How Much Water Does Cabbage Need?

Cabbage needs about 1.5 inches (4 cm) of water per week to thrive. Plan to water daily if your plants have well-draining soil. Otherwise, just add water often enough to keep the soil moist. Always water early in the morning and close to the base of the plant. Do not overwater your plants. Cabbage does not like soggy, waterlogged soil. Avoid underwatering the cabbage as well. Otherwise, the leaves will droop and turn brown. Eventually, an underwatered cabbage plant will die.

How Much Water Does Cabbage Need Per Day?

Cabbage plants need about 0.75 gallons (2.8 liters) of water each per day. Over the course of a week, all that will add up to about 1.5 inches of water. Only water cabbage daily if it’s planted in well-draining soil. Otherwise, the water will drown the roots.

• Give each cabbage plant 0.75 gallons (2.8 liters) of water per-day.
• The daily watering sessions will add up to the 1.5 inches (4 cm) of water cabbages need to thrive.
• Water daily if your plants are in well-draining soil—if not, water less often.
• Skip watering your cabbage for the day if it’s raining lightly.
• Heavy rainfall may eliminate the need to water for several days.

Skip the daily watering sessions whenever it rains as well. A day of light rainfall provides more than enough water for your cabbages to thrive. If heavy rainfall occurs, the plants may get enough water for several days.

What is the Best Way to Water Cabbage?

Always water your cabbage plants in the morning. Direct the water toward the base of the plant. Do not let the water splash on the leaves or head of the cabbage. Slow down the water flow if any puddles start to form on the surface of the soil.

• Water your cabbage plants in the morning before the sun starts shining brightly.
• Pour the water at the base of the plant to avoid getting the leaves and head wet.
• Slow down the flow of water if any puddles form on the soil surface.
• Water left on the plant leaves encourages pests and diseases to flourish.
• If that happens, you’ll need to apply key treatments to help your plants recover.

Water left on the leaves of the cabbage encourages pests to set up shop there. Common cole crop diseases, like downy mildew, could develop as well. You would then need to spray your plants with insecticides, fungicides, and other treatments to help them recover.

Does Cabbage Need a Lot of Water?

Cabbage does not need a lot of water. The plants prefer to get a moderate amount of water on a consistent basis. The soil should stay moist every day, but not look soggy. Waterlogged soil has the potential to suffocate the roots, cause disease, and deplete nutrients. 

• Cabbage does not need a lot of water to grow big and strong.
• Give your cabbage plants a moderate amount of water on a consistent schedule.
• Aim to keep the soil moist, but do not allow the garden to get waterlogged.
• Waterlogged soil can suffocate the plant’s roots, cause disease, and dilute key nutrients.
• Use your finger to check if the soil feels moist before watering each day.

Check if your plants need water by pushing your finger 2 inches (5 cm) down into the soil. If the soil feels moist, then you can skip watering that day. Otherwise, give your plants 0.75 gallons (2.8 liters) of water to keep them well hydrated.

Can You Overwater Cabbage?

You can definitely overwater cabbage if you’re not careful. Cabbage likes moist, but not overly wet soil. Too much water can impact the health of the plant and keep it from producing large, firm heads. The plant could even die as the roots suffocate and rot.

• It’s absolutely possible to overwater cabbage.
• Cabbage plants prefer consistently moist soil.
• Overly wet soil leaves the plants struggling to survive.
• Yellow leaves are the first sign of an overwatering problem.
• The plant will eventually die if its watering needs don’t get met.

Yellow leaves are the initial sign of overwatered cabbage. After that, the leaves may wilt and turn brown as nutrient deficiencies set in. Unsightly oedema growths may appear on the stems and leaves of overwatered cabbage. The head of the cabbage may crack and ruin your harvest. The plant will eventually shrivel up and die if the overwatering continues.

What are the Signs of Underwatered Cabbage?

Underwatered cabbage often droops first as the plant cells dry up. After that, the leaves start to yellow. The leaves will quickly end up turning brown if you do not add water in time. The entire plant will start to die at that point.

• Underwatered cabbage starts to droop as the plant cells get depleted of moisture.
• The leaves will turn yellow and start to brown soon after they begin to droop.
• If the lack of water continues, the cabbage plants will die.
• Letting cabbage dry out without dying can impact its harvest quality.
• The plants may develop tipburn as a result of insufficient water, which turns the inner cabbage leaves brown.

Letting your plants intermittently dry out can cause nutrient deficiencies. Many of these deficiencies will impact the quality of the cabbage heads. Tipburn, for example, turns the inner cabbage leaves brown. You may then find it difficult to enjoy your harvests to the fullest.

How Often Should You Water Cabbage?

Cabbage can greatly benefit from daily watering sessions. Plan to give your plants 1.5 inches (4 cm) of water per week. If it rains, water less often. Otherwise, give each plant 0.75 gallons (2.8 liters) of water each day.

• Give each cabbage plant 0.75 gallons (2.8 liters) of water each day.
• Aim for a total of 1.5 inches (4 cm) of water each and every week.
• During periods of light to heavy rainfall, water less often.
• Water your cabbage early in the morning and aim at the base of the plant.
• Overwatering and underwatering your cabbage plants is equally bad for them.

Always water your cabbage plants early in the morning. Also, do your best to water at the soil level without splashing the leaves. Do not overwater your plants or they could turn yellow, shrivel up, and die. Underwatering your plants often has the same result.

When you put your all into creating the right watering schedule for your cabbage, you’ll get rewarded by large, tight heads. As you cut into the heads of cabbage, they will look green and healthy all the way through, too.