# Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

Canonical: https://plantguide.ae/plants/cabbage · Updated: 2026-10-29
Source: Plant Guide (https://plantguide.ae/plants/cabbage)

Cabbage · ملفوف  
vegetable · exotic · family Brassicaceae · grows 0.25–0.5 m tall, 0.4–0.7 m wide · moderate growth  
sun to part shade · moderate water need  
Ratings for Dubai (1–5, 5 is best): heat 1 · salt 2 · drought 1 · shade 2 · ease of care 3  
Sow or plant: Sep–Dec  
Uses: edible, container

## Also known as

- **English:** Green cabbage, White cabbage, Red cabbage
- **Botanical synonyms:** *Brassica oleracea Capitata Group*
- **Arabic (العربية):** ملفوف, كرنب (kurunb)
- **Hindi (हिन्दी):** बंद गोभी (Band gobhi)
- **Urdu (اردو):** بند گوبھی (Band gobhi), پتا گوبھی (Patta gobhi)
- **Malayalam (മലയാളം):** മൊട്ടക്കൂസ് (Mottakkus), കാബേജ് (Cabbage)
- **Tamil (தமிழ்):** முட்டைக்கோசு (Muttaikosu)
- **Tagalog:** Repolyo
- **Bengali (বাংলা):** বাঁধাকপি (Badhakopi), পাতাকপি (Patakopi)
- **Persian (فارسی):** کلم (Kalam)

The sturdiest winter brassica: start seed from September to December, plant out October to December, and cut firm heads from December to March before warm weather ends the season.

## About

Meet cabbage, the solid one. A seedling planted in November looks like not much for a month, then folds its inner leaves into a heart and, by January, swells into a firm, pale-green head.

Its character is steady and solid. It does not mind cool nights, and it asks only for rich soil, regular water and a watch for caterpillars. It is the brassica for gardeners who want a crop they do not have to fuss over.

What it brings is a heavy crop from a small bed, and the base for a winter's cooking, from slaw to stir-fries. Red and green types share the bed, and a few plants planted a few weeks apart spread the cutting through the season.

Cabbage is the sturdiest of the heading brassicas for a Dubai bed. The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment's calendar gives nursery sowing from September to December, field planting from October to December, and harvest 70 to 80 days later. BBC Good Food Middle East's UAE guide gives the widest window, October to March. UF/IFAS says cabbage transplants well, and gives 70 to 90 days from transplants to a heading cabbage (85 to 110 from seed). Seed started in shaded trays in October and planted out in November is cut from January to March.

UF/IFAS says cold temperatures will not kill cabbage plants, though frost can damage the leaves, and Dubai's coldest monthly mean low, in January, is 15.3°C. The limit is the other end: the Ministry's field window closes in December, and UF/IFAS's advice for the same family is to plant early enough to mature before warm weather arrives. Dubai's mean high is 24 to 27°C from December to February, 28.9°C in March and 33.7°C in April, so plan to cut the last heads by March. Give the plants room: UF/IFAS spaces heading cabbage 9 to 16 inches (23 to 40 cm) apart in rows 24 inches (60 cm) apart.

Water in the early morning so the leaves dry in the sun, which UF/IFAS says helps prevent common fungal diseases and matches DEWA's early-morning rule. Scout often for caterpillars: UF/IFAS names the larvae of the cabbage white butterfly, and Arizona desert data show diamondback moths arriving on the wind each autumn to infest brassicas. Black rot, which stunts plants and blackens the leaf veins, is avoided by buying clean plants. FAO rates cabbage as moderately sensitive to salt, with a threshold of 1.8 dS/m, so use mains water and a low-salinity soil mix rather than the garden's salty sand.

## Through the year

Cabbage runs one long winter season. Seed is started in shaded trays from September to December and seedlings are planted out from October to December, with the plants putting on leaf through the cool months. Caterpillars, aphids and black rot need watching from November to March. Heads are ready 70 to 80 days after planting out, so cutting runs from December to March. By March and April, as the average high climbs from 29°C to 34°C, the season ends and the bed is cleared for the summer rest.

