Cauliflower might be loved in so some ways: dipped in ranch dressing, sauteed, in a stir fry as a rice substitute, and even to make pizza crusts. With so many choices for this versatile plant, you’ll must develop your individual simply to strive all of them! You may assume you don’t have room for them since they’ll develop so giant, however many companion vegetation don’t thoughts being subsequent to the cauliflower.
You’ll want to decide on vegetation that like quite a lot of water and don’t want the identical vitamins as cauliflower. Since these brassicas are heavy feeders, they need to be fertilized repeatedly all through the season. There are lots of methods to include different vegetation into your cauliflower patch that can profit or tolerate cauliflower close by.
I’ll present you 15 companion vegetation you possibly can develop with cauliflower so you should use all of your backyard house. There’s no must let rogue cauliflower leaves take over!
What Is Companion Planting?
Vegetation work higher collectively, and anybody who makes use of companion planting of their backyard is aware of it. Totally different plant varieties in the identical house can profit one another in methods that can assist cut back pests, enhance development, and typically even improve the flavour. Most significantly, companion planting improves biodiversity by bringing in additional pollinators and useful bugs.
Companion planting means that you can lengthen your rising seasons past what you’d usually do with out it. A backyard mattress devoted to lettuce will bolt in late spring or early summer season, however when giant vegetation like tomatoes or sunflowers shield these heads of lettuce, they’ll final a bit longer as a result of they aren’t struggling below the summer season solar.
This gardening methodology can profit farmers with a number of acres of land, a small container backyard on a balcony, and each backyard measurement in between.
Cauliflower as Companion Vegetation
I used to assume you couldn’t plant something with cauliflower due to how huge the leaves can develop. However these vegetation can nonetheless be good neighbors even when they occupy quite a lot of house. Let’s have a look at what you possibly can anticipate with these cole crops round.
Many of the cauliflower plant is above floor, which means it doesn’t take up a lot house under the floor. You may make the most of that house by planting crops that want loads of soil, like potatoes or beets. The cauliflower leaves might help shield roots and tubers as they develop.
Cauliflower doesn’t want quite a lot of the identical vitamins as its companions, so it received’t must compete for them as a lot. Nonetheless, they want quite a lot of nitrogen, so that you’ll nonetheless must fertilize them all through the rising season.
I affiliate cauliflower (and the remainder of the Brassica bunch) with pests. They’re vulnerable to cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, cabbage root maggots, armyworms, aphids, cucumber beetles, snails, slugs, flea beetles, and thrips. Almost each plant is vulnerable to one thing, but it surely looks as if cauliflower attracts pests that eat up quite a lot of its companions, so that you’ll must maintain an eye fixed out for pest invasions.
Cauliflower wants 1-2 inches of water every week, which can restrict what you possibly can plant close by. When you select a companion that additionally likes water, you should present much more water for the thirsty vegetation in that small space. Maintaining companion vegetation in containers close by is an efficient technique to make sense of your watering schedule.
Companion Vegetation for Cauliflower
Let’s have a look at some vegetation that can work effectively with cauliflower. Some vegetation present advantages, whereas others are really helpful as a result of they don’t trigger any issues.
Beans
Since cauliflower wants loads of nitrogen to develop its leaves and head, you’ll need to maintain loads of beans close by. Beans take in nitrogen from the air, then affix it in nodules on their roots. Whereas this nitrogen received’t develop into obtainable till the bean roots decompose after the season, you’re basically enhancing your subsequent season’s crop upfront – and any fertilizer you add will go straight to the cauliflower!
Each bush and pole beans are doable, however you’ll want to regulate pole beans with trellises to stop them from overtaking cauliflower with their vines. You have to additionally guarantee they don’t solid an excessive amount of shade over the cauliflower. Alternating rows of every plant will work, as will rising cauliflower in entrance of a row of beans on the aspect that receives probably the most daylight.
Do not forget that beans are heat climate lovers, so this pairing is greatest throughout these joints between the seasons; late summer season into early fall whenever you plant the autumn cauliflower crop or within the spring earlier than you harvest your closing cauliflower heads.
Beets
Cauliflower roots are shallow, however regardless of that, beetroot often pairs effectively with them. You may plant them fairly shut to one another so long as the cauliflower received’t get shaded out by beet greens or vice versa. Do not forget that cauliflower can have fairly huge greens itself, and also you’ll need to maintain the beets out from below them.
Although a beet’s root is commonly the extra well-liked crop, its greens are simply as essential. They’re stuffed with magnesium and can assist your cauliflower develop effectively. Let useless leaves fall to the bottom, and in case you’re not a fan of consuming the greens, depart them behind to behave as a mulch and enrich the soil.
Celery
Celery is an efficient companion for cauliflower as a result of they each want quite a lot of water to be pleased. They need to obtain 1-2 inches per week and shouldn’t be allowed to dry out, though you additionally don’t need water to puddle round both plant sort.
An enormous profit celery affords is conserving away cabbage moths. These moths will gobble up your crops rapidly, so contemplate rising a couple of celery vegetation to maintain them at bay.
Cucumber
Cucumbers make good companions for cauliflower so long as you guarantee each vegetation have every thing they want. They’re each extremely thirsty vegetation that can want 1-2 inches of water every week and probably extra in case you stay in a dry space. You’ll additionally must fertilize them repeatedly since they’re each heavy feeders.
Rising cucumbers might help you lengthen your cauliflower harvest into early summer season since they’ll present loads of shade as soon as they climb trellises. Cauliflower will bolt as soon as the climate warms up until you give them shade.
