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Some nearby plants will boost your pelf growth by providing nutrients , others will deplete nutrient by stealing them for themselves , some will help protect them from pests and diseases , and some are just neutral , so they are not a scourge but can be a good ally to them nonetheless .
Also , weigh how fellow traveller plants can avail protect your harvest , not just in what they do to the soil but in how they help the garden ’s biodiversity , attract pollinators and predatory insects to eat the blighter that can spoil your cabbage crop .
Once you ’ve turn over companion planting in terms of food and pest control , give a wider thought to environmental factors such as confidential information , rainwater , and Lord’s Day – remember that filch like a little snatch of light shade from the hottest sun in high summer , but need light and sunshine for the rest of the twelvemonth , so marvellous , but not thick planting that give a bit of shade at the summit of summer can assist too .
We will now look in more profundity at how to use companion planting and what you need to avoid .
mesa of Contents
Beneficial Cabbage Companions
Pest-Repelling Plants
sum pest - repelling redolent herbs such as Lavender , Thyme , Cilantro , Dill , Mint , Sage , or Chamomile ( but not Fennel , which can disrupt dinero growth ) can aid repel the white cabbage butterflies which feed in on cabbage flora and lay bollock that change state into caterpillar which begin the whole alimentation cycle per second again , and not many pests like the smell of Celery , so use this to your advantage .
Edible blossom such as Nasturtium , and those summertime garden flowers which give great colour that we all care to see , such as marigolds and petunias , and larger shrub such as Borage will all pull in predatory insects that give on the main cabbage plague .
plant life that fall over the top of the cabbage , such as chives and the other herbs listed above , can deter pests from that local arena and produce a protective umbrella that deters many of the pests that otherwise would need tribute against by netting or the usage of harmful chemicals and expensive repellent sprays .
If you are grow in a small distance and feel you do n’t have room to establish nearby or between your cabbage , spring up small herbs such as Basil , Rosemary , or Thyme in pots and placing them near your crops may be the answer – and you’re able to move them around as crops are take out and young seedlings are plant – and of course , you always have them to hand for culinary use .
Beneficial Insect-Attracting Plants
advance predatory insects into your garden that consume the pesterer that induce the damage before they have the harm is a cagy strategy .
Dill , which snub some cabbage pests , also attracts lacewings , which predate on dinero pests such as aphids .
Marigolds also draw ladybugs and hoverflies that eat on sap - suckers such as aphids , whitefly , scurf louse , leafhoppers , Chamomile , Daisy , and any variety of Mint will pull predatory insects .
Low - growing Mint , Rosemary ( with a impregnable menthol olfactory sensation and deters thripid ) , and Thyme can shelter beetles and other good insect .
Soil Improvement and Nutrient-Sharing Plants
dome and Peas are known to cook atomic number 7 in the soil , so they are a utile skinny companion to the dinero , and tall beans can be planted to provide a niggling helpful nuance on the hottest sidereal day .
Beta vulgaris , Beetroot , Turnip , and Brassica napus napobrassica all bead leaves during the season , which moderate a high concentration of atomic number 12 , so cut into the fall leaves from them into the soil around your cabbages as they fall to give them a magnesium boost .
Deep - rooted vegetables like carrot and parsnips root for up nutrients from further down in the soil where cabbage ascendant ca n’t pass on , and some of this gets shared on the style .
This also improves dirt health by spreading the nutrients around and control no pockets of specific nutritive - misfortunate grime could touch your cabbages .
We have mentioned Chamomile as a crop that attract predatory insects . Still , it , along with other companion flora such as Marjoram and Summer Savory ( a herbaceous plant traditionally used to cure bee and wasp stings ) , all discharge substances into the dirt that boost the increased emergence of nearby plants and are say to amend the flavour of their fruit !
Cabbage Companions to Avoid
Allelopathic Plants
Allelopathy is“a common biological phenomenon by which one being bring on biochemicals that act upon other organisms ’ emergence , survival , development , and replication . ” One plant , therefore , releases chemical substance compound that pretend another .
Allelochemicals are free into the environment from ascendent ( into the territory ) and by the disintegration of leaves falling to the ground . Lemons , for instance , contain the allelochemical leptospermone , which can sham nearby plants . survey have shown that the yield of cabbages and simoleons can be touch in an country where maize are grown .
Allelopathy , of course , can be a sound affair – cabbages are allelopathic themselves , but when planting them , it is utile to consider how other planting could impress your gelt harvest – Broccoli , for instance , can be allelopathic to afterward - planted broccoli or any other genus Brassica , so perhaps not a good idea to engraft your cabbages where last yr ’s Brassica oleracea italica sat .
As a general ruler , avoid plant any crop from the same category where one has been previously .
leaf mustard plants are also allelopathic , with many mintage give rise sulfur chemical compound calledglucosinolates . These stop down in the land to expel allelopathic products .
Nutrient-Competing Plants
Growing pelf ( or any brassicas ) tight to other crops or plants may leave in competition for nutrient – so avoid , if you could , or provide selective top - up feed to your cabbages to replace these nutrient lose to close fellow traveller plants .
boodle are shallow - rout , so hungry shallow - rooted plants nearby may contend for the same nutrients . Strawberries , for illustration , are also shallow - root and need to take as many nutrient as potential to produce yield .
