What to Plant With Cabbage: Cabbage Companion Plants (and What to Keep Away)

Cabbage is a cool-season crop that rewards steady care: even moisture, fertile soil and a planting date that keeps the heads from maturing in the hottest part of summer. It belongs to the cabbage family with broccoli, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, and companion lists treat the whole group together. This guide covers what extension sources list as cabbage companions, what to keep away, how trap cropping works, and how to plant, water and harvest cabbage so the heads stay firm and sweet instead of splitting.

Good companion plants for cabbage

Onions and beets

Virginia Extension lists the onion family and beets as cabbage-family companions. Both go in early in spring, like spring cabbage transplants, and both are compact, so a row of either fits along the edge of a cabbage bed without shading the heads. See what to plant with onions and what to plant with beets.

Celery

Celery and the cabbage family are listed as companions in both directions of Virginia Extension's table. Both want cool weather and steady moisture, and UMN Extension stresses that cabbage needs consistent water to form good heads, so a bed watered for celery suits cabbage too. See what to plant with celery.

Potatoes

Potatoes are on the cabbage-family companion list. Both are planted early in spring. Cabbage plants get wide, so leave enough room between the rows to hill the potatoes. More in what to plant with potatoes.

Herbs, chamomile and chard

Virginia Extension also lists aromatic herbs, chamomile and chard as cabbage-family companions. A few herb plants at the ends of a cabbage row add flowers that draw insects into the garden. Treat them as nice extras rather than pest control. Chard has its own guide: what to plant with Swiss chard. For pairings that have been studied, such as thyme, onions and nasturtiums against cabbageworms, see companion planting for pest control.

Collards as a trap crop

Virginia Extension describes trap cropping as growing a plant that pests prefer so they gather there instead of on the main crop, and gives collards drawing the diamondback moth away from cabbage as an example. Trap crops are usually planted a couple of weeks before the main crop and are meant to be sacrificed, not eaten; the pests that gather on them can then be removed or controlled there. If you try it, plant a short border of collards around or beside the cabbage and check it often. Collards are in the cabbage family too, so they count toward your rotation.

What not to plant with cabbage

Virginia Extension lists tomatoes, strawberries and pole beans as incompatible with cabbage-family crops. Tomatoes and pole beans are also tall summer crops that would shade cabbage, which prefers full sun and cool roots. Beans are a mixed case: the same table lists cabbage and cauliflower as companions in its general bean row. If you want beans near cabbage, keep to bush beans at the edge of the bed. Our tomato and strawberry guides list better neighbors for those crops, and every pair to separate is in the keep-apart chart.

Where sources disagree: dill and spinach

Penn State Extension notes that dill can discourage cabbageworms from laying eggs on cabbage-family plants, while Virginia Extension lists dill as incompatible with the group. If you want to try it, grow a few dill plants at the end of the bed rather than among the cabbages. Virginia Extension lists spinach as a cabbage companion in one row, but its spinach row lists cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli as incompatible, so treat that pairing as a judgment call. See what to plant with dill and what to plant with spinach.

Rotate the whole cabbage family

UMN Extension recommends planting cabbage where you have not grown cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, rutabaga or Brussels sprouts for the last four years. Pests and diseases such as clubroot affect the whole group, so moving the family around the garden matters more than any single neighbor. Our kale and broccoli guides cover the same family.

When to plant cabbage

• Spring crop: UMN Extension says to start cabbage indoors for a summer harvest, about four to six weeks before transplanting. Normal room temperatures of 60 to 70°F with bright light give the best seedlings; warmer conditions make them tall and weak. Harden them off over a week or two before planting out. If you sow late in spring instead, the heads mature in the heat of summer and quality suffers. Dates by frost for cabbage and broccoli are in when to plant broccoli.
• Fall crop: UMN direct-seeds cabbage in early July in Minnesota for a fall harvest. Cabbage takes about 60 to 100 days to mature, and direct-seeded plants take up to three weeks longer than transplants, so count back from your first fall frost using the days on the seed packet.
• Cold: UMN notes cabbage tolerates below-freezing temperatures late in its growth, and suggests a row cover over the heads if lows drop below 25°F.

Our planting calendar gives cabbage-family start and plant-out weeks from your last frost date.

Planting and spacing

• Depth: UMN sows seed about a quarter to half an inch deep.
• Spacing: set transplants 15 to 18 inches apart, with 24 to 30 inches between rows.
• Soil: well-drained but moisture-retentive, fertile soil with a pH of 6 to 7. Work in well-rotted manure or compost and follow a soil test for fertilizer. Do not use fresh manure.
• Handle gently: UMN notes that damage to the central growing point of a young plant, from cold, rough handling or insects, can stop it from forming a head.

A simple cool-season cabbage bed

1. Cabbage down the middle.

   Transplants 15 to 18 inches apart.

2. Onions along one side.

   A listed companion that takes little room.

3. Beets along the other side.

   Another listed companion on the same early schedule.

4. A short collard border, planted a little earlier.

   An optional trap crop for diamondback moths, checked often.

Keep tomatoes and strawberries in a different bed. Our raised bed layouts show how to plan beds by the square foot.

Watering and split heads

UMN Extension says cabbage needs steady soil moisture; uneven water gives bitter, poorly textured heads, browning outer leaves or no head at all. About an inch of water a week is enough, more often on sandy soil. Mulching with weed-free straw or herbicide-free grass clippings helps hold moisture and keeps weeds down. Mature heads can split, especially after heavy rain. UMN suggests twisting a head a quarter turn, or cutting the roots on one side with a spade, to slow water flow into heads you are not ready to pick.

Common pests

UMN Extension lists flea beetles, imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper and diamondback moth larvae, and cabbage maggots among cabbage pests; young seedlings and transplants are most vulnerable. A row cover over young plants protects them from insects and wind in their first weeks. Companion plants are not a substitute for checking the leaves often.

Harvest and storage

Harvest when the heads reach a usable size and feel firm, cutting the head off above the outer leaves. UMN notes cabbage keeps for months only at 32 to 40°F with very high humidity, colder and moister than a refrigerator, so long storage needs a root cellar. Fermenting cabbage into sauerkraut or kimchi is a time-honored way to preserve a big harvest.

Frequently asked questions

What grows well with cabbage?

Extension-listed companions for cabbage in our checker are beets, celery, chard, onions and potatoes. As a cabbage-family crop, it shares its companion list with broccoli and kale. The table on this page explains why each pairing works.

What should you not plant with cabbage?

Our sources list strawberries and tomatoes as poor neighbors for cabbage. Sources disagree on dill and spinach.