Tradition
No chart mentions this pair.
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
Brassicaceae
Fava bean
Vicia faba
FabaceaeCan you plant cabbage and fava beans together?
Yes. Cabbage and fava beans grow well together. A shared bed gave about 117% more harvest than separate beds in 2 field trials.
Why cabbage and fava beans work together
More harvest from the same bed. In 2 field trials, a bed with both crops gave about 117% more harvest than the same space split into a cabbage bed and a fava bean bed.
No clear effect on pests. In a field trial, growing them together made no clear difference to pests.
Manipulating the attractiveness and suitability of hosts for diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). (Badenes-Perez FR · 2005 · Journal of economic entomology)
What to plant with cabbage and fava beans
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
What to keep away from cabbage and fava beans
Nothing in our data is a bad neighbour of cabbage or fava beans.
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
Good
avoidgood
3 papers found: 2 positive, 0 negative, 1 no effect.
yield / land use x2trap crop
auto-classified not reviewed by a person
Yield trial
Good
0.94
1.23
Fava bean gains more. Partial LER is each crop's share of the yield it would give alone.
2 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 cabbage and fava beans
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With cabbage | With fava beans |
|---|---|---|
 Carrot | 19% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cabbage and carrots | Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for fava beans and carrots |
 Broccoli | Lures pests awaySame family (Brassicaceae): shares pests and diseasesField trial, 3 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cabbage and broccoli | Lures pests awayField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for fava beans 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
- Goodyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedFava bean helps CabbageTrait-based cropping of brassicaceous plants: Effects on ecosystem services and crop yieldTrait-based cropping of brassicaceous plants: Effects on ecosystem services and crop yield (Ruhanen HM · 2023 · Biological control : theory and applications in pest management)Relevance 96% · effect confidence 85%
- Goodyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedEvaluation of vegetable–faba bean (Vicia faba L.) intercropping under Latvian agro‐ecological conditionsEvaluation of vegetable–faba bean (Vicia faba L.) intercropping under Latvian agro‐ecological conditions (Lepse L · 2017 · Journal of the science of food and agriculture.)Relevance 96% · effect confidence 69%
- No effecttrap cropfield trialauto-classifiedManipulating the attractiveness and suitability of hosts for diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae).Manipulating the attractiveness and suitability of hosts for diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). (Badenes-Perez FR · 2005 · Journal of economic entomology)Relevance 91% · effect confidence 93%
- GoodLER 1.81field trialSpain, 2018-2021; Additive design; median LER 1.81 over 9 treatment(s) · partial LER Cabbage 0.76, Fava bean 1.18
- GoodLER 2.52field trialSpain, 2018-2020; Replacement design; median LER 2.52 over 3 treatment(s) · partial LER Cabbage 1.11, Fava bean 1.27
All neighbours of cabbage and of fava bean, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown cabbage and fava beans 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.