Vegetables · Leafy

Growing cabbage

Brassica oleracea var. capitata · also called Band gobhi

Where are you growing?

Gangetic plains: eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains

Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail

Mature green cabbage with a firm round head among its outer leaves — Photo: George Chernilevsky · PDM

At a glance

Cabbage in the Gangetic plains

Season
Winter crop in the plains⁴
Sowing to last picking
About 4 to 5 months from nursery sowing to the last cut.
Nursery
July to November (early cabbage, plains)^4,3
First harvest
60 to 110 days after sowing

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Sow now

The window here is July to November (early cabbage, plains).

Sowing now in:North-east hills and valleys Arid west Central plateau Deccan plateau South interior West coast East coast

Nursery
Transplant
Harvest
Under cover
Today

Gangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plains North-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, Sikkim Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha

Compare all 12 regions

Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, Kullu Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and Spiti Sub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun North-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, Delhi North-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, Sikkim Arid westRajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat Central plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha Deccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka South interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil Nadu West coastKerala, Goa, Konkan East coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra

Today

See the dates as a table

Region	Nursery	Transplant	Harvest
Gangetic plains	July to November (early cabbage, plains)	October to January
Temperate Himalaya	February to MarchAugust to SeptemberApril to MayMay to June
Cold desert	Under cover: April, under polythene	Early May	July to September
Sub-tropical foothills	August to SeptemberJuly to August
North-west plains		September to October
North-east hills and valleys	Early September to late November
Arid west	July to November (early cabbage, plains)
Central plateau	July to November (early cabbage, plains)
Deccan plateau	July to November (early cabbage, plains)
South interior	August to NovemberJanuary to FebruaryJuly to AugustSeptember to October
West coast	August to November
East coast	August to November

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

Before sowing

Field preparation

Well rotted farmyard manure or compost

20 to 25 tonnes per hectare

Mix into the soil while preparing the land.

About a month after transplanting

Vermicompost

about 200 g per plant

Place around the plants and earth up.

Day 0

Sow

Day 5 to 8

Seeds come up

^4,8

Day 28 to 42

Transplant

^4,6

Day 60 to 110

First picking

Cut heads as each one firms up, over two or three weeks.

Day 110 to 150

Last picking

Water every 8 to 12 days, more at head formation.

Before sowing
Well rotted farmyard manure or compost
20 to 25 tonnes per hectare · Mix into the soil while preparing the land. · Field preparation
Vermicompost
about 200 g per plant · Place around the plants and earth up. · About a month after transplanting
Day 0
Sow
Day 5 to 8
Seeds come up^4,8
Day 28 to 42
Transplant^4,6
Day 60 to 110
First picking
Cut heads as each one firms up, over two or three weeks.
Day 110 to 150
Last picking

Water every 8 to 12 days, more at head formation.

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH^1,5,6
6 to 6.5
Grows on sandy to heavy soils rich in organic matter. Light, sandy loam soils suit an early crop; clay loam and silty soils, which hold moisture, suit a late crop and give firmer heads that keep longer.
Sunlight
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun in an open spot. Heads form poorly in shade.
Temperature^5,1,2,3
Grows best at 15 to 21 °C
Takes hard frost.
Monthly temperatures for the Gangetic plains aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering

Water right after transplanting, then keep the soil evenly moist. Avoid a heavy watering once the heads are firm, as it splits them.

Weeding

Hoe shallowly two or three times in the first month after transplanting, since the roots are near the surface. Earth up the plants after about a month.

When	What	How much	How
Field preparation	Well rotted farmyard manure or compost	20 to 25 tonnes per hectare	Mix into the soil while preparing the land.
About a month after transplanting	Vermicompost	about 200 g per plant	Place around the plants and earth up.

Sources

Varieties and yield

Typical range

250 to 350 quintals a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Good neighbours^1,6

Grows well with

Pests and diseases

Organic and cultural controls only.

Pest
Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)
Signs
Small green caterpillars make windows and holes in the leaves and bore into young heads.
What to do
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
- Hand pick caterpillars in small plots.
Prevention
- Grow a row of mustard every 20 to 25 rows as a trap crop.
Pest
Cabbage aphid
Signs
Grey waxy colonies under the leaves and inside the heads; leaves curl.
What to do
- Wash colonies off with a strong jet of water.
- Spray neem seed kernel extract 5%.
Prevention
- Conserve ladybird beetles and hoverflies.
Pest
Cutworm
Signs
Young plants cut at the base overnight.
What to do
- Search the soil around cut plants in the morning and destroy the caterpillars.
Prevention
- Plough before planting and keep the field free of weeds.
Disease
Black rot
Signs
V-shaped yellow patches at the leaf edges with black veins.
What to do
- Pull out and destroy infected plants.
Prevention
- Use seed from healthy plants and soak it in hot water at 50 °C for 30 minutes.
- Rotate with crops outside the cabbage family.
Disease
Damping off
Signs
Seedlings collapse at the soil line in the nursery.
Prevention
- Raise seedlings on raised, well drained beds and do not overwater.
Disease
Club root
Signs
Plants wilt in the afternoon; roots carry swollen galls.
What to do
- Pull out and burn affected plants with their roots.
Prevention
- Keep cabbage family crops off infected land for three years.
- Improve drainage.

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed¹

Seed forms only where winters are cold: the plants need 0 to 4 °C for 8 to 10 weeks after the head forms. Pull out off-types while the plants grow, when heads form and at flowering. Keep seed fields 1,600 m from other cabbage, cauliflower, knol-khol, Brussels sprouts and kale.

When the seed is ready

Cut the seed branches as the pods ripen.

Where winters are mild, heads can stay in the field over winter, or be stored in trenches about 2 x 1 x 1 m with the outer leaves removed, laid in one layer and covered with air holes on both sides. Replant them in March and April before the heads burst. Stack the cut branches to dry for 4 to 5 days.

After the last picking

Clear stumps and roots after the last head is cut. Compost healthy leaves and destroy diseased ones. Follow with a crop outside the cabbage family, such as a legume or a cereal.

Destroy diseased plant remains after harvest.

Rotation

Where club root has appeared, keep cabbage and other crucifers off the land for three years. SKUAST-Jammu advises rotating cole crops with paddy against stalk rot.

Sources

Where this comes from

Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

1Package of Practices for Vegetable Crops 2020 (Cabbage; insect-pest and disease management in cole crops; protected cultivation)Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-Jammu)Read the source
3Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (Cole crops: cabbage)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
4Cabbage: propagation (nursery, season of planting, raising of seedlings)National Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
5Cabbage: soil and climateNational Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
6Cabbage (Horticulture: vegetables), TNAU Agritech PortalTamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source

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Growing cabbage

Cabbage in the Gangetic plains

When to sow it

One season, day by day

Soil, sun and warmth

Soil pH1,5,6

SunlightAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Temperature5,1,2,3

Water and feeding

WateringAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

WeedingAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Varieties and yield

Good neighbours1,6

Pests and diseasesAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)

Cabbage aphid

Cutworm

Black rot

Damping off

Club root

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1

After the last pickingAI suggestionNo published guide covers this for the Gangetic plains, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.