Plants

cabbage

Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.

Family: Brassicaceae · Genus: Brassica

Placenta I Medium No biomass production

cabbage — Rasbak · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons

Annual brassica grown for its compact head of leaves. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3. Tolerates heat better than broccoli or cauliflower; popular in southern and southeastern Brazilian SAFs.

Götsch succession

Götsch stage: Placenta I
Ecological role: Pioneer
Primary stratum: Medium
Strata: Medium
Biomass class: No biomass production

Environment

Light requirement: Full sun
Water requirement: Moderate
Drought tolerance: Moderate
Soil pH range: 6–7.5
Preferred soil texture: Loamy, Clayey, Sandy
Hardiness zones: 7–11
Frost tolerance: -2.0 °C

Morphology

Mature height: 0.2–0.5 m
Recommended spacing: 0.3–0.6 m
Root system: Taproot
Root depth: Medium
Growth rate: Very fast
Lifespan: ≤ 1 year
Time to first harvest: 4 months

Biomes & climate

Atlantic Forest Suitable
Cerrado Suitable

Köppen classes

Tropical savanna with dry winter (Aw) Suitable
Subtropical with dry winter (Cwa) Suitable
Humid subtropical (Cfa) Suitable

Where it fits in a guild

Cabbage takes the Medium stratum in the Placenta I phase of succession — in a guild it shares the line with species from the other strata, each harvesting light at its own height, in its own time.

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🪴 Cultivation

Cool-season crop, more heat-tolerant than broccoli or cauliflower. Transplant at 0.3–0.45 m between plants and 0.6–0.85 m between rows. Taproot with abundant laterals reaching 0.3–0.45 m deep. Transplant when daytime temperatures reach ~10 °C and nights are not below ~-2 °C for several days; mature plants tolerate light frost. Fertile soil, pH ~6.0–7.5.