Climate-based cabbage planting guide for Tacoma, Washington
When to Plant Cabbage in Tacoma: Timing and Maturity Guide
Cabbage is usually an easy fit in Tacoma. The season is generally not the hard part, so gardeners can focus more on quality, consistency, and harvest timing.
Typical Planting Window
Use the planting dates below for cabbage in Tacoma.
Gardeners usually start indoors around January 11 and plant outdoors from about February 22. Most varieties need about 70–90 days to reach maturity once they are in the garden.
Cabbage is usually an easy seasonal fit in Tacoma. The more useful question is how to turn that margin into better sizing, steadier growth, and a cleaner finish.
Even in an easier climate, this crop still pays back uninterrupted growth. The season helps with maturity, but it does not erase the effects of checks that reduce sizing or finish quality.
Best local strategy: Use the normal planting window, avoid growth checks, and keep moisture and spacing consistent so the crop sizes evenly.
Can Cabbage Mature in Tacoma?
Growing degree days measure how much useful warmth typically accumulates during the season. For cabbage, this helps estimate whether local heat accumulation is usually enough for the crop to reach maturity on time.
From the usual planting window, Tacoma typically provides about 4211 growing degree days for cabbage. With a typical crop target of 1000, that leaves a heat margin of +3211. That large heat margin means the crop usually has no trouble reaching maturity here. In practice, planting timing mostly affects how comfortably the crop sizes up and when harvest is ready, not whether the crop can finish.
GDD Checkpoints for Tacoma
If planting later than usual, this table shows how much growing degree day heat is still available from each point in the season. For cabbage, it is most useful for judging how much freedom you still have to plant for quality, finish, and harvest goals as the season moves along.
| Checkpoint | Remaining GDD | Heat margin | Fit vs typical target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15 | 3968 | +2968 | Comfortable |
| May 1 | 3799 | +2799 | Comfortable |
| May 15 | 3605 | +2605 | Comfortable |
| Jun 1 | 3318 | +2318 | Comfortable |
| Jun 15 | 3052 | +2052 | Comfortable |
| Jul 1 | 2712 | +1712 | Comfortable |
Best Cabbage Varieties for Tacoma
Most cabbage varieties can succeed in Tacoma in a typical year. That gives gardeners room to choose for the kind of harvest they want, not just for minimum maturity speed.
Varieties that often fit well here include:
- Golden Acre — a classic early cabbage with strong practical fit in shorter seasons
- Stonehead — reliable and approachable, especially where gardeners want a firm early head
- Cheers — productive and strong where the season offers a comfortable cool run
- Storage No. 4 — better suited where the growing window gives longer room for finishing
| Variety class | Typical days to maturity | Typical GDD need | Local fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very early | 60–70 | 800 | Good fit |
| Early | 70–80 | 900 | Good fit |
| Mid-season | 80–95 | 1000 | Good fit |
| Late | 95–110 | 1150 | Good fit |
Main risk: The usual setbacks here come from management choices rather than from the season itself.
How Frost Affects Cabbage in Tacoma
Tacoma usually has about 251 frost-free days, with a typical last spring frost around March 8 and a typical first fall frost around November 14.
Cabbage is generally somewhat frost tolerant and temperatures below about 28°F ( -2 °C) can slow growth or damage plants.
Cabbage is usually tolerant enough of cool conditions that light frost is not the main concern. The more useful question is how early planting affects establishment and overall crop quality.
The most common problems here are not climatic ones. Gardeners usually lose ground through timing, uneven growth, or letting the crop move past its best stage.
In Tacoma, cabbage usually has a solid seasonal margin when planted around February 15. Local gardens do not all warm and cool at the same pace. The warmest garden spots are usually south-facing walls, sheltered gardens, raised beds, and sunnier urban lots. Cooler spots like low spots, exposed sites, and shadier yards tend to warm up later and usually provide less heat. For cabbage, warmer garden spots usually improve early growth and can make timing a little more forgiving.
Related crops
Related crops worth comparing for the same city:
For a broader local overview, see the Tacoma planting guide. You can also use the Growing Degree Day Planner to test planting dates and crop timing.