Tradition
No chart mentions this pair.
Cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Brassicaceae
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
AsteraceaeCan you plant cauliflower and lettuce together?
It depends. The sources disagree about cauliflower and lettuce. Results on pests were mixed in a field trial, while growing them together gave a bigger combined harvest in a field trial.
Why it depends
Mixed results on pests. In a field trial, results on pests were mixed.
Relay cropping cauliflower with lettuce as a means to manage first-generation cabbage maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and minimize cauliflower yield loss. (Parsons CK · 2007 · Journal of economic entomology)Bigger combined harvest. In a field trial, growing them together gave a bigger combined harvest.
What to plant with cauliflower and lettuce
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
BeanWith cauliflower: Bigger combined harvestWith lettuce: 48% more harvest
PeaWith cauliflower: Recommended by garden charts, not testedWith lettuce: 19% more harvest
OkraWith cauliflower: Less diseaseWith lettuce: 9% more harvest
SpinachWith cauliflower: Recommended by garden charts, not testedWith lettuce: Bigger combined harvest
OnionWith cauliflower: Bigger combined harvestWith lettuce: Recommended by garden charts, not tested
What to keep away from cauliflower 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
2 papers found: 1 positive, 0 negative, 1 mixed.
yield / land usepest suppression
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 cauliflower and lettuce
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With cauliflower | With lettuce |
|---|---|---|
| Bean | Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for cauliflower and beans | 48% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 2 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for lettuce and beans |
| Pea | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for cauliflower and peas | 19% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for lettuce and peas |
| Okra | Less diseaseGreenhouse or pot trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cauliflower and okra | 9% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for lettuce and okra |
| Spinach | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for cauliflower and spinach | Bigger combined harvestGreenhouse or pot trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for lettuce and spinach |
| Onion | Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cauliflower and onions | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for lettuce and onions |
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-classifiedIntercropping based on cauliflower: more productive, profitable and highly sustainableIntercropping based on cauliflower: More productive, profitable and highly sustainable (Yildirim · 2005)Relevance 95% · effect confidence 79%
- Mixedpest suppressionfield trialauto-classifiedRelay cropping cauliflower with lettuce as a means to manage first-generation cabbage maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and minimize cauliflower yield loss.Relay cropping cauliflower with lettuce as a means to manage first-generation cabbage maggot (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and minimize cauliflower yield loss. (Parsons CK · 2007 · Journal of economic entomology)Relevance 97% · effect confidence 75%
All neighbours of cauliflower and of lettuce, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown cauliflower and lettuce together?
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