Tradition
Good
avoidgood
3 chart entries: 3 recommend, 0 advise against.
0 cited, 3 uncited.
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
Brassicaceae
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
AsteraceaeCan you plant broccoli and lettuce together?
It depends. The sources disagree about broccoli and lettuce. A field trial found no clear difference to pests, while a field trial found no clear difference to harvest.
Why it depends
No clear effect on pests. In a field trial, growing them together made no clear difference to pests.
Relative Susceptibility of Brassicas to Cabbage Maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) Infestation. (Joseph SV. · 2023 · Insects)No clear effect on harvest. In a field trial, growing them together made no clear difference to harvest.
Flower Strips Increase Land Efficiency Use in Associated Crops: Broccoli-Lettuce (Marcillo-Paguay CA · 2023 · Preprints.org)Mixed results on competition for light and water. In a greenhouse or pot trial, results on competition for light and water were mixed.
Garden charts recommend it. 3 garden chart entries recommend growing them together. None of them cites a source. Charts pass on gardening tradition; they are not tests.
List of companion plants (uncited entry) (Wikipedia)
What to plant with broccoli and lettuce
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
What to keep away from broccoli and lettuce
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
Mixed
avoidgood
3 papers found: 0 positive, 0 negative, 1 mixed, 2 no effect.
trap cropcompetitionyield / land use
auto-classified not reviewed by a person
Yield trial
No intercropping yield trial.
It's complicated
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 broccoli and lettuce
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With broccoli | With lettuce |
|---|---|---|
 Beet | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for broccoli and beets | 58% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for lettuce and beets |
 Fava bean | Lures pests awayField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for broccoli and fava beans | 28% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for lettuce and fava beans |
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).
Recommended by garden charts for both, not tested yet
The evidence, with sources
- No effecttrap cropfield trialauto-classifiedRelative Susceptibility of Brassicas to Cabbage Maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) Infestation.Relative Susceptibility of Brassicas to Cabbage Maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) Infestation. (Joseph SV. · 2023 · Insects)Relevance 94% · effect confidence 96%
- Mixedcompetitiongreenhouse / pot trialauto-classifiedEffect of differential N and S competition in inter- and sole cropping of Brassica species and lettuce on glucosinolate concentration.Effect of differential N and S competition in inter- and sole cropping of brassica species and lettuce on glucosinolate concentration (Stavridou · 2012)Relevance 94% · effect confidence 51%
- No effectyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedFlower Strips Increase Land Efficiency Use in Associated Crops: Broccoli-LettuceFlower Strips Increase Land Efficiency Use in Associated Crops: Broccoli-Lettuce (Marcillo-Paguay CA · 2023 · Preprints.org)Relevance 94% · effect confidence 82%
- GoodBroccoli helps LettuceBroccoli: helps LettuceList of companion plants (uncited entry) (Wikipedia)
- GoodLettuce helps BroccoliLettuce: helps broccoliList of companion plants (uncited entry) (Wikipedia)
- GoodBroccoli helps LettuceLettuce: helped by broccoliList of companion plants (uncited entry) (Wikipedia)
All neighbours of broccoli and of lettuce, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown broccoli and lettuce 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.