How Can You Tell When Cabbages Are Ready for Harvest?

You started cabbages by seed indoors months ago, you planted them outside as tiny cabbage babies, you kept an eye out for squiggly little pests, and you watered them diligently. Now what?

There's no change of color when cabbages are nice and "ripe", so how do you know when the time to harvest your cabbage has finally arrived?

Here are the three signs to look for to know when cabbage heads are fully formed.

You're Within the Window of the Time Guideline on Your Cabbage Seed Packet

Sure, this one seems obvious, but I have a bad habit of forgetting to check the back of the seed packet at the time of planting something. It's sort of like how I always think I can assemble trellis kits without reading the directions.

The time-to-harvest estimates from seed companies are usually pretty accurate within 10 days or so, assuming that you've been growing your cabbage under ideal conditions (nice, cool weather, sufficient water, etc.). Making note of this date on your calendar can give you a good idea of when to expect your first harvest. Cabbage heads should typically be ready for harvest about 60 to 90 days after sowing seeds, depending on the variety of cabbage you're growing, though some red and purple cabbages do take as long as 180 days to form a full head.

Since there's a pretty big difference between 60 days and 180 days, it's a good idea to check the seed packet or do a little research on the type of cabbage you're growing to know when you can look forward to harvesting your cabbage head.

The Head Feels Firm to the Touch

Once your cabbage matures, you'll start to notice two different types of leaves. There are the wrapper leaves that sprawl outwards like flower petals in bloom, and then there are the more central leaves that turn inward to form the head. (We'll talk more about the wrapper leaves in a bit.)

Come out to the garden regularly when your cabbage is nearing the days to harvest for the type you're growing so that you can reach into the center of the plant and give the developing head a squeeze. If it feels soft and a little spongy in your palm, it's not quite ready. It should be nice and firm.

As soon as the head feels firm to the touch, you'll want to go ahead and harvest it. If left to continue developing, it can split open and send up flowers stalks.

If you're nearing the time to harvest but your cabbage doesn't seem to be forming a tight head, here are some troubleshooting tips. It could also just be the type of cabbage you're growing. Some varieties, like Danish Ballhead cabbage, are expected to form a really tight head (I mean, it's in the name). Others, like Napa cabbage, don't necessarily form that wrapped little ball you expect to buy from the store. (That's one of the reasons I prefer to grow Napa cabbage—less pressure to get that perfect head! Plus, it's ready to harvest in as little as 60 days.) With plants like Napa cabbage, you can harvest whenever the plant has reached a good size.

The Weather Is About to Change

Cabbage plants will either stop growing or they'll send up flowers and focus on seed production once the temperatures rise above 80 degrees F. If you're nearing the end of your cool spring weather, it might be a good idea to go ahead and harvest your cabbage. You might not get that full head you're after, but you'll still get lots of delicious leaves to use in the kitchen.

You Don't Need to Wait for Your Cabbage to Form a Full Head to Harvest Leaves

You can actually begin harvesting those older, outer leaves from your cabbage plants about 3 to 4 weeks after cabbage transplants have been moved out to the garden. This is more of a gradual harvest, where you take just a couple leaves from each plant at a time and leave the rest of the plant to keep on growing and doing its magic in the garden.

Treating growing cabbage plants like other cut-and-come-again leafy greens gives you way more leaf bang for your growing buck. I pull off so many Napa cabbage leaves for salads, stir fries, and wraps while I'm waiting on the center of the plant to form more layers. Not only are these leaves delicious, removing them gives the cabbage plant more energy to put toward developing the head, which will contain slightly more tender, sweet leaves.

Those older, outer leaves are also more likely to have a bit of pest damage. If they have holes in them or show discoloration, you can toss them in the trash (not in your compost) and only keep the most beautiful leaves. (I usually just rinse them off and eat them, holes and all.)

So don't wait on a full head to make your favorite cabbage-based dish. Even if your cabbage doesn't have time to finish, you can still take lots of leaf harvests throughout the growing season.

How to Harvest a Full Head of Cabbage

Once your cabbage has grown a nice, tight head (or before the temps rise too high), you can harvest the entire head in one of two ways.

The first way is to pull the entire plant out of the ground. This is a messy way to harvest, and you risk disturbing the roots of neighboring plants if you're growing in a raised garden bed.

The second way to harvest an entire head is to use the serrated edge of a hori hori or sharp, clean pruners to cut right at the base of the plant. Use one hand to gently push the cabbage head away from you as you cut so that you can see the base better. This is a cleaner way to harvest, but it does leave the roots of the plant in the soil.

Ta da! You have a gorgeous head of cabbage that you grew yourself!

The Best Time of Day to Harvest Cabbage

The best time to harvest cabbage and other leafy greens is early in the morning. If you must harvest during a hot, sunny day, dunk your cabbage heads in a little ice bath to plump them back up and increase their potential storage time.

How to Store Homegrown Cabbage Heads

Cabbages can hold up pretty well in your fridge. The best way to store your cabbage head is to wrap it in beeswax, taking care to cover the cut stem of the plant. The heads should stay fresh for about 3 to 4 weeks this way. If the outside starts going soft, you can always peel back a layer of leaves.

That being said, try to enjoy your homegrown cabbage as soon as possible. The leaves do lose some flavor and crispness over time.

How to Enjoy Every Single Bit of Your Garden-Fresh Cabbage Head

Cabbage is mangetout, which is just a fancy French word for "you can eat it all!" Here's how to get maximum enjoyment from each and every head you pull from your garden:

Cabbage Leaves

Cabbage leaves are extremely versatile. You can toss them in soups, use them as wraps, stir fry them, steam them, use them as a crunchy base for a salad, or chop them up and make your own coleslaw or kimchi.

Cabbage Stem

The part of the plant that you might not have enjoyed before is the cabbage stalk. It doesn't look very appetizing when you buy cabbage from the store, but when you grow your own, the base is so nice and crunchy. I use it in the kitchen the way I use celery. You can cut the white part off the head, slice it thinly, and then toss it into a stir fry, for example.

Enjoy Your Homegrown Cabbage!

You should be so proud of your cabbage baby, whether you started it from seed yourself or bought a little start from the nursery. If this is your first time to grow your own cabbage, you'll soon agree that homegrown just tastes so much better than the lifeless store-bought varieties. And nothing will beat that satisfying crunch when you cut into those water-filled leaves for the first time.

All right, I'll let you get to harvesting those cabbage heads. Thanks for being here and making gardening ordinary again!