Any plants hungry for Calcium , Magnesium , Nitrogen , Sulfur , or Zinc will compete with your scratch if planted close together .
Disease-Enhancing Plants
Hungry plant compete for the same nutrient in the area should be avoided where potential .
An under - fed cabbage is susceptible to disease , so expect out for Rue , an ornamental herbaceous plant you may have growing nearby , which removes Ca from the grunge ; Strawberries , as we have mentioned , whose shallow roots contend with loot for the same food , can go out lettuce under - nourished ; and Outdoor Tomatoes , which as they develop in the beginning in the season , can take out the uncommitted food before the poor cabbages get a chance !
Companion Planting Layouts for Cabbage
Intercropping
As mentioned , tall companion plants such as peas and beans can fill in cabbages from the hot sun and help fix nitrogen in the soil , aromatic herbaceous plant that hang over the boodle can beat back pests , and predatory insects attract flowers nearby can all attend in success with lucre crops .
beet run well with cabbages , keeping the tooth root moist and aid to deter vulgar cabbage pestilence , as their leaves moderate chemicals that repel root maggot .
cabbage have a relatively long season , so planning standardized retentive - season crop or shorter - time of year crops in sequence is often a useful strategy . Celery can be go out in for the time of year , and its smelling deters harmful insects and attracts helpful ladybug and lacewing larvae .
Allium such as garlic and onions have a strong smell that repulse insects and other pests that threaten your cabbages – such as worms , slugs , moles , and rabbits – it is useful to plant around the border of your garden to protect a broad area .
Crop Rotation
Cabbages are one of the craw that should not be planted in the same piazza year after year , as the soil can be eat of the specific food they need , and it can harbor pests and diseases from one time of year to the next – so to give your plants the skilful luck you should always turn out your crop .
When consider how you will plan for crop rotation on the available land , you may always plan to keep good companion plants nearby , just not in the same soil . You will still benefit from companion planting , allowing the soil to recuperate following the craw used in that area before replanting with something else the following time of year .
Traditionally , Potatoes follow Brassicas ( the menage that include Cabbages ) in a Three - Year Cycle rather than the other means around – spud roil up the soil for salads , legume , and onion . Cabbages comply as they profit from the hard undercoat , and then the white potato churn up and refreshen the soil again , starting the cycle over .
Polyculture Planting
Polyculture can be account as plant two or more different and useful plants in the same blank space simultaneously . As a practice , it has been around since ancient times . Still , we often bury that companion planting can improve the grunge , help plant draw food from the soil , repel pests , and attract beneficial bug , predatory insects , and wider pollinator that help the whole garden .
We have already discussed using plants of height , those that blighter do n’t like the aroma of , and those with different ancestor systems that can help or hinder your cabbages . So , deliberate the usable space and plan to contain beneficial companion plants while avoiding others .
Just because one plant can affect another does n’t mean they ca n’t be in the same garden . Just keep them in a unlike soil area !
Do n’t draw a blank , while trying to protect your cabbages , think about what they can do to protect others . Cabbages provide good wind protection for untried seedlings such as Celery , and crops such as Spinach expand when planted near cabbages .
FAQs on Cabbage Companion Planting: What to Grow and What to Avoid
What can I embed next to the cabbage?Companion plant that welfare pelf include pest - repelling flora like marigold , salvia , thyme and herbs that pull in predatory worm like lavender , Anethum graveolens , mint , and camomile . Soil - meliorate plants like beans , peas , beet , white turnip , and carrots can also be institute nearby . head off imbed allelopathic plants and food - competing plants like strawberry and Brassica oleracea italica .
What herbs protect cabbage?Several herbs can protect clams from pests and dirt ball , such as marigold , sage , thyme , and lavender . These herbs have natural repellent properties and can attract beneficial insects to the garden that course on clams pests . implant them as companions for cabbage can help reduce the need for harmful pesticide and improve overall harvest health .
Can cabbage be intercropped?Yes , cabbage can be intercropped with various plants , include good companions for pest ascendence and nutrient sharing and plants that attract predatory dirt ball and pollinators . However , when choose fellow plant , it ’s important to avoid implant allelopathic or nutrient - compete plants nearby and consider environmental component like jazz , pelting , and sun .
Conclusion
You are planning what will go where in the garden is something to look ahead to rather than a chore to avoid . It ’s a gravid winter project and can be combined with planning for seed purchase , splitting and broadcast new plants from be stock , assure your tools and equipment are ready for the growing season , and planning any landscape gardening changes such as the intromission of raised beds or trying new methods such as embed in buckets and containers .
Companion planting is at the centre of this – so operate around what to deflect putting too closemouthed together , and occupy in the gap with those plants that help each other .
Also , remember that you may constantly change program as the time of year goes on , as novel seedling are ready to be institute out , as crop are taken for use in the kitchen , or old plants are taken out at the final stage of their productive cycle , and the land can be used for something else .
With careful consideration of how plants can make together naturally to raise your return , you could confine pest damage , nurture the territory and salvage meter and effort while reducing the cost of additional fertilizer and protective spray by thinking forward .
