Last Updated on October 9, 2026

How to Store Cabbage for Winter

Store cabbage for winter at 32°F and 98-100% humidity. At those conditions late cabbage keeps 5 to 6 months and early cabbage only 3 to 6 weeks. The temperature and humidity come from USDA Agriculture Handbook 66, the USDA’s commercial storage handbook. The months come from the University of Maine storage chart, a Kansas State chart built on that handbook. At home, plan on less: the UW Extension home storage guide gives cabbage 3 to 4 months in cold, moist storage, well colder and damper than a kitchen fridge.

No root cellar? A second produce fridge gets closest to cold and moist; a regular fridge keeps cabbage about 2 weeks. An outdoor pit or trench works too. Each is below.

Cabbage storage at a glance

How long cabbage keeps

Every source agrees on cold and damp. The months differ with the variety and the storage spot.

Variety is the first lever. Handbook 66 says early-maturing cultivars tend to store for a shorter time than late-maturing ones, and the Maine chart splits early and late cabbage the same way. My vegetable storage chart uses the late-cabbage row.

Cold and damp is the second, and it is hard to hit at home. University of Minnesota Extension calls 32-40°F at 95% humidity colder and much moister than a refrigerator, and says that if you want to store cabbage, you will need a root cellar.

Do not go below 32°F. Handbook 66 puts the freezing point of cabbage at 30.4 to 30.5°F and says storage at 31°F may cause freezing.

Harvest and trim cabbage for storage

1. Grow it late. University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension says to choose late-maturing varieties, or ones with good storing qualities, and let them grow late into the fall until fully mature.
2. Pick the moment. UW Extension says to harvest firm heads before they split. Alaska Fairbanks says to harvest as late as possible before a killing frost, in the morning after the dew dries.
3. Cut or pull. For a fridge or cellar shelf, Utah State University Extension says to cut the stem below the head and leave 2 to 3 wrapper leaves. UW Extension leaves 2 to 4 to keep the head from drying, and says not to wash it. For the root methods below, pull the whole plant.
4. Sort. SDSU Extension says to avoid bruising and store only disease-free produce.
5. Cool it fast. Handbook 66 says to cool cabbage as soon as possible after harvest to reduce wilting. Heads cut in cool weather can go straight into storage.

5 ways to store cabbage for winter

1. Refrigerator

For short-term storage, the fridge is fine. University of Maryland Extension says cabbage to be cooked keeps about 2 weeks in a refrigerator. My storage chart puts cabbage in the cold and moist group, the one group a fridge crisper suits. You do not need a bag: UW Extension says it is not necessary to store cabbage in a plastic bag, and SDSU lists cabbage as an exception to the perforated bags that help most vegetables.

UW Extension suggests a second refrigerator just for produce, with a thermometer in it. It gets opened less, so the temperature stays steadier.

2. Root cellar or cold room, wrapped in newspaper

University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension says strong-smelling vegetables like cabbage are best wrapped individually in newspaper, to keep them from drying out and to cut the smell. Its root cellar table gives late cabbage 4 months at 38°F and 90-95% humidity, wrapped in clean newspaper. Alaska Fairbanks adds that a dirt floor keeps the cellar damp, and on a concrete or wood floor it sets out a few pans of water. Purdue Extension stores heads on shelves in an outdoor storage cellar and says not to keep them in the basement, because cabbage odor is likely to spread through the house.

3. Whole plant, roots and all

SDSU Extension says cabbage will store better if you harvest the entire plant and set the roots in moist sand. Washington State University Extension gives the same method for outdoor storage: after the first frost, pull the cabbage with the root attached and store it with soil around the roots in a pit, buried garbage can or cellar.

4. Outdoor pit or trench (no refrigeration)

Purdue Extension gives two ways to keep cabbage outdoors without a fridge:

• Long pit. Pull the plants out by the roots, set them head down in the pit and cover them with soil. Purdue says the advantage of a long pit is that you can take out a few heads without disturbing the rest.
• Framed trench. Pull the plants by the roots and set them side by side with the roots in a shallow trench. Pack soil around the roots. Build a frame about 2 feet high from boards, poles or stakes, bank soil around it, and lay poles across the top to hold a cover of straw, hay or corn fodder.

