When to Harvest Cabbage for the Best Flavors and Yield

Homegrown cabbage is a garden treat and planting it in your vegetable beds means you can enjoy it at peak quality and flavor. The vigorous plants form tightly packed heads with layers of crisp, sweet leaves that are delicious raw, cooked, or fermented. While cabbage is fairly easy to grow it’s important to harvest the heads at the right time. If you wait too long they can split. Harvest too early and you’ll miss out on the main crop. Below I’ll highlight how you know when to harvest cabbage types including green, Napa, savoy, and even miniature varieties. Keep reading to learn more about timing the cabbage harvest.

when to pick cabbage — For the best flavor and quality harvest cabbage when the heads are firm and have reached their mature size.

Why you need to know when to harvest cabbage

It’s important to know when to harvest this Brassica family crop as cabbage picked too early won’t have a chance to size up. If you wait too long, you risk the heads splitting and losing the crop. Splitting is what happens to mature cabbage heads after a sudden influx of water. It can happen from deep watering or after a heavy rainfall. Keeping an eye on your cabbage plants as they approach maturity ensures you harvest at the right time for the best flavor and eating quality. More on splitting later in this article.

Types of cabbage

There is a wide variety of cabbage types you can grow, all forming tight heads of overlapping leaves. There’s a variety of cabbage shapes including round, flat, barrel-shaped, and even pointy. Cabbages are often grouped into four main categories: green, red, Napa, and savoy.

Green cabbage – Green cabbage varieties are the most widely grown in gardens producing rounded or cone-shaped heads. The leaves are smooth and pale green in color. This type is widely used in sauerkraut and coleslaw.
Red cabbage – Red cabbages are very similar to green cabbages in size, shape, flavor, and use. They have stunning blue-green leaves with burgundy-purple veins and add bold color to salads and other dishes.
Napa cabbage – Also called Chinese cabbage, Napa varieties form tight, typically barrel-shaped heads with broad white ribs. Their flavor differs a bit from the other cabbage types with Napa cabbages having a mild mustardy taste. They’re also juicy and delicious in a stir fry or when used for kimchi.
Savoy cabbage – Named for its ‘savoyed’, or frilly, leaves savoy cabbage varieties have thin, bright green foliage with a sweet flavor and tender texture.

purple cabbage in a garden — There are different types of cabbage you can grow, with your choice depending on how you wish to use the mature heads. These red cabbages are beautiful and delicious.

The best time to grow cabbage

Cabbage is a cool season vegetable related to broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. The plants grow best in spring or autumn when the temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees F (16 to 21 degrees C). Cabbage seeds can be direct sown outdoors in early spring for summer cabbages, or early to mid summer for a fall crop. However, I prefer to start cabbage seeds inside under my grow lights. This is because I’ve found transplanting strong, stocky seedlings results in a faster and higher quality harvest.

Cabbage doesn’t need a lot of time indoors. Start the seeds 4 to 6 weeks before you intend to harvest them off and transplant them to the garden. If growing a spring crop, that means sowing seeds inside around 8 weeks before your last expected spring frost. Cabbage can withstand cool temperatures and light frost so transplant the seedlings outside 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost date.

For autumn heads, start cabbage seeds inside in late May through June, transplanting to the garden 4 to 6 weeks later. It’s a good idea to read the days to maturity’information listed on the seed packet. This tells you how many days that variety needs to go from seed to harvest. Miniature types like ‘Pixie’, need about 60 days of growth. Storage varieties can take 90 or more days to mature.

This green cabbage plant is just beginning to form its central head.

How to determine when to harvest cabbage based on days to maturity

There are a few clues to watch for when you’re trying to determine when to harvest cabbage. The first is whether the days to maturity has elapsed. This is the time it takes for a cabbage to go from seed to maturity and it varies from type to type and variety to variety. Generally, cabbages need between 60 to 100 days of garden growth. Baby cabbage varieties like ‘Pixie’ and ‘Katarina’ are ready in around 60 days and large headed storage cabbages after about 90 to 100 days.

I grow a mixture of cabbages in my garden typically planting baby types for an early summer crop and then long maturing storage types for fall harvesting. You’ll find the days to maturity information listed on the seed packet or in the seed catalog.

Picking vegetables — To harvest a cabbage, carefully slice the head from the plant using a sharp knife.

How to determine when to harvest cabbage based on head size

The next indication of maturity is cabbage head size. Again, this varies based on the type and variety you’ve planted. Miniature cabbages are picked when they’re around 4 inches across, or about the size of a softball. Mid-season cabbages will be 5 to 8 inches across, and storage types can be 10 or even 12 inches across. Pointed green cabbages, like ‘Caraflex’, are 4 to 5 inches across at the base and about 8 to 10 inches tall. Napa type cabbages, which typically have an upright cylinder shape are 6 to 8 inches wide and 10 to 12 inches tall when mature.

