Cabbage
Brassica oleracea
Cool-season biennial vegetable grown as an annual; major commercial brassica suitable for Zones 3-9, with high yields in fertile, well-drained soils. Requires even moisture and split nitrogen applications around 150 lb/ac.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Growing Season
- Plant
- April-May (spring crop, 4-6 weeks before last frost); July (fall crop, 10-12 weeks before first hard frost) – April-May (spring crop, 4-6 weeks before last frost); July (fall crop, 10-12 weeks before first hard frost)
- Harvest
- June-July (spring); Sept-Oct (fall) – June-July (spring); Sept-Oct (fall)
- Frost-free days
- 100+
Yield
- Typical yield
- 430 cwt/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
- Labor
- 265 hrs/acre
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
1 active buyer on record purchasing this crop.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "increasing".
Supply Below Demand
4 of 6 documented channels rate viability "strong". Sold into regional rather than national markets, vegetable supply here generally trails that demand.
Multiple Buyer Channels
6 of 6 documented market channels rate viable or better (wholesale, retail, farmers_market, csa). Multiple independent routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
4 viable direct-market channels (farmers_market, csa, restaurant, direct_to_consumer). Supports value-added and margin capture beyond wholesale.
Market Growth Projected
Mature vegetable market; growth over a 5-year horizon is expected to track population rather than outpace it.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 3-9; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop needs 2500 GDD (base 50F); region accumulates 2500+. Sufficient.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop needs ~18 in; region receives ~38 in/yr. Compatible, irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop needs 120 frost-free days; region provides ~180. Sufficient.
Chill Hours Met
Not applicable — biennial crop has no winter chill requirement.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 7 hardiness zones (3-9). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Fit by region
The farm matcher, run on each region's cited climate normals. Soil and site are not included here; add your own on the match page.
No limiting condition found. 5 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 100% cited.
No limiting condition found. 5 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 100% cited.
No limiting condition found. 5 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Climate envelope & site
What the farm matcher compares your conditions against.
Climate envelope
- Hardiness zone
- n/a
- Frost-free season
- 100+ days
- Heat (GDD base 50°F)
- not yet recorded
- Winter chill
- n/a
- Rainfall
- 19.7–98.4 in/yr
Below the minimum, irrigation is needed; above the maximum the crop fails.
- Soil pH target
- 6.0–6.8
Extension lime target; within 1.0 of it is correctable.
Site & structure
- Spring frost at bloom
- n/a
- Needs cold-air drainage
- n/a
- Shade tolerance
- partial
- Mature height
- not yet recorded
- Rooting depth
- not yet recorded
- Wind exposure tolerance
- not yet recorded
- Workable slope
- not yet recorded
Height, rooting depth and shade tolerance are the inputs an alley or guild layout needs.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
2 of 11 documented equipment items are crop-specific (18%) against a catalog median of 29%. Most needs are met by general row-crop or orchard equipment.
Storage Available
3 documented storage routes; at least one (Regular cold storage) is reachable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Requires ~18 in. Deliverable with conventional drip or overhead irrigation.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
Labor requirement not recorded. Catalog 75th percentile is 250 hr/ac.
Processing Proximity
1 processor/cooperative buyer on record for this crop, 1 within NY/PA/OH.
Equipment Requirements
planting
General purpose tractor for tillage, bed preparation, and cultivation. 30-50 HP recommended.
Deep tillage to incorporate residue and prepare seedbed. Plow at least 1 month before planting.
Mechanical transplanter for setting transplants at correct spacing. Water wheel provides water at transplant.
For direct-seeded cabbage. Most growers use transplants, but direct seeding reduces costs for large acreages.
irrigation
Per-acre. Drip preferred to reduce foliar disease. Cabbage needs 1-1.5 inches water per week.
spraying
PTO-driven boom sprayer for pesticide and fungicide applications. Essential for caterpillar and disease management.
harvesting
Per-worker. Sharp curved cabbage knives for cutting heads. Stainless steel preferred for food safety.
Tractor-mounted conveyor reducing carrying and back strain. Justified for operations over 5 acres.
