Cabbage
Brassica oleracea
Botanical family: Brassicaceae
Brassica oleracea var. capitata, one of the many forms that gardeners have drawn from the wild cabbage of coastal cliffs (Channel, Atlantic, Mediterranean), like cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts. Sources: Tela Botanica, “Brassica oleracea L.” (Coste's flora); Plants For A Future, “Brassica oleracea”.
Full sun
Rich, clayey
Regular
Hardy: winter cabbages overwinter in the ground and crop when few other vegetables do
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A brassica with a long rotation: 4 to 5 years between two brassicas, 8 to 10 years after a clubroot attack (Réussir Fruits & Légumes, 2022), whose spores (Plasmodiophora brassicae) can contaminate the soil for up to 20 years (RHS). Very greedy (nitrogen, calcium, water). To be planted after a legume to benefit from the nitrogen.
Good companions
Fix nitrogen from the air (legumes)
Attract pollinators and beneficial insects
Trap plants (variable effect, need watching)
Poor companions
Allelopathy, reputed or observed: may slow some neighbours
Traditional avoidance (antagonism not demonstrated)
Insects attracted or useful
Known pests & diseases
Pests and diseases that commonly affect this plant, tap to learn how to recognise and manage them.
Seasons & availability
Headed cabbages and winter cabbages: harvested from summer through to the following spring.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Cabbages » (rhs.org.uk/vegetables/cabbages/grow-your-own)
- La Ferme de Sainte Marthe, « Réussir la culture du chou de Milan » (fermedesaintemarthe.com/en/blogs/comment-reussir-la-culture-de/reussir-la-culture-du-chou-de-milan)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Sometimes difficult to digest; moderate raw according to tolerance.
In the kitchen & the apothecary
Where to find cabbage in preparations: recipes and traditional herbal teas.
Family behaviour: Brassicaceae
In general, Brassicaceae produce glucosinolates, sulphur compounds with a mild biocidal effect on the soil (a biofumigant effect, sometimes sought between two sensitive crops). Members of the cabbage and mustard family, they are prone to the cabbage white and clubroot.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato), Roman agronomist and statesman · Rome, 2nd century BC (De Agricultura, c. 160 BC)
In his treatise on agriculture, Cato the Elder devotes to the cabbage (brassica) a long passage in which he proclaims it superior to all other vegetables. He ascribes to it countless virtues, an aid to digestion, a purge, care for wounds and ulcers, to the point of making it a near-universal household remedy, before Greek medicine took hold in Rome; the following chapter even mentions the so-called 'Pythagoras' cabbage. The attested fact is Cato's praise and the immense prestige of the cabbage it reveals; the curative virtues, for their part, belong to ancient pharmacopoeia and not to a modern validation.
Caton l'Ancien, De Agricultura (De l'agriculture), chap. 156-157 (v. 160 av. J.-C.) ; Pline l'Ancien, Histoire naturelle, livres XIX-XX.
The attested literary fact, Cato praises the cabbage, is distinct from the medical claims: these testify to early Roman medicine and are presented here neither as pharmacological facts nor as a health claim.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: rich, clayey.
- • Classic companion: Dill.
- • Keep away from: Strawberry.