Corn
Corn is one other companion that will help you get extra out of your brassica crop. It is probably not tall sufficient to assist your cauliflower survive the early summer season warmth, however when planting seeds in July for a fall harvest, the corn stalks will present loads of shade.
Relying on whenever you planted corn, it ought to be prepared to reap on the finish of summer season when the cauliflower is at an early stage. You may depart the stalks within the floor or use a shade material if the temperatures are nonetheless too sizzling for cauliflower to be pleased.
Dill
Dill attracts quite a lot of pollinators and useful bugs that can profit your total backyard. Lots of the critters it brings in eat aphids, which could be a detriment to your cauliflower. Dill and cauliflower each have shallow root programs, so chances are you’ll need to maintain dill in a container close by in order that they don’t compete for water.
A giant draw of getting dill close to a brassica patch is that it repels cabbage moths. You’ll have them round anytime you’re rising brassicas, so planting a couple of dill vegetation will provide help to decrease the inhabitants.
Onions
Onions and cauliflower get alongside effectively since their root programs and foliage don’t intrude with one another. You may plant them fairly snugly collectively you probably have a small house. Like beets, although, it’s greatest to not put the onions instantly below the cauliflower foliage!
You’ll need onions close by as a result of they repel main brassica pests, together with cabbage loopers, rabbits, and aphids. All three of those critters hurt your crops in another way however will maintain their distance since they don’t just like the onion scent.
Nasturtium
You probably have quite a lot of whiteflies and aphids bugging your brassicas, use nasturtium as a entice crop close by. Enable these pests to feast on the plant when you take away them out of your major crop. When it’s time to do away with the plant, you’ll do away with many pests.
Nasturtium grows lovely flowers that entice many useful bugs that can go after brassica pests. They bring about in quite a lot of ladybugs that go after aphids in addition to hoverflies, parasitic wasps, and lacewings that go after cabbage worms and whiteflies.
Nasturtium doesn’t want as a lot water as most vegetable crops, so you possibly can plant it on the sting of your annual beds or maintain it in containers.
Potatoes
Potato vegetation develop their tubers fairly deep within the floor, in order that they received’t compete with shallow cauliflower roots. The foliage has a brief bushy development behavior that shouldn’t get in the way in which of your cabbage until you plant them too shut.
Potatoes and cauliflower have totally different necessities and received’t compete for a similar vitamins. They want the identical quantity of water every week, making them simple to look after within the backyard.
Rosemary
You’ll need to maintain a number of rosemary vegetation round due to every thing it’ll deter! Cabbage moths, snails, slugs, and a number of other fly varieties hate the scent and can keep distant.
Rosemary is drought-tolerant and can develop greatest in a container. It prefers dry soil and solely must be watered about as soon as per week, if even that. This low-maintenance schedule could also be tough to maintain up with if it’s within the floor subsequent to your cauliflower. Alternatively, contemplate planting some rosemary on the very finish of cauliflower rows, however don’t run the drip irrigation as much as it; so long as it has a bit little bit of water every so often, it’ll carry out effectively.
Sage
Sage is one other herb that can go to battle in your cauliflower. It repels main pests like flea beetles, cabbage maggots, cabbage worms, cabbage moths, and cabbage loopers. When sage goes to flower, it’ll entice all kinds of pollinators.
Sage and rosemary make nice companions for one another, so you possibly can plant them each with cauliflower to assist maintain pests away. Sage additionally prefers dry situations, so conserving them close to however separate out of your brassicas is good. Whereas it’ll tolerate extra water than rosemary will, it does favor a drier soil base than your cauliflower.
Spinach
Spinach is an easy-to-grow spring crop that can develop effectively with cauliflower. This fast-growing plant will act as a dwelling mulch and assist suppress weeds whereas your cauliflower seedlings develop.
They each have shallow root programs however shouldn’t compete an excessive amount of if there’s sufficient house between the vegetation. They each like water and daylight and can bolt as soon as the temperatures get too heat, so caring for them concurrently will likely be a breeze.
Sunflowers
When you want extra pollinators in your backyard, sunflowers are the way in which to go. They entice bees, butterflies, and different useful bugs you’ll need to have round.
So far as brassica crops go, sunflowers present a bit shade for cauliflower that’s getting shut to reap time within the spring, plus they’ll provide shade late within the season whenever you’re beginning your new vegetation.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is a type of companion vegetation I discussed that doesn’t essentially profit cauliflower however doesn’t trigger issues. Chard and cauliflower are content material to exist with one another with out giving or taking. It seems like a simple friendship!
Each vegetation have shallow root programs, however when appropriately spaced, they received’t get tangled and battle for water. They don’t want the identical vitamins, in order that they’re not competing for that, both. Pair these two peaceable residents with some herbs that usher in useful bugs (particularly ones like dill that may attract predators for widespread brassica pests), and also you’re good to go.
Thyme
This fragrant herb can masks the scent of cauliflower and maintain bugs away. Most pest bugs don’t just like the scent of thyme, to start with, in order that they’ll avoid the beginning. Thyme is nice to maintain round as a result of it’ll repel earworms, maggots, hornworms, mosquitoes, and whiteflies.
Thyme may also entice pollinators and useful bugs when it flowers, and plenty of of them will eat pests like aphids. This herb can even behave as a floor cowl in case you permit it to unfold out so it may assist suppress weeds.
Thyme is one other herb that prefers dry situations, so that is one other one to place in a container or on the perimeters of your brassica mattress, the place the soil will dry out faster.
Last Ideas
Cabbage moths and different pests can ravage cauliflower, however fortuitously, many useful companion vegetation assist maintain them away. With a bit planning, you possibly can encompass your cauliflower with useful vegetation that can make them simpler to look after.