I consider choose fellow traveler plants for kohlrabi to be adