Cabbage should have been started in January-Feb-ish else fall crop. Same with broccoli. Your Co Extension has a chart with timing.

Dan

hi dan, thanks for responding. well, that the thing, both packaging and UC Davis Extension say that broccoli can be sown (sp?) from feb-april and july-aug for mild winter areas, then gave avg hi/low temps and locations (ie - tri valley, central valley, coast, inland, etc..).

so again, for my area 9-9b, should i even bother? it's one of our favorite veggies!

thanks :)

I would question whether or not all of your transplants are, in fact, cold-stone dead. Obviously they suffered a lot of transplant shock and the leaves completely wilted and browned. The stems might still have viable dormant buds, however, that are capable of sending out new leaves.

The problem with starting over is the sensitivity of cabbage family plants to day length. They will all bolt when days get long enough whether they are over-mature plants or young seedlings. You might be able to start over with sizable transplants purchased at a nursery, but even this is a gamble.

thanks dick/sonia - they were fried, i'm pretty certain it was the heat. i've seen my seedlings have transplant shock before, and some survived (dormant buds) and did ok.

i was just wondering if i should bother, and you, most certainly answered this question for me. i won't. not even with transplants. plus there's so much else out there i's love to try this year with that space. i've already transplanted my bell peps there and they're doing wells so far!

thanks again :)

I don't know what you're looking at for reference, lb'smom, but the basics are that most cool season crops start to bolt when the temps start hitting ~the 70s during the day, combined with increasing photoperiod. If you are East Bay like Concord East Bay, that will be soon. If you are Hayward-type East Bay you have maybe a month. Will your crops mature by then? No. Too late. Cabbage there is best as a fall-winter crop for this reason, esp as it tastes better with a bit of frost.

Dan

Even if you could get them to grow, my experience is that any temps above 70's give the cabbage family a nasty bitter aftertaste. So COULD you grow it? Maybe. Could you eat it? Another story entirely!

Carla in Sac

As a reference: I'm in North Bay zone 9 and I started my broccoli and cabbage seeds in January. Planted them out on 3/1. As the weather is starting to warm right now, I'm harvesting the last of my broccoli, and the cabbage is forming heads. Cabbage is also in a spot where it gets afternoon shade just to help me out a little with any unexpected warm streaks. The timing works weather-wise, but also allows me to get a summer crop in the spot after.

I'll be starting my fall crop from seed around July with the expectation to plant them out in September. I started the fall crop later last year and wasn't happy with the results, so I'm hoping the 9/1-15 transplant date works a little better.

Here is a link that might be useful: loribees garden blog

If you get lots of fog and never see much summer sun, they should do well. Those crops don't like heat. They are winter crops here. USDA Zone 9 covers a lot of variation. Best to go by Sunset zone. 17 is way different than 15, though they are both USDA 9.