflies and ladybirds that eat them.

Harvesting and storing

Harvest cabbages when the heads feel firm and solid when you give them a squeeze. Cut through the stem with a sharp knife just below the head, leaving the outer leaves and stump in the ground.

There is a neat trick with summer and spring cabbages: after cutting, cut a shallow cross into the top of the remaining stump. In a few weeks each quarter often produces a flush of small, tender secondary cabbages — a free second crop for almost no effort.

Winter and red cabbages can simply be left standing in the ground and cut as needed, which is the easiest form of storage there is. Savoy types in particular hold their quality through frost and let you pick fresh all winter. In a very hard, prolonged freeze, lift a few and store them under cover as insurance.

For longer keeping, firm-hearted winter and red cabbages store for many weeks in a cool, frost-free shed or garage — hung in nets or laid on slatted shelves with the roots still attached. Our guide to storing cabbages over winter covers the lifting, trimming and storing in full so you can eat your own cabbage well into spring.

What you'll need to get started

Cabbage really is a low-kit crop — good seed, something to net the plants with, and a few collars cover almost everything. Buy these once and they last for years.

If you are choosing seed for your first season, a quick, sweet summer variety like 'Hispi' is the most forgiving place to begin.

Where to go next

Cabbage is part of a wider, well-organised family of crops, and the skills carry straight across. If you have got the hang of firm planting and netting here, you are already most of the way to growing its close relatives.

• Grow its leafy cousin kale — even hardier and even more forgiving.
• Try broccoli for spears as well as heads from the same beds.
• New to all this? Start with the easiest crops for beginners and our guide to starting a vegetable garden.
• Browse all our vegetable growing guides to plan a year-round plot.

Get the soil firm and limed, keep the net on through summer, and rotate your beds each year — do those three things and a steady supply of home-grown cabbage is well within reach.