Bulk bins and tractor-pulled wagons for field transport. Padding reduces bruising.
cultivation
Tractor-mounted for mechanical weed control between rows. Essential for organic production.
general
Per-acre cost for spunbond fabric. Excellent flea beetle and caterpillar exclusion on transplants. Reusable 2-3 seasons.
Storage Requirements
Regular cold storage
Temperature
32–32°F
Humidity
98–100%
Max Storage
180 days
Controlled atmosphere (CA)
Temperature
32–32°F
Humidity
95–98%
Max Storage
270 days
Ambient/field heat
Temperature
35–50°F
Max Storage
21 days
Financial Return
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $9,500/ac vs catalog median $6,000/ac. Above median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Annual operating cost $6,300/ac vs catalog 75th percentile $6,300/ac. Within typical range.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 0 years. Acceptable payback.
Insurance Available
Federal crop insurance or an equivalent risk product is available.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Cannot compute — labor hours not recorded. Catalog median is $13.16/hr.
Grants/Subsidies
Vegetable crops are eligible under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $20/$/cwt |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $8,630 |
| Annual Operating Cost | —/acre |
| Establishment Cost | $1,500/acre |
| Total Input Cost | —/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $1,800 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Available |
Source: USDA NASS Vegetables 2025 Summary (February 2026), New York state tables - cabbage price per cwt, all utilization. (Corrected 2026-08-28: the previous string credited AgMRC and a "Cornell Vegetable Program NY 2024 grower price reference"; 19.70 is the NASS New York 2025 figure, not a 2024 one.) (2025)
Risk Profile
Manageable Pest/Disease
3 of 9 documented risks are high-severity (33%) against a catalog median of 36%. Risk load is manageable by conventional IPM.
Market Diversified
6 viable market channels of 6 documented, plus 1 named buyer. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
0 years to full production at $1,500/ac establishment cost. Low establishment exposure.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 3-9 (7 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a vegetable revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
disease
Bacterial disease causing V-shaped yellow to brown lesions from leaf margins. Darkened veins diagnostic. Can cause complete crop loss. Seed-borne.
Soil-borne pathogen causing swollen, distorted roots. Plants wilt on hot days and stunt. Persists in soil 10+ years.
Yellow patches on upper leaves with gray-purple fuzzy growth underneath. Damaging in cool, moist Regional spring and fall conditions.
Dark brown to black circular lesions with concentric rings on older leaves. Reduces head quality and storage life.
pest
Green caterpillars feed on leaves and bore into heads, contaminating with frass. Present throughout growing season in the growing region.
Green looping caterpillars feed on leaves and bore into heads. Multiple generations per season. Often found with cabbageworm.
Small jumping beetles creating shot-hole damage on leaves. Most damaging to young transplants. Can transmit viral diseases.
Waxy gray-green aphids forming dense colonies causing curling and stunting. Honeydew leads to sooty mold.
climate
Rapid water uptake after dry spells causes mature heads to split. Regional summer thunderstorms can trigger this.
Nutritional Yield
Macronutrients
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per acre |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 25 kcal | 3,900,874 kcal |
| Protein | 1.3 g | 199,725 g |
| Total fat | 0.1 g | 15,603 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5.8 g | 905,003 g |
| Fiber | 2.5 g | 390,087 g |
| Sugar | 3.2 g | 499,312 g |
Key micronutrients
Uncertainty: Per-acre values are estimates that compound the yield range, edible-fraction assumption, and a single representative nutrient panel. Treat them as order-of-magnitude planning numbers, not nutritional advice. Confidence: high.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
Cultivars
Named varieties and what the sources say sets each apart. A cultivar-specific zone, chill or maturity figure overrides the species value above.
No cultivars recorded yet for this crop.
Grows With / Avoid Near
Documented interactions with other catalog crops — shared pests, allelopathy, rotation effects, alley and understory pairings — for companion, guild and rotation planning. Plan a combination with Cabbage →
Avoid near, or plan around (52)
Grows with (9)
Tolerates (1)
Direction matters: a rotation benefit of A before B says nothing about B before A. Interactions are documented pairs only; absence is a research gap, not a clean bill.
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Data sourced from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA resources, and regional research.
Economics data year: 2025 · Basis: lake erie View economics source →
73 tracked changes across 9 data categories
