How to grow Chinese Cabbage (Wombok)

Learn how to grow Wombok Cabbage with this easy guide. Get sun requirements, spacing information, planting tips, feeding instructions, and when to harvest.

Plant Wombok in rich, deep soil, with plenty of well rotted compost dug in.

Wombok prefers a full sun position, however will tolerate partial sun. Lack of direct sunlight will affect the size of the cabbage head.  

Yes, Wombok will tolerate light frost. 

Plant Wombok around 40-50cm apart. 

Wombok is a cool weather crop and is usually planted in autumn, depending on your climate. 

Seeds can be sown in late summer and seedlings transplanted in autumn. Seeds can also be sown in autumn. 

If transplanting, plant out in the early morning or evening and/or on an overcast day. Avoid planting at peak sun times or on windy days, this will allow your plants to settle in comfortably and protect them from windburn and sunburn.   

Apply an organic fertiliser to your Wombok plants throughout the season. 

Harvest when the plant has formed a central head that is a suitable size. 

Pests that affect Wombok include: Aphids, Slug, Snail, Cabbage Moth, Cabbage White Butterfly, Diamondback Moth, Flea Beetle, Cabbage Root Fly, Cutworm, Armyworm, Cabbage Looper, Cutworm, Cabbage Worm, Thrips, Root Knot Nematode, 28 Spotted Ladybug

Diseases that affect Wombok include: Alternaria Leaf Spot, Anthracnose, Black Rot, Club Root, Downy Mildew, Soft Rot

Protect young Wombok seedlings at the time of planting. 

Use fine mesh or exclusion netting to prevent white butterflies from laying eggs on the underside of leaves, caterpillars are detrimental to Cabbage plants. Slugs and Snails can destroy these plants, visit the Pests Guide for control methods.