Washington State University Extension adds the ground rules: pick a well-drained spot, ditch around it to carry off surface water, and expect rodents to try it. Once you open a regular pit or mound, take everything out, because the produce keeps only 1 to 2 weeks after removal.

5. Leave it in the garden, for a while

This buys weeks, not the winter. University of Maryland Extension says mature heads can stay on the plant about 3 to 4 weeks in the fall. Washington State says cabbage can take the early light frosts and keep for several weeks under a heavy mulch.

Cold sets the limit. My vegetable frost tolerance chart lists cabbage as hardy: fine uncovered down to 24°F, cover it below 24°F, and harvest what you want to keep before the low drops below 20°F. University of Minnesota Extension says to protect the heads with a row cover if overnight lows will fall below 25°F.

A waiting head can split, and University of Minnesota Extension says heavy rain can cause it. To slow the water going in, it suggests twisting the head a quarter turn or cutting the roots on one side with a spade.

Keep the smell, and the fruit, away

Washington State University Extension says cabbage and turnips can pass their odors to celery, pears and apples.

Fruit hurts cabbage too. Utah State University Extension says to avoid storing cabbage with apples, pears or other fruits that give off ethylene, because bitter flavors will develop. UW Extension lists yellowing and wilting as what ethylene does to cabbage.

Check stored cabbage

• Pull rot early. SDSU Extension says to check stored produce periodically and remove any that rot before it spreads to its neighbors.
• Watch the core. Handbook 66 says the end of storage life shows as a longer core and sometimes small roots growing from the butt of the core. A head like that is next in line for the kitchen.
• Measure, do not guess. The University of Maine bulletin says to check humidity with a hygrometer, not by how the produce looks. Alaska Fairbanks spreads thermometers around its cellar, since warm air collects at the top.

No cold spot at all? University of Minnesota Extension calls fermentation a time-honored way to keep the cabbage harvest, as sauerkraut or kimchi.

Plan next year’s storage cabbage

The Plan My Garden planner rates cabbage hardy, counts about 70 days to maturity, and places 1 plant per square foot (large storage types need more room; see how many cabbage plants per square foot). For a fall crop, Utah State University Extension picks early-maturing varieties and plants them 50 to 75 days before the target maturity date, which it sets about 1 to 2 weeks after the first fall frost. Enter your zip code to find your frost dates and count back from your first fall frost.

Wood Prairie’s organic cabbage seed includes its two longest-season cabbages, All Seasons (85 days, 10 to 15 lb heads) and Filderkraut (100 to 120 days, a traditional kraut variety), plus Golden Acre and Red Express. Code PMG5 takes 5 percent off.

Quick questions

How long does cabbage last in storage?

Late cabbage keeps 5 to 6 months at 32°F and 98-100% humidity, and early cabbage 3 to 6 weeks, in the University of Maine chart built on USDA Handbook 66. Home storage guides plan on less: UW Extension gives cabbage 3 to 4 months in cold, moist storage.

How do you store cabbage without refrigeration?

Use a cold root cellar or an outdoor pit or trench. Purdue Extension pulls the plants by the roots and sets them head down in a long pit covered with soil, or upright in a straw-covered trench with soil packed around the roots.

Should you wrap cabbage in newspaper?

Yes, for a root cellar. University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension says strong-smelling vegetables like cabbage are best wrapped individually in newspaper to keep them from drying out and to reduce smells.

Can you leave cabbage in the garden over winter?

Only for a few weeks. University of Maryland Extension says mature heads can stay on the plant about 3 to 4 weeks in fall. My frost tolerance chart says to cover cabbage below 24°F and harvest it before the low drops below 20°F.

Why not store cabbage in the basement?

The smell. Purdue Extension says cabbage odor is likely to spread through the house, and Washington State University Extension says cabbage can pass its odor to celery, pears and apples.

Let the planner place them

A good storage crop starts with a bed planned around your frost dates. Plan My Garden is free to start: enter your zip code, draw your beds, pick cabbage and everything else you want to grow, and it places each plant at square-foot spacing and builds a planting schedule (start indoors, transplant and direct sow dates) from your frost dates.

Related: Vegetable Storage Chart · Vegetable Frost Tolerance Chart · How Many Cabbage Plants per Square Foot? · How to Cure Winter Squash · Harvesting and Curing Garlic