| When | What | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sep–Dec | Sow: Start seed in shaded trays | Ministry calendar: nursery September–December. September's mean high is still 39.5°C, so keep trays shaded and out of midday sun. |
| Oct–Dec | Plant: Plant out seedlings | Ministry calendar: field planting October–December. UF/IFAS: cabbage transplants well; space plants 23–40 cm apart in rows 60 cm apart. |
| Nov–Mar | Pest watch: Caterpillars and black rot | UF/IFAS names cabbage white caterpillars and black rot. Arizona desert data show diamondback moths re-infesting brassicas each autumn and aphids peaking in winter. |
| Dec–Mar | Harvest: Cut firm heads | Ministry calendar: 70–80 days to harvest; UF/IFAS: 70–90 days from transplants for heading cabbage. |
| Mar–May | Heat stress: Warm weather ends the season | UF/IFAS advises planting brassicas early enough to mature before warm weather; the Ministry's field window closes in December. Dubai's mean high is 28.9°C in March and 33.7°C in April. |

## Care in Dubai

- **Watering in summer:** Not grown in summer; seed is started from September in shaded trays.
- **Watering in winter:** UF/IFAS: give plenty of irrigation, in the early morning so leaves dry in the sun. Use a drip line finishing before 8 am (DEWA).
- **While establishing:** Water seedlings daily after planting out, with light shade until they root in, using mains water.
- **Soil:** A raised bed of sweet soil enriched with compost, free-draining, in full sun or light shade. Do not use the garden's salty sand on its own.
- **Feeding:** Work compost or well-rotted manure into the bed before planting. UF/IFAS gives no cabbage-specific feeding schedule.
- **Pruning:** None. Cut the head with a sharp knife when it is firm.
- **Planting:** Sow in shaded trays from September to December, plant out from October to December, 23 to 40 cm apart in rows 60 cm apart, and buy clean transplants if you are not raising your own.
- **Pests and problems:** Cabbage white caterpillars; Diamondback moth caterpillars; Aphids; Black rot
- **Toxicity:** Cabbage is a normal food for people. The ASPCA's plant list for dogs has no entry for garden cabbage; its "skunk cabbage" entry is a different, unrelated plant that it lists as toxic. We make no claim about pets chewing the plant, so keep dogs and cats out of the bed.

## Good and bad

**Pros**
- Ministry calendar: start seed September–December, plant out October–December
- Widest brassica window: October to March (BBC Good Food Middle East)
- Transplants well, and cold will not kill it (UF/IFAS)
- Red and green types add colour and variety (Wikipedia)

**Cons**
- Slow: 70–80 days from planting out (Ministry calendar)
- Salt-sensitive: FAO threshold 1.8 dS/m, so it needs mains water
- Caterpillars and black rot are the usual problems (UF/IFAS)
- Takes space: 23–40 cm between plants in rows 60 cm apart (UF/IFAS)
- Warm weather ends the season by April

## Common mistakes

- Using salty or recycled water. FAO's threshold for cabbage is only 1.8 dS/m.
- Watering in the afternoon or over the leaves. UF/IFAS advises early-morning irrigation so leaves dry and fungal diseases are discouraged.
- Missing the caterpillars. UF/IFAS says to scout often for the larvae of the cabbage white butterfly.
- Buying seedlings that are not clean. UF/IFAS says to buy clean plants to avoid black rot.
- Planting too late. The Ministry's field window closes in December, and the heat ends the season by April.

## Good to know

- UF/IFAS: cold will not kill cabbage plants, though frost can damage leaves. Dubai's coldest monthly mean low is 15.3°C (January).
- Cabbage is a "cole crop" (Wikipedia), closely related to broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and Savoy cabbage, all forms of Brassica oleracea.
- Chinese (napa) cabbage is a different crop with different timings; UF/IFAS gives it its own spacing and days to harvest.
- The Ministry gives 70 to 80 days to harvest; UF/IFAS gives 70 to 90 from transplants and 85 to 110 from seed.

## Using it in a garden

Roles: Raised-bed brassica, Kitchen-garden staple, Winter foliage, Large-container crop

Give cabbage a sunny, rich raised bed with room between the plants, a drip line on a timer and a compost mulch. Rotate the bed each year, since the brassicas share pests and diseases. A line of small red cabbages makes a handsome edible edge to a terrace bed.

- [Lettuce](https://plantguide.ae/plants/lettuce.md): A quick cool-season crop that uses the gaps between young cabbages and is picked before they fill the bed.
- [Coriander](https://plantguide.ae/plants/coriander.md): A quick herb with the same cool-season window, sharing the bed and the early-morning watering routine.

