Chinese cabbage
Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis · Napa cabbage in the US
In a typical UK garden, sow indoors late March to mid-April, sow outside early May to late August, plant out mid-April to mid-May, and harvest mid-June to late November.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.
- Sow indoors
- late March to mid-Aprillate July to late August
- Sow outdoors
- early May to late August
- Plant out
- mid-April to mid-Maymid-August to mid-September
- Harvest
- mid-June to late November
Growing facts
- Spacing
- 30 cm apart, rows 45 cm apart
- Square foot
- 1 per square (30 cm squares)
- Sowing depth
- 1 cm
- Ready in
- 50 to 70 days from planting out
- Grows to
- 40 cm
- Hardiness
- Hardy to about -4 °C
- Sun
- Copes with some shade
- Crops for
- One harvest
Growing tip
Sow from midsummer for the most reliable autumn heads, and keep the soil constantly moist to stop it bolting.
More brassicas
Where these figures come from
Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For chinese cabbage, we used:
Grow chinese cabbage with VegLog
Add chinese cabbage to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.
