Cabbage Companion Plants
Brassica oleracea var. capitata · brassica family · rotation group: brassica
The best companion plants for cabbage are Glossy Collard, White Clover, Radish, Indian Mustard, and Buckwheat. Avoid planting cabbage near Other cabbage-family crops, Strawberry, Tomato. Of the 12 pairings recorded here, 5 are supported by published research and 6 are traditional practice with no controlled evidence behind them.
What to plant with cabbage
| Plant | Claimed benefit | Evidence | What the evidence actually shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckwheat | Flowering buckwheat nearby increases parasitoids and predators of cabbageworm and aphids. | Research-backed | Extension cites trials showing buckwheat and cowpea raise natural-enemy numbers; the tested target was corn earworm, so the cabbage benefit follows the same mechanism rather than a dedicated trial. |
| Glossy Collard | A two-row collard perimeter keeps diamondback moth out of the cabbage crop. | Research-backed | The single strongest brassica companion result. Across nine commercial cabbage fields the collard perimeter held diamondback moth below action thresholds while 60% of control fields exceeded them; growers cut insecticide sprays 56% and saved $117-156 per hectare. Leave about 60 cm between trap and cash crop, because heads within 30 cm of the trap weighed less. |
| Indian Mustard | Indian mustard is far more attractive to diamondback moth than cabbage and diverts egg-laying. | Research-backed | In host-choice trials diamondback moths laid 18 times more eggs on Indian mustard than on cabbage; extension lists mustard, arugula, rapeseed and napa cabbage among effective brassica trap crops. Trap plants must be managed or they amplify the next generation. |
| Radish | Radish and daikon sown ahead of cabbage act as flea beetle trap crops. | Research-backed | Multiple trials support radish and daikon as flea beetle traps; sow 1-2 weeks before the cabbage, allow roughly 10% of the area, and place the trap as a perimeter. Destroy it afterwards, since radish is itself a brassica and can host clubroot. |
| White Clover | Cabbage undersown with white clover suffers far less pest colonization. | Research-backed | Directly demonstrated on cabbage: undersown plots produced commercially acceptable heads without insecticide, fungicide or herbicide, and Dutch trials found subclover and white clover suppressed egg-laying and larval populations enough to improve profit. Expect somewhat smaller heads from clover competition — the pesticide savings offset it. |
| Beet | Beets fill the space between cabbage plants and share no significant pests with brassicas. | Traditional | Spatial and pest-separation logic only; no measured interaction, but a genuinely sensible pairing. |
| Dill | Dill flowers feed the braconid and ichneumonid wasps that parasitise cabbageworms. | Traditional | A real and useful mechanism at the habitat level, but no controlled trial links dill plantings to measurably fewer caterpillars on cabbage. |
| Nasturtium | Nasturtium acts as a sacrificial host pulling cabbage aphids off the crop. | Traditional | Plausible on chemistry — nasturtium shares brassica glucosinolates — and widely observed by gardeners, but no replicated trial was found. Trap plants must be removed once colonised. |
| Mint, sage, thyme and other aromatic herbs | Pungent herbs are said to mask cabbage's scent and drive away cabbage root fly and cabbageworm. | Not supported | Tested and not supported. Across 24 non-host plants, aromatic species including mint, sage, thyme, marigold and onion were no more effective than non-aromatic ones at disrupting cabbage root fly, and green paper models releasing no chemicals performed as well as living clover. The protective effect comes from green ground cover interfering with landing, not from smell. |
What not to plant with cabbage
| Plant | Claimed problem | Evidence | What the evidence actually shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other cabbage-family crops | Grouping brassicas concentrates clubroot, black rot, Fusarium yellows and the full pest complex. | Traditional | Well-founded rotation advice — clubroot spores persist in soil for a decade or more — though framed as a multi-season practice rather than a measured adjacency effect. Note the deliberate tension with brassica trap cropping, which relies on planting relatives nearby. |
| Strawberry | Strawberries are traditionally said to inhibit cabbage growth. | Traditional | Appears in nearly every companion chart with no experimental basis; the two share no pest and no documented chemical interaction. |
| Tomato | Tomatoes are said to stunt cabbage and compete heavily for nutrients. | Traditional | No supporting study; both are heavy feeders, so the advice reduces to ordinary competition rather than an established antagonism. |
The honest verdict
Of everything gardeners recommend planting alongside cabbage, 5 pairings have been tested properly: Glossy Collard, White Clover, Radish, Indian Mustard, Buckwheat. Those are the ones worth planning your bed around.
The remaining 3 pairings on this page are traditional practice. They circulate on every companion planting chart online, but we could not find controlled evidence testing them. They are not wrong so much as unverified — most cost nothing to try, and interplanting flowers and herbs has its own well-documented benefit of pulling pollinators and predatory insects into the garden.
Widely repeated, not supported: Mint, sage, thyme and other aromatic herbs — Tested and not supported. Across 24 non-host plants, aromatic species including mint, sage, thyme, marigold and onion were no more effective than non-aromatic ones at disrupting cabbage root fly, and green paper models releasing no chemicals performed as well as living clover. The protective effect comes from green ground cover interfering with landing, not from smell.
Every row above links to the publication it came from. See how we grade evidence.
Growing cabbage: the numbers
| Sun | Full sun (6+ hours) |
|---|---|
| Water | Moderate |
| Spacing | 15 in apart · 30 in between rows · 1 per square foot |
| Mature size | about 18 in tall |
| Soil pH | 6–7 |
| Days to maturity | 60–100 days |
| Frost tolerance | Hardy — takes hard frost |
| Containers | Yes — 5 gallon minimum |
| Typical yield | 1 head, 1-3 lb early types to 4-8 lb storage types |
| Common pests | imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, diamondback moth, cabbage maggot, cabbage aphid, harlequin bug, flea beetles |
| Common diseases | black rot, Fusarium yellows, clubroot, blackleg, downy mildew, Alternaria leaf spot |
When to plant cabbage
Zone 6b shownStart seeds indoors: Jan 30 – Feb 20 — 7–10 weeks before your last frost
Transplant outdoors: Mar 20 – Apr 2 — 3 weeks before last frost
Direct sow outdoors: Apr 10 – Apr 23 — around your last frost date
Expected harvest: May 19 – Jun 28 — 60–100 days from planting
Fall planting: Jul 28 – Aug 10 — 13 weeks before your first fall frost
Those dates are for zone 6b. Get your own dates by ZIP code →
Varieties worth knowing
seeds- Golden Acre — 65 days, compact 2-3 lb heads, good for small gardens
- Ruby Ball — 55 days, red, notably split-resistant
- Savoy Ace — 80 days, crinkled savoy leaves, cold hardy and sweet after frost
- Danish Ball Head — 100 days, dense heads bred for winter storage and kraut
Variety names link to seeds on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are the varieties named in the extension sources for this crop, not a paid placement — where a source recommended a variety for a specific reason, that reason is the note beside it.
Put it in a bed
The garden planner checks every square against this ledger as you place crops — if you drop cabbage next to something recorded as a bad neighbour, the square turns red and tells you why.
Records for the plants named above:
Same rotation group (brassica) — don't follow one with another:
Cabbage companion planting questions
What should not be planted next to cabbage?
How far apart should cabbage be planted?
Does companion planting with cabbage actually work?
When should I plant cabbage?
Sources for this record
- Growing cabbage in home gardens — University of Minnesota Extension
- Cabbage & Chinese Cabbage — Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
- How to Grow Cabbage in Your Garden — Utah State University Extension
- Cole Crops (EHT-067) — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
- Soil Temperature Conditions for Vegetable Seed Germination (GN 154) — UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Record compiled 2026-07. Spot an error or a study we missed? Tell us and we'll correct the entry.