Golden Gate Gardening, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Food Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area & Coastal California

by Pam Peirce

Sweet-scented stock, colorful pansies, and sunny calendulas are winter standbys; calla lilies and forget-me-nots number among the flowers blooming by January.

Some cabbage varieties make a quick crop, whereas others mature more slowly. Short-season varieties are rated at 50 to 75 days from transplant size, midseason varieties at 75 to 90 days, and long-season varieties at 90 to 150 days or more. The long-season types are worthwhile planting out in late summer for harvests from December through March.

I often start short-season or midseason cabbage seeds in the middle of November and set out a few of the plants in January. If the weather is mild and sunny, these plants will produce my first spring cabbage crop. I reserve some seedlings to plant in February or March, just in case the first ones don’t make it.

In addition to the November sowing, I often start cabbage in April or May for transplanting in June

or July, and more in July for transplanting in August or September. If you garden where summers are hot, see Appendix III, Inland Planting Calendars, on this page. A cabbage plant