## FAQ

**When should I plant cabbage in Dubai?**  
The Ministry's calendar gives nursery sowing from September to December and field planting from October to December; BBC Good Food Middle East says October to March. Plant out from October to December.

**How long does cabbage take to grow?**  
The Ministry gives 70 to 80 days to harvest, and UF/IFAS gives 70 to 90 days from transplants to a heading cabbage. Seedlings planted in November are cut from January or February.

**How far apart should I plant cabbage?**  
UF/IFAS spaces heading cabbage 9 to 16 inches (23 to 40 cm) apart in rows 24 inches (60 cm) apart.

**What eats my cabbage?**  
Mostly caterpillars, UF/IFAS names the larvae of the cabbage white butterfly, and in desert climates diamondback moths arrive each autumn. Check the undersides of the leaves weekly.

**Can I grow cabbage in a pot?**  
Yes, one plant per large, deep pot of sweet soil and compost, with a drip line or daily watering and a mulch. Choose a compact variety.

**Is cabbage safe for pets?**  
The ASPCA has no entry for garden cabbage in its dog plant list. It lists skunk cabbage, an unrelated plant, as toxic. Keep dogs and cats out of the bed.

## Related plants

[Broccoli](https://plantguide.ae/plants/broccoli.md) · [Cauliflower](https://plantguide.ae/plants/cauliflower.md) · [Kale](https://plantguide.ae/plants/kale.md) · [Lettuce](https://plantguide.ae/plants/lettuce.md) · [Carrot](https://plantguide.ae/plants/carrot.md) · [Spinach](https://plantguide.ae/plants/spinach.md)

## Photos

![Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) growing in a garden bed in India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Brassica_oleracea_var._capitata_%284170722993%29.jpg)  
Photo: Dinesh Valke / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brassica_oleracea_var._capitata_(4170722993).jpg))

![A cabbage plant forming a heart in the garden at Hardwick Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Cabbage_in_Hardwick_Hall_garden_2012_%2811%29.jpg)  
Photo: Victuallers / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cabbage_in_Hardwick_Hall_garden_2012_(11).jpg))

![Green cabbages on sale in a supermarket in Najran, Saudi Arabia, with an Arabic price sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Cabbage_in_Najran.jpg)  
Photo: AbasoloaileenND / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cabbage_in_Najran.jpg))

## Sources

- [UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment: Dates for Planting Vegetables and Fruits in the UAE](https://moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/56f7a89b/agriculture_calender_page_en.pdf.aspx)
- [Wikipedia: Climate of Dubai (Dubai International Airport, 1991 to 2020 normals)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Dubai)
- [BBC Good Food Middle East: A guide to growing fruits and vegetables in the UAE](https://www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/how-to/a-guide-to-growing-fruits-and-vegetables-in-the-uae/)
- [UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Cabbage](https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/cabbage/)
- [UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Broccoli](https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/broccoli/)
- [FAO: Crop salt tolerance data (Annex 1)](https://www.fao.org/4/y4263e/y4263e0e.htm)
- [DEWA: Irrigation advice](https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/sustainability/sustainability-and-conservation/irrigation)
- [University of Arizona Vegetable IPM Updates: Weather influence on desert insect pests (J. Palumbo)](https://www.vegetableipmupdates.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2023-11/Weather%20Influence%20Desert%20Insect%20Pests-2020.pdf)
- [POWO (Kew Plants of the World Online): Brassica oleracea var. capitata](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60452371-2)
- [Wikipedia: Cabbage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage)
- [Arabic Wikipedia: ملفوف](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%D9%88%D9%81)
- [Wiktionary: ملفوف (Arabic, synonym كرنب)](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%D9%88%D9%81)
- [Hindi Wikipedia: बंद गोभी](https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6_%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%80)
- [Urdu Wikipedia: بند گوبھی](https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%AF_%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%A8%DA%BE%DB%8C)
- [Malayalam Wikipedia: മൊട്ടക്കൂസ്](https://ml.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B4%AE%E0%B5%8A%E0%B4%9F%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%9F%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%82%E0%B4%B8%E0%B5%8D)
- [Tamil Wikipedia: முட்டைக்கோசு](https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%81)
- [Tagalog Wikipedia: Repolyo](https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repolyo)
- [Bengali Wikipedia: বাঁধাকপি](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%81%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BF)
- [Persian Wikipedia: کلم](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%A9%D9%84%D9%85)