What can you plant after cabbage? Planning your plantings for the new year.

Cabbage belongs to the cruciferous family. This vegetable crop is favored by soil-dwelling pests, including gnats, flies, and moths. Their larvae overwinter in the top layer of garden soil, where pathogens that cause rot, leaf spot, early blight, and powdery mildew also remain active. Those who ignore crop rotation and grow cabbage in the same bed for several years end up with no harvest.

Nutrient intake

Over the course of a season, cabbage draws nutrients from the soil to form a head of cabbage. Its root system is extensive, and the soil becomes depleted along the entire length of the rhizome. If fertilization is not applied annually, the soil will be depleted within 2-3 seasons.

In the fall, after the entire harvest has been collected and the bed has been cleared of root and leaf debris, organic matter is added to the soil along with mineral fertilizers:

• humus 20 kg/m²;
• superphosphate 2 tbsp. l/m²;
• potassium nitrate 2 tbsp. l/m²;
• ash 1 st/m².

The soil is dug up without breaking up the clods. If they freeze in winter, the pest larvae and pupae will die.

What's good for cabbage

The vegetable prefers fertile, slightly acidic, moisture-retentive soil. To maintain an optimal pH level, lime the soil before planting or add dolomite flour during plowing. Cabbage roots extend deep into the soil, so dig deeper.

Before planting the seedlings, add humus and ash to the holes. The bed is mulched. A good harvest is achieved with proper care, which includes the following steps:

• regular watering;
• timely feeding;
• loosening the space between rows;
• hilling up heads of cabbage;
• treating plantings from pests with ash and tobacco dust.

What to plant after cabbage

In the fall, they plan for the next season's plantings. The crop will need to be replaced by vegetables with different nutritional requirements, susceptible to different diseases, and susceptible to different pests. These include:

• greens (parsley, dill, celery);
• nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants);
• popular root vegetables are beets and carrots;
• pumpkins (squash, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers).

Cucumbers

Cabbage is not only a good predecessor for cucumbers, but also an excellent neighbor. Vegetables grown nearby are less susceptible to disease and suffer virtually no pest infestations. Cabbage leaves shade the cucumber's root zone, preventing the soil beneath them from drying out or becoming crusty.

Cucumbers are best planted after cauliflower and cabbage. Early-ripening kohlrabi varieties ripen in early summer, so cucumber seedlings can be planted before or after harvesting the cabbage heads.

Tomatoes

It's recommended to plant tomato seedlings after early-ripening cabbage and cauliflower. They are harvested early, allowing time for soil fertility to recover. Fertilizers are applied in the fall, and green manure is sown in the summer. These two crops have a complex effect:

• prevent weeds from growing;
• when the above-ground part is embedded into the soil, it is enriched with useful microelements;
• improve the structure of garden soil.

White mustard is sown after cabbage before tomatoes; it helps prevent late blight and scab. The seeds germinate quickly, and the above-ground portions can be cut and incorporated into the soil two weeks after emergence.

The best crop rotation

Taking into account vegetable pests and optimal fertilization schemes, you can rotate crops in a small garden in the following order:

• planting potatoes – 1 year;
• sowing carrots, planting onions – 2nd year;
• any type of cabbage – 3 years;
• tomatoes or peppers – 4 years;
• pumpkin crops – 5 years;
• beets and garlic – 6 years.

The cycle repeats from the seventh year onward. Fertilizer is added to the soil annually. Fresh manure may be added to potatoes and cucumbers. Good vegetable rotation options are listed in the table.

What vegetables are not grown after cabbage?

Pests can cause a complete loss of harvest if you plant cruciferous vegetables in a cabbage bed. All varieties of turnips, radishes, radishes, and rutabagas grow poorly after cabbage.

Planting watercress and any cabbage varieties is not recommended. Pre-planting fertilizer is not sufficient to restore the soil. Cabbage pathogens and pests can be present at a depth of 0.6 m.

This is the depth to which the plant's roots penetrate. After harvesting, they remain there, posing a real threat to all cruciferous vegetable crops the following season.

After which cabbage grows better

Cabbage needs nitrogen, and lupine, peas, sweet clover, and clover are the best nitrogen enrichers. To grow strong cabbage heads, green manure is planted in late fall or early spring:

• in September – vetch-oat mixture;
• in spring after the snow melts – phacelia.

The vetch-oat mixture grows sufficiently until frost sets in. It is mown and left on the surface of the bed. In the spring, it is worked into the soil with a flat-top hoe and phacelia is sown.

Cabbage seedlings are planted directly onto the sprouts. Phacelia will protect the young plants from flea beetles and protect them from the strong sun. Its roots deacidify the soil, which is very important for cabbage. At the end of May, the green manure is cut and used as mulch.

The best predecessors for all types of cabbage are considered to be legumes and potatoes, followed by beets and green crops (celery, onions, garlic, parsley). Cruciferous vegetables can be planted after tomatoes, corn, and all types of cucurbits.

It's not just important to rotate vegetable crops correctly. Choosing good neighbors for cabbage is equally important. Cabbage heads will be less susceptible to caterpillar infestations if planted nearby with marigolds, peppermint, dill, and potatoes.