A ready-to-pick cabbage will also be firm to the touch with the average head weighing between one and three pounds. That said, there are varieties that are smaller and less heavy as well as those that form giant heads weighing over 100 pounds! The mature head size and weight for cabbage varieties is typically listed in the seed catalog.

Harvesting vegetables — Napa cabbage is a garden treat and delicious in a stir fry or made into kimchi.

When to harvest baby cabbage

Baby cabbage varieties are those that are ready to pick 50 to 60 days from planting and yield compact, yet fully formed, heads just 4 inches in diameter. I love growing baby cabbages in my early spring greenhouse and the late spring vegetable garden. The garden crop is ready to pick just as the summer weather arrives and I can use the space they occupied to plant summer crops like cucumbers or beans. The pint-sized heads are very tender and the right size for one person. I start picking the baby cabbages when they’re 4 inches across and feel firm when gently squeezed.

When to harvest Napa cabbage

When determining when to harvest my Napa cabbages, famed for making kimchi, I use days to maturity and firmness as my indicators. First, most types of Napa cabbage need about 60 to 70 days to go from seed to harvest. Once that two month time has elapsed, I check the heads often, and start to harvest when they are very firm. Miniature varieties, like ‘Minuet’, are quicker to mature and ready to pick after about 50 days. Like their big-headed counterparts, they’ll also feel firm when given a light squeeze.

garden harvest — These ‘Pixie’ miniature cabbages are just 4 inches across and perfect for an individual meal.

When to harvest Savoy cabbage

Savoy cabbage varieties take a bit longer than standard green cabbage to go from seed to harvest. Most are ready to pick between 70 to 100 days, but check your seed packet for specific days to maturity information. They also tend to split less often than green or red cabbages and therefore hold their quality for a longer period of time in the garden. Winter varieties like ‘Winter King’ or ‘Deadon‘, can take 160 days to mature and are harvested in mid-winter. If using head firmness as a guide to harvesting cabbage, keep in mind that the thin, crinkly leaves of savoy varieties means they won’t be quite as tight as green cabbage heads. They’ll still have a bit of give when pressed. For this reason I use days to maturity and head size as signs that it’s time to pick my Savoy cabbages.

Insect netting in a garden — Using insect netting or lightweight row cover is the best way to protect cabbage plants from pests like cabbage loopers or imported cabbage worms.

How to harvest cabbage from your garden

Cabbage harvesting is quick and easy. Just take a sharp knife or harvesting knife and carefully slice the head from the cabbage plant, cutting through the stem. The stem can be tough, so use caution. There are two spots where you can cut. The first is at the base of the cabbage head and above the outer leaves. The second is to cut at ground level removing the entire plant from the garden.

I usually remove the main head, leaving the outermost foliage and stem in the garden to regrow. Yes cabbage can regrow and, with a little luck, you can enjoy a handful of baby cabbages a few weeks later. Once you’ve removed the main head, give the plant a dose of a liquid organic fertilizer to promote the formation of new smaller heads. When they’re round and firm you can harvest them for the kitchen.

how to regrow cabbage — Did you know you can regrow cabbage after harvesting? If you leave a portion of the stem, it regrows into several smaller heads.

How to store cabbage

Store cabbage in a plastic bag or container in the refrigerator. I keep them in the crisper drawer trying to use them up in about a week. Cabbage can also be frozen for winter soups and stews. The process is similar to freezing kale in that the chopped or shredded leaves are briefly blanched and then frozen.

Cabbage heads can be stored for an extended period of time in a root cellar. Root cellars create a cool, humid environment and under ideal conditions cabbage can remain fresh for 4 to 6 months.

More tips for cabbage growing and harvesting

Promote healthy cabbages and large heads with these expert tips:

Pick the right site – Cabbage plants are heavy feeders and grow best in a sunny spot with fertile, well-draining soil. I amend the bed before planting with a source of organic matter like compost or rotted manure as well as an organic vegetable fertilizer. Providing a source of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, as well as a neutral soil pH gives the plants a strong start. Add a layer of mulch around plants to hold soil moisture and reduce the need to weed.
Watch out for insects and diseases – Although not difficult to grow, cabbage does have its share of pests and diseases. Common cabbage pests include slugs and snails, imported cabbage worms, and, cabbage loopers. I deter slugs with diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the plants. To prevent caterpillars, lay insect netting or a row cover over the bed at planting time. Reduce diseases like black rot and clubroot by rotating crops annually.
Prevent splitting – As mentioned earlier in this article, one of the best reasons to pick cabbage at the right time is that mature heads can split. This is most common when a heavy rain or watering happens after a period of dry weather. The sudden influx of soil moisture causes the head to split, or crack, open. Avoid split heads with regular irrigation and by root pruning. Root pruning reduces the amount of water the plant can take up, and therefore prevents splitting. To root prune, slice though the roots along one side of a mature cabbage plant using a garden spade. You can still eat a split cabbage but it’s harder to shred if you wish to make coleslaw.

For more information on growing cabbage family vegetables, be sure to check out these articles:

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