How cold can cabbage survive? (2024)

How cold can cabbage survive?

Most cabbages can survive light frosts, but when temperatures dip below 20ºF this can damage them. If you live in an area where the temperature gets this cold, plan to protect your plants.

Cabbages can take cool temperatures down to about 26 º F. They are often planted later in the year for a fall harvest, but if you start them early enough, you can still get a crop before it gets too hot. A light frost improves the sweetness of cabbages. What is this?

Frost Hardy

Among the hardiest vegetables are cole crops, which can tolerate moderate (24-28°F) freezes: Broccoli; Cauliflower (26°F) Chinese cabbage; Cabbage; Kale; Kohlrabi; Turnip.

Broccoli and cauliflower can usually survive temperatures as low as 26 degrees Fahrenheit with only minor damage to the leaves. They may survive even lower temperatures if they are acclimated, but usually anything below 26 F will kill the plants if the weather was warmer leading up to the cold snap.

If temperature dip below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, cover your cabbage with a bucket or a frost cloth. Be sure to remove either when temperatures rise during the daytime.

Growing Temperatures

The optimum temperature for growing a successful cabbage crop is 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sensitivity to the cold; Intolerance to cold. Cold intolerance is an abnormal sensitivity to a cold environment or cold temperatures.

Cold sensitivity or cold intolerance is unusual discomfort felt by some people when in a cool environment. Cold sensitivity. Symptoms. weakness, feeling extremely cold, cold hands and feet, shakiness.

People who spend a great deal of time outdoors become "outdoor acclimatized." These persons are affected less by heat or cold extremes because their bodies have adjusted to the outdoor environments. Acclimatization usually occurs over a period of about two weeks in healthy, normal persons.

How do you protect cabbage from colds?

Storing Winter Cabbage

You can store winter cabbage in a root cellar, basem*nt, or refrigerator for several months. Remove any damaged leaves on the outside and lay the cabbage on racks or in the crisper in a single layer. The temperature must be close to freezing, but not quite there.

Semi-hardy vegetables will tolerate light frosts and temperatures around freezing (0°C). Here's a partial list of plants within each: Hardy Vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Collards, English Peas, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Mustard Greens, Parsley, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips.

Place transplants in the garden when they are 3 to 4 inches (7-10cm) tall as early as 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost in spring. In cool-summer regions, plant cabbage in late spring for a fall harvest.

Semi-hardy vegetables will tolerate light frosts and temperatures around freezing (0°C). Here's a partial list of plants within each: Hardy Vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Collards, English Peas, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Mustard Greens, Parsley, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips.

A temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit is too cold for a vegetable garden. This temperature will cause frost to develop in the garden that can damage the roots, leaves, and fruits in your vegetable garden. You can protect your vegetable garden if the temperature drop is temporary.

If the air is moist enough, freezing in this range might also involve frost, but it's not a given. Lettuce may cope with light freezing and even one or two hard freezes, but once the thermometer reads 25°F or below, the plants are in danger.

How to grow: Mid-March though May is a good time to start early and mid-season cabbage seed indoors. Transplant cabbage starts, both early and mid-season starts, into the ground in May and June. Sow seed for late varieties in May, and transplant them out in June through July.

Plant fall cabbage 6 to 8 weeks before the first frost. Growing plants that have been exposed to cool weather become "hardened" and are tolerant of frost. Cabbage that matures in cool weather is deliciously sweet. Like most vegetables, cabbage needs at least 6 hours of full sun each day; more is better.