Good and Bad Cauliflower Companion Plants

Check out this guide to companion planting and discover how pairing your veggies with the right plants can help them flourish. You might see a bumper crop of cauliflower heads this year!

Companion plants support a thriving garden. As your main crop, they have similar needs in terms of water, sunlight, or soil type.

Planting crops that grow well with cauliflower will also complement each other in various ways. These include deterring garden pests, attracting beneficial insects, and promoting soil health.

What to Plant with Cauliflower

The best thing you can do for your cauliflower plants is to ensure you have good companions for their growth. Here are the best companion plants for cauliflower:

The leaves on the celery plant will keep the white cabbage moth from attacking your crop. Celery will also attract insects that are good for cauliflower.
Legumes, like beans and lentils. As legumes grow, they create and replenish the soil with nitrogen and nutrients that help cauliflower flourish as they grow. Moreover, as cauliflower prefers a slightly cooler climate, the legumes also provide shade. As a side note, peas are not a good idea to plant near your cauliflower.
Chard and Spinach. Chard and spinach may not necessarily benefit your cauliflower plant, but they offer good ground cover. They also take up different soil nutrients.
Thyme, sage, and basil. These delicious herbs are great companions for cauliflower. Sage attracts pollinators, while thyme and basil help deter certain pests.
Onions and shallots. These aromatic plants will keep pests at bay and help keep the soil loose, allowing more nutrients to enter and travel to your crop.
Believe it or not, planting mint near your cauliflower plants will improve their natural flavors. Mint will also deter some bugs.

What Not to Plant Next to Cauliflower

As you’ve seen above, some plants are highly beneficial to the growth and success of your cauliflower crop. However, there are some plants that you should avoid planting near cauliflower.

Strawberries attract slugs, snails, and other destructive pests, so don’t plant them near cauliflower.
As mentioned above, peas are also bad neighbors for your cauliflower. Peas will stunt or inhibit the growth and production of your cauliflower.
Tomatoes require a lot of soil nutrients, just as cauliflower does. Therefore, when you plant these too close to each other, they compete for nutrients.
Pumpkins, melons, and corn. These plants are poor companions because they take too much sunlight. Though cauliflower likes cool weather, a balance is needed. With these larger plants, the amount of shade provided is too much. Therefore, they prevent your cauliflower from getting the sunlight required.
Brussels sprouts, cabbages, broccoli, and kale. Some farmers grow them together without issues, while others have difficulty pairing them. This is because these plants share the same nutrients and resources. Therefore, they compete with each other and may even attract harmful insects.

How to Grow Cauliflower

Now that you’ve planned your garden and know where to plant, it’s time to think about planting and growing your cauliflower.

Cauliflower thrives in cooler climates, so it is vital to plan your garden carefully. If you live in warmer climates, plant your cauliflower for an early spring harvest in the fall.

For cooler climates, start your seeds indoors in the spring for a late summer planting for a fall harvest.

If you’re starting with seeds, you will want to start them indoors in some peat about six weeks before the last expected frost. This may prove tricky, but helpful local weather websites can help you determine the ideal time to begin growing your seeds.

Please pay attention to seed packs when you buy them. Many seeds have specific timeframes and temperatures for planting.

Care and Maintenance

When taking care of your cauliflower, avoid over-fertilizing. Furthermore, do your research before choosing fertilizers.

As cauliflower prefers soil rich in nitrogen [1], try to find safe, organic fertilizers rich in nitrogen. Biomin N and Nitrogreen are great organic options.

Additionally, cauliflower prefers an even amount of moisture, so ensure it doesn’t dry out and that you don’t overwater. A good tip is to use mulch to cover your soil to help keep it moist.

What to Watch Out For

Watch out for brown heads of cauliflower. This condition may mean your soil is boron-deficient.

A quick fix is to dissolve one tablespoon of borax in a gallon of water and add it to your plants. However, please don’t get the mixture on companion plants, as it may harm them.

Additionally, several plant diseases can affect cauliflower. These include Black Rot, Club Root, Mosaic Virus, and White Rust. These are easy to spot, as they cause discoloration and even rotting on your plant.

Pests are also a danger to your crops. The worst are aphids, cabbage worms, stink bugs, thrips, slugs, and cabbage moths.

This is where paying attention to your companion plants is especially important. Many plants help ward off harmful insects; others may draw these pests to your garden.