Companion Plants for Cabbage and What Not To Plant With Cabbage In The Garden

Cabbage is a vegetable crop that has some great options for companion plants, especially if you like to plant herbs in your garden.

When you have cabbage as a crop it can attract harmful insects like flea beetles, cabbage moths, cabbage worms, and much more. These types of pests can devastate growing cabbage. In order to avoid having to use chemicals and pesticides in your garden, you can use companion planting to help keep these harmful pests away from your cabbage.

In this article, we go over what are good companion plants for cabbage and what you should not plant with your cabbage crop.

Good Companion Plants For Cabbage

• Beets
• Borage
• Carrots
• Catnip
• Celery
• Cilantro
• Chamomile
• Echinacea (Coneflowers)
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Marigolds
• Nasturtiums
• Onions
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Potatoes
• Rhubarb
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Tansy

Beets make a good companion crop for cabbage because they add magnesium to the soil which can benefit growing cabbage.

Related Reading: Companion Plants for Beets and What Not To Plant With Beets

Borage helps attract beneficial insects and pollinators to the area.

Catnip helps repel flea beetles. If using catnip as a companion crop for cabbage make sure to keep your catnip in a container or pot and place it near your cabbage crop. Catnip is a herb that can easily overtake an area.

Celery helps repel cabbage white butterflies.

Cilantro is a good companion plant for cabbage due to its insect repelling abilities. Also cilantro will not compete with cabbage for nutrients in the soil.

Chamomile can help mask the scent of cabbage thereby helping keep pests such as cabbage worms and cabbage moths from finding your cabbage easily.

Garlic helps repel cabbage worms, cabbage moths, cabbage loopers, and diamondback moths. Besides keeping these insects away garlic’s aroma also deters deer, rabbits, and squirrels.

Leeks and cabbage both have the same soil requirements. Leeks help repel many of the harmful insects that can cause issues with cabbage and there is also a space-saving bonus when planting these two together. Find other good companion crops for leeks here.

Mint helps repel common garden pests. But make sure if using mint as a companion plant to keep it in a container or pot by itself and then place it near your cabbage crop. Mint can easily overtake a garden because it grows like a weed.

Marigolds are great companion plants. They help repel many harmful insects and attract beneficial ones.

Nasturtiums help keep caterpillars off of your cabbage and they also help attract pollinators to your garden.

Onions are a great companion plant because they help repel so many harmful insects and pests. Onions are able to repel insects that cabbage is susceptible to like cabbage maggots, cabbage loopers, and cabbage worms.

Oregano can benefit cabbage as a companion crop because it helps repel cabbage moths.

Related Reading: Companion Plants for Oregano and What Not to Plant with Oregano

Parsley can be a good companion crop because helps attract beneficial insects that can help control the population of harmful insects like cutworms and cabbage worms.

Potatoes are said to have improved flavor when grown with cabbage.

Rosemary can help repel cabbage flies thereby reducing cabbage maggots.

Rhubarb can aid in repelling whiteflies and cabbage worms when used as a companion crop. Find other good companion crops for rhubarb here.

Sage helps deter cabbage moths from your cabbage crop.

Spinach can be planted close to cabbage, this makes spinach a great companion crop to help save space.

Swiss Chard is a well-known companion plant for cabbage. These two crops won’t compete with each other for space above ground and their roots won’t compete for space either. This is a great combo for small gardens to help save space.

Tansy can help keep the cutworm away from your cabbage. Like mint and catnip plant your tansy in a container or pot then sit it near your cabbage crop.

Thyme is another herb that is a great companion plant for cabbage. Thyme has a compound in it called thymol and this is used

What Not To Plant With Cabbage

• Beans
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Dill
• Fennel
• Grapes
• Horseradish
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Mustard
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes

Beans add nitrogen to the soil and cabbage is one of those crops that doesn’t do as well with the added nitrogen.

Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, and Cauliflower all attract the same types of harmful insects. If you plant these together they create a stronger scent that can attract even more of these pests. It is always a good idea to keep these crops spaced out and away from each other in your garden to cut down on the chances of an infestation harming all of your Brassica crops.

Related Reading: Companion Plants for Brussels Sprouts and What not to Plant with Brussels Sprouts

Dill can attract cabbage worms so it should not be planted with cabbage. You can however use dill as a trap crop or a distraction crop to try to lure these pests to another part of the garden that doesn’t have cabbage.

Grapes are known to stunt the growth of cabbage.

Fennel is a crop that should be grown by itself away from other crops.

Horseradish should not be planted with cabbage. While it will help keep the common pests of the Brassica family off your cabbage but once it is harvest these pests move to nearby Brassica crops such as cabbage so keep horseradish away from cabbage.

Lettuce is best to plant in a different area of the garden than cabbage. Cabbage can affect the growth of lettuce and its quality. Find crops you can plant with lettuce here.

Peppers need different soil conditions than cabbage so they don’t make a good companion plant for cabbage.

Radishes can attract flea beetles which cabbage is also susceptible to.

Strawberries attract slugs and that is not good for cabbage or other Brassicas. Find which crops are good companion plants for strawberries here.

Tomatoes are a crop that while they can help keep some of the common pests of cabbage away, cabbage just doesn’t grow well around tomato plants.

References

• Companion Planting Chart, WVU.edu