Cabbage
Also called: ملفوف · كرنب · Malfouf · Kurunb
Needs a full cold season to make a solid head. Sow in October so heading falls in the heart of Al-Murabbaniya.
The year at a glance
Each month is split in half. The outline marks now.
Stage by stage
Stage 1 of 7
Seed
Days 0–4
Seed
Days 0–4The seed sits in the soil taking up water and swelling. Nothing shows above the surface — everything is happening underground.
Do now
- Water lightly and often so the soil stays damp but never soaked. Letting it dry out between waterings kills the seed before it sprouts.
- Cover the surface with a thin layer of straw or compost to slow evaporation and steady the temperature.
- Label what you sowed and when. You will need the date to work out the harvest.
Watch for
- A hard crust forming on sandy soil after watering, which traps the sprout underneath. Break it gently.
- Ants carrying small seeds away — a very common problem in Qatari gardens.
In Qatar
Start in trays under shade in September. Direct sowing into hot Qatari soil gives patchy germination.
Germination
Days 5–11The seed coat splits: a root pushes down and a shoot pushes up. The two seed leaves that appear are not true leaves — they are the seed’s own food store.
Do now
- Keep moisture constant. The first root is very fine and a single dry day can end the seedling.
- Remove any covering as soon as the first sprout shows, or it will stretch thin looking for light.
- Give bright, indirect light. Direct midday sun will scorch a new seedling within hours.
Watch for
- A long, thin, pale stem: the seedling is not getting enough light and will collapse.
- Sudden wilting with a pinched stem at soil level — damping off, caused by overwatering.
In Qatar
Comes up fast in September warmth — five days. The problem is not germination but keeping the seedling alive after it.
Seedling
Days 12–32The first true leaves appear, shaped differently from the seed leaves. The plant is now feeding itself and the roots are branching fast.
Do now
- Thin crowded seedlings and keep the strongest. Crowding gives you many weak plants instead of one good one.
- Start watering less often but more deeply, to drive the roots downwards.
- Harden the seedling off — build up its sun exposure over a week before transplanting.
Watch for
- Yellowing lower leaves: nitrogen shortage, very common in Qatar’s poor sandy soil.
- Small holes or chewed edges, meaning snails or young grasshoppers.
In Qatar
Keep the seedlings under 50% shade until mid-October. September sun kills a cabbage seedling in a day.
Leaf growth
Days 33–62Leaves multiply fast and the rosette widens. All the energy goes into leaf — which is the crop itself, so speed is the goal.
Do now
- Feed nitrogen every ten days. Leafy crops want more of it than anything else you grow.
- Keep the moisture even. Any drought turns the leaves bitter and tough, permanently.
- Clear competing weeds. Leafy crops root shallowly and lose the competition easily.
Watch for
- Small, thick, dark leaves: the plant is thirsty or the soil is salty.
- Aphids gathering in the heart of the plant, where they are hard to wash out.
In Qatar
The longest stage. The plant builds eight to ten big outer leaves, every one of which will feed the head later.
Heading up
Days 63–88The inner leaves start folding in on each other into a solid head. This stage needs cool weather and steady water more than any other.
Do now
- Water generously and regularly. Any interruption now gives you a loose or split head.
- Feed potassium for a tight head, rather than nitrogen which loosens it.
- For cauliflower, tie the outer leaves over the head to blanch it and shield it from the sun.
Watch for
- The head splitting after a heavy watering that follows a dry spell.
- A very small head: the heat arrived early and cut the season short.
In Qatar
Heading needs nights under 15 °C — which is Al-Murabbaniya precisely. This is the whole reason for insisting on an October sowing.
Harvest
Days 89–115The head has reached full size and is firm. You cut the whole thing once, and leaving it means a head that loosens or splits.
Do now
- Press the head — firm with no give means ready. Cut it at the base with a sharp knife in the cool of the morning.
- Leave the stump and a few outer leaves in the ground; small side heads may follow.
- Refrigerate straight away. A cut head loses its crispness fast at room temperature.
Watch for
- A head splitting after heavy watering or rain that follows a dry spell.
- A head loosening or sending up a flower stalk in a warm spell — cut it at once.
In Qatar
Harvest January–February. Leaving it to March means a split head with the first warm spell.
End of cycle
Days 116–140The plant’s cycle is over. The roots left behind break down and add organic matter if you leave them.
Do now
- Cut the plant at soil level and leave the roots in place to rot down.
- Sow a crop from a different family in the same spot to break the pest cycle.
- Add compost and cover the soil before the summer heat.
Watch for
- Planting the same family twice running in the same bed.
- Leaving the soil bare in the sun all summer.
In Qatar
Do not follow with another brassica in the same spot next season. Soil disease builds up fast in a small plot.
- Water
- High
- Salt tolerance
- Medium
- Heat tolerance
- Low
10 L/week in winter, 22 L in summer
Soil preparation
Hungry for nitrogen and calcium. Add 5 kg of manure and a little agricultural gypsum per square metre — not lime, because Qatar’s soil is already alkaline.
Pests
Cabbage worm
- Sign
- Green caterpillars and dark green droppings in the heart of the head.
- What to do
- Cover with insect mesh from transplanting, or use Bt. Do not spray chemicals onto a head you will eat.
Grey cabbage aphid
- Sign
- Waxy grey colonies between the outer leaves.
- What to do
- Potassium soap early. Once the head closes they are unreachable.
Common problems
A head that never firms up
- Cause
- Warmth during heading, or too much nitrogen.
- Fix
- Sow earlier so heading lands in December, and switch to potassium as soon as it starts folding in.
Split heads
- Cause
- A heavy watering after a dry spell on a finished head.
- Fix
- Harvest as soon as it is solid, or give the plant a quarter turn to break some roots and slow uptake.
Picking
Press the head — solid with no give means ready. Cut it and leave the root; you may get small side heads.
Keeping
A full month refrigerated — the longest-keeping crop in this guide.