Finding Holes in Your Cabbage Leaves?

If there exists a plant that is an actual magnet for pests, it's cabbage. You could say it runs in the cabbage family. The brassicas are an irresistible bunch to creepy crawlies, flitty flighties, and other things you'd rather not have munching on your food before you do.

It doesn't seem to matter where in the world you're gardening—you're going to find holes on your cabbage leaves. So let's look at what's likely causing those holes, how to get rid of the existing pests, and how to prevent pest issues in the future.

What's Eating My Cabbage Leaves?

Holes on healthy-looking cabbage leaves are rarely a sign of disease. Unless you see discoloration or changes in the structure of the leaves, those holes are probably from some kind of animal that's not you eating from the plant. To figure out which animal, pay attention to the location and shape of the holes on your leaves.

Large Holes Along Edges of Leaves

This is typically a sign that a large animal, usually a rabbit, has come along and taken a nibble.

Holes in the Middle of the Leaves

When the holes are on the interior of the leaf, pests are crawling underneath these leaves and eating their way through. These creepy crawly pests include slugs, snails, cabbage worms, and cabbage loopers.

Caterpillars such as cabbage loopers are usually my first suspicion when I see holes in my cabbage or kale leaves. Feasting on your leafy greens gives them all the strength they need to become cabbage moths or similar (don't worry—we’re typically not talking about soon-to-be-beneficial butterflies). You might also notice little balls on the leaves of your plant, which could be the pests' eggs... or poop.

Seedlings with nothing but mid-ribs left

This kind of damage was likely caused by slugs or snails. You'll know it was them if you see slime trails nearby.

No visible holes but leaves are covered in little bugs

If you see lots of tiny bodies and the leaves of your plants are curling, stunted, or turning yellow, you've got aphids.

Now that we have a good idea what’s causing those holes, let’s go over how to handle the pest situation organically.

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Step One: Prune Damaged Cabbage Leaves

As soon as you spot an issue, grab your pruners and cut away the leaves with holes in them. The pest will often still be hanging out on the leaves (unless it's something big like a bunny, of course), so pruning is an easy way to remove the problem. Pests focus on the bigger outer leaves of your cabbage plants, so the newer leaves at the center of the plant usually won't have any holes at all. 

While you're pruning, remove any leaves that have turned yellow or brown. This helps take away extra stressors on the plant. If your cabbage has large leaves that open toward the ground, it's best to remove those, as well, since they can just create a bridge from the soil to your plant.

Step Two: Clean the Soil Around the Cabbage Plant

Use a little hand rake or your fingers to pick up dead leaves, weeds, and debris around the base of your cabbage plants. Caterpillars, slugs, and snails like to hide in the shade of your plants when it’s hot and then come out to dine at night. This is one of the reasons I don’t recommend putting wood mulch in your raised garden bed: it gives all the pests a convenient place to hide! 

While you’re working, check the stem of the plant for visible pests. If aphids are the problem, give the leaves and stem of your plants a hard spray with your garden hose to knock them off (aphids are surprisingly bad at regrouping afterward).

Repeat every couple of days. It's a good idea to keep very careful watch over your plants at this stage.

Step Three: Add Some Compost

Spread a couple inches of compost around your cabbage plants to give them extra nutrition. Your cabbage plants know how to fight off garden pests, so compost here is like giving them a little boost so they can fend for themselves agains their attacker.

Step Four: Treat, Remove Plant, or Let It Be

If severe cutting and cleaning doesn’t rid your cabbage of the pest, you can use a number of sprays or soil treatments. My go-to's for cabbage loopers are diluted Dr. Bronner's pure-castile soap or garlic barrier. For snails and slugs, sprinkle organic Sluggo around the affected plants.

In extreme pest infestations, you could use Monterey B.t., but if the pest issue is that out of control, I typically just remove the affected plants, clean the area, and start again.

A final option is to let nature work out the pest problem for you. This works best if your garden space is a little ecosystem filled with diverse plants and wildlife. Birds, you know, will take care of caterpillars, while ladybugs will prey on those pesky aphids for you. You can always add a bird bath or bird feeder to your yard to attract more birds, and plant lots of pollinator-friendly plants to draw in more ladybugs.

Now let's look at ways to prevent pests on your cabbage plants in the future.

Grow Cabbage Under the Right Conditions

I like to focus on offense when it comes to garden pests, which means I do as much as I can to prevent pest pressure from becoming an issue in the first place. Part of that is checking on your garden daily to catch pests early, before they've had time to lay eggs and really feel at home in your garden.

Another part of that is growing plants only under their optimal growing conditions. Cabbage likes nice, cool weather, so if the weather warms too much, your plants will feel stress. And stressed-out plants will attract every pest in the area.

Use Physical Barriers Around Your Cabbage Plants so Pests Don't Have Access

If you're just planting up your garden for the season, you can put a physical barrier around your entire raised bed. Garden mesh or even something as simple as tulle fabric are a great way to keep moths, slugs, and caterpillars out. This type of barrier can even be effective against larger pests like rabbits. (Read more about using garden mesh as an effective form of organic pest control.)

If it's too late to add a cover (by too late, I mean once the pests have already been discovered), you can focus on adding barriers around the plants themselves to deter further attacks. For slugs and snails, use copper tape or sprinkle diatomaceous earth around your plants.

Don't Plant an Entire Bed of Just Cabbage

Try not to take the term "cabbage patch" too literally. If you plant rows and rows of just cabbage, with nothing in between to confuse pests, every slug, snail, and caterpillar will have a field day! Aim to have plant diversity inside each and every garden bed.

The perfect companion plants for cabbage are radishes, which repel cabbage maggots. Radishes like the same weather as cabbage (cool) and are easy to squeeze around your cabbage heads. Other great companion plants are onions, garlic, and chives.

Get Rid of Mulch

I've already mentioned that I don't like mulch in the garden because it just gives pests a place to hide. Mulch and other organic materials provide shade for slugs and nice, cool areas for creepy crawlies to lay eggs.

Instead of giving them little hidey holes, I like to throw as many obstacles in the pest's way as possible. The raised bed is one. The material you have around your raised beds can be another. I use gravel for my garden pathways for many reasons, but one of those reasons is that slithery pests don't like to crawl across gravel. It's too dry.

Harvest Cabbage Leaves Often

Beyond protecting the garden, the most important tending task you’ll do is to harvest the oldest, outer leaves from your cabbage plants continuously, even while you're waiting for the cabbage to mature. That's right—harvesting is actually tending. The plant will continue forming a nice, tight head for you, and now it'll have more energy to do so because it's been relieved of those larger leaves that were holding it back.

Imagine this: You're headed out to the garden every day not to pick squirmy green cabbage loopers off your plants but to grab some leaves for lunch. Now that's my kind of tending!

Is It Okay to Eat Cabbage Leaves with Holes in Them?

Your cabbage leaves will probably look anything but grocery-store perfect. Are they even still edible?!

Pest-affected leaves are not just edible, they’re actually better for you. When cabbage plants are attacked by pests, they don't just surrender to the invaders. The plants start doing their thing to keep themselves alive even before you think to groom their leaves for caterpillars. The plants will produce more antioxidants and send more nutrients to the leaves to help fight off the pest. That means there are more vitamins inside those leaves that have been attacked. 

So give your cabbage leaves a good rinse and enjoy them.

Don't Stress About Pests

Don’t be discouraged if pests are eating your leafy greens. Instead of being grossed out that something else is munching on your cabbage plants, take it as a positive sign that you’re growing healthy, nutritious produce in a thriving garden. The animals are going, “Wow, organic and delicious food—it's dinner time!” That means there’s nothing disgusting or synthetic about your garden to warn animals away, and if there were, would you really want to be putting anything from that garden in your body?

As a wise woman at a farmers' market in Nashville once told me, “Honey, if the caterpillars don’t want to eat it, it ain’t no good.” 

Take the holy leaves as a sign that you need to get out to your garden every day and beat other animals to your delicious leaves!