Tradition
Good
avoidgood
2 chart entries: 2 recommend, 0 advise against.
All entries cite a source.
Beet
Beta vulgaris
Amaranthaceae
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
BrassicaceaeCan you plant beets and cabbage together?
Yes. Beets and cabbage grow well together. A shared bed gave about 14% more harvest than separate beds in 3 field trials.
Why beets and cabbage work together
More harvest from the same bed. In 3 field trials, a bed with both crops gave about 14% more harvest than the same space split into a beet bed and a cabbage bed.
Garden charts recommend it. 2 garden chart entries recommend growing them together. Charts pass on gardening tradition; they are not tests.
Companion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)No clear effect on growth. In a field trial, growing them together made no clear difference to growth.
Dispersed white roots in red beetroot influence the accuracy of root identification based on colours for intercropping studies. (Xie Y · 2023 · BMC plant biology)
What to plant with beets and cabbage
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
What to keep away from beets and cabbage
Nothing in our data is a bad neighbour of beets or cabbage.
The evidence in detail
For readers who want to dig in: every chart entry, study and yield trial behind the answer above, with the numbers.
Tradition, research and yield trials
Research
No effect
avoidgood
2 papers found: 0 positive, 0 negative, 2 no effect.
otheryield / land use
auto-classified not reviewed by a person
Yield trial
Good
0.27
0.89
Cabbage gains more. Partial LER is each crop's share of the yield it would give alone.
3 field trials. Published LERs lean high.
Good neighbours
What happens above and below ground
Each animation illustrates a mechanism a study reported for this pair. Pick a card to focus on it.
Everything at once.
Companion plants for both beets and cabbage
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With beets | With cabbage |
|---|---|---|
 Cilantro | 119% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for beets and cilantro | Draws in pest-eating insects70% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 7 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for cabbage and cilantro |
 Onion | 64% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beets and onions | Fewer pests and draws in pest-eating insects8% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 8 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for cabbage and onions |
 Broccoli | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beets and broccoli | Lures pests awaySame family (Brassicaceae): shares pests and diseasesField trial, 3 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cabbage and broccoli |
Harvest from the same space compares a bed with both crops against the same area split into single-crop beds, counting the harvest of both crops (the land equivalent ratio in yield trials).
The evidence, with sources
- No effectotherfield trialauto-classifiedDispersed white roots in red beetroot influence the accuracy of root identification based on colours for intercropping studies.Dispersed white roots in red beetroot influence the accuracy of root identification based on colours for intercropping studies. (Xie Y · 2023 · BMC plant biology)Relevance 84% · effect confidence 93%
- No effectyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedIntercropping and fertilization strategies to progress sustainability of organic cabbage and beetroot productionIntercropping and fertilization strategies to progress sustainability of organic cabbage and beetroot production (Shanmugam S · 2022 · European Journal of Agronomy.)Relevance 95% · effect confidence 33%
- No effectLER 1.03field trialIndia, 1999; Additive design; median LER 1.03 over 1 treatment(s) · partial LER Beet 0.21, Cabbage 0.82
- GoodLER 1.27field trialSlovenia, 2007-2009; Additive design; median LER 1.27 over 1 treatment(s) · partial LER Cabbage 1.05
- GoodLER 1.14field trialIndia, 2013-2015; NA design; median LER 1.14 over 1 treatment(s) · partial LER Beet 0.33, Cabbage 0.81
- GoodBeet helps CabbageBeets: helps cabbageCompanion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
- GoodBeet helps CabbageCabbage: helped by beetsCompanion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
All neighbours of beet and of cabbage, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown beets and cabbage together?
Tell other gardeners what happened: spacing, pests, harvest, or ask a question. Reader notes are not checked by us and do not change the verdicts on this page.