Cabbage
What Plant Yet? knows about cabbage, and where each number comes from. For today's answer, pick your town.
Planting numbers
- Frost category
- Hardy Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Plant outdoors
- 2–4 weeks before typical last frost Given for hardy crops as a group. Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Start seeds indoors
- 6–7 weeks before planting out Source: Utah State University Extension
- Cover at or below
- 25°F Source: Utah State University Extension
- Grows once daytime temperatures reach
- 40°F Given for hardy crops as a group. Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Days to harvest
- 85 Source: Colorado State University Extension
Left out because we found no university extension source for it: minimum night temperature. We don't estimate.
Growing tips
- Do not plant too early: two to three weeks below 50°F can make cabbage bolt. (Colorado State University Extension)
- Feed well; cole crops are heavy feeders. (Colorado State University Extension)
- Mulch to keep moisture steady and weeds down. (Colorado State University Extension)
- On the Front Range (May 15 average last frost), set out transplants in early May. (Colorado State University Extension)
- For cabbageworms, spray Bt in the evening because sunlight breaks it down quickly. (Colorado State University Extension)
How the answer uses this
The planting window opens 2–4 weeks before typical last frost in your town and stays open while a planting still has 85 days to mature before the typical first fall frost. Inside the window the answer is Plant when the coldest of the next 7 nights stays above 25°F (no source gives a minimum night temperature, so the cold-damage temperature is used). Cover tonight shows when tonight's low is 25°F or colder while cabbage is normally in the ground.
Sources
- Colorado State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
- Utah State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
- Colorado State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
- Colorado State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
Guidance only. Extension advice is written for typical conditions; your soil, variety and microclimate matter.