Write an article based on this "Determine when the last frost will be. Pick the right location. Prepare the seedbed. Transplant the cabbage seedlings. Cover the soil with mulch. Keep the soil moist. Fertilize three weeks after transplanting."
It's best to transplant cabbage to its outdoor location about two to three weeks prior to the last frost. Check the long-range weather forecast for your area to determine this date. When you know when the date for the last expected frost, schedule a date a couple weeks in advance of that to transplant your cabbage. For fall plantings, set the plants out 6-8 weeks before the average first frost date of the year. There are a few things that cabbages need to thrive, and sunlight is one of them. When choosing an outdoor location for your cabbage, look for somewhere that gets at least six hours of full sun each day. Avoid planting cabbages in the same garden beds as cauliflower, strawberries, broccoli, and tomatoes. Cabbages will thrive in gardens close to cucumbers and beans. Cabbage loves fertile soil, so mix the soil in your seedbed with equal parts aged compost or manure. Water the bed so the soil is moist before transplanting the seedlings. The ideal pH for cabbage is between 6.5 and 7.5. You can test the pH of your soil with test strips, which are available at most department, garden, and hardware stores. If you need to lower the pH, add more compost or manure to make the soil more acidic. To increase the pH, add pulverized limestone to the bed. Plant the seedlings at the same depth they were in the pots, about a inch (1.3 cm) deep. Space them 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) apart, and in rows that are about 24 inches (61 cm) apart. For the best results, pick a cloudy day to transplant the cabbage seedlings. This will help prevent shock to the fragile plants. Add a 1-inch (2.5-cm) layer of mulch to the top of the soil. This will help keep the soil moist as the seedlings grow, protect the plants from pests, and help regulate the temperature of the soil. The ideal mulch for cabbage includes ground leaves, finely ground bark, or compost. Cabbage plants will need about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) of water each week. If you aren't getting enough rain, water the soil enough to keep it moist as the cabbages grow. Continue watering the cabbages until the plants approach maturity. At that time, stop watering them to prevent split heads. When the cabbages start to grow new leaves and develop heads, amend the soil with fertilizer. This will happen about three weeks after transplanting, and at this time, the cabbages will need nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Good fertilizers for a cabbage patch include fish emulsions, liquid fertilizers, blood meal, and cottonseed meal.