When to plant cabbage in Philadelphia

How to grow Cabbage Philadelphia climate

Where are you growing?

Tight fit

Tight fit in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Cabbage in Philadelphia is doable with planning outdoors. 97 suitable days are enough for fast varieties (60 days) but not slow ones (100 days).

Start indoors: January 23 – March 19
Transplant outside: March 6 – April 30
Harvest: May 5 – August 8
Season vs crop: 97 grow days vs 60–100 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): April 17 – November 18

Cabbage in Philadelphia is doable with planning outdoors. 97 suitable days are enough for fast varieties (60 days) but not slow ones (100 days).

Start seeds indoors January 23 – March 19, then transplant March 6 – April 30 so the crop can finish outdoors.

Planting conditions

Start indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row97

Days to harvest60–100 days from transplant

Jan 23 – Mar 19

Start indoors

Feb 27 – Mar 5

Harden off

March 6

Transplant outside

Mar 7 – May 4

Grow outdoors

May 5 – Aug 8

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Jan 23 – Mar 19	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Harden off	Feb 27 – Mar 5	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	March 6	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	Mar 7 – May 4	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	May 5 – Aug 8	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (59 – 75 °F) and tolerable (39 – 81 °F) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostApril 17

Safer last spring frostApril 17

Typical first fall frostNovember 18

Safer first fall frostNovember 18

Frost-free days214

Earliest indoor seed startJanuary 23

Latest indoor seed startMarch 19

Transplant outdoorsMarch 6 – April 30

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowMarch 6 – June 10 (97 days)

Expected harvestMay 5 – August 8

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 59 – 75 °F.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 39 – 81 °F.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Philadelphia, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 60–100 days from transplant, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Cabbage: Mar 6 – Jun 10 (97 days)

Planting window for Cabbage: Mar 6 – Apr 30 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Nov 16 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Philadelphia. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 10 · Mar 2 – Mar 8

Average 35 to 51 °F · Possible 23 to 72 °F

Growing: too cold

Planting: not sowable

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 39 to 81 °F; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 59 to 75 °F band and possible readings stay within 39 °F to 81 °F. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; a possible low below 39 °F makes it tolerable. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Philadelphia

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 39.95, -75.16, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Cabbage from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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