Optimizing N fertilizer applications involves maximizing N use efficiency (NUE) while minimizing losses but depends on complex interactions of crop, soil, weather, and management practices. One approach may be to use controlled-release fertilizer that synchronizes N availability with plant demand. A field experiment at two Ontario locations from 2007 to 2009 compared split-applied ammonium nitrate (ANs) to preplant-applied poly-coated urea (PCU) and soluble N at a ratio of 75:25 at five N rates on late-season storage cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata). Maximum yield and profit margins were obtained at an average of 286 and >300 kg N ha^-1, but few differences among sources were observed. Compared with ANs, PCU did not affect plant N content, nor did PCU reduce soil nitrate or NUE, which indicates little differences in risk of environmental N losses between N sources. Dissolution from mesh bags indicated 5%–25% of various PCU formulations remained by harvest but 5%–10% remained by spring, which suggests conservation over the winter, a need to synchronize N release with crop uptake, and partially explains the lack of treatment differences. From agronomic, economic, and environmental perspectives, the tested PCU treatments for cabbage production in a humid, temperate climate were equivalent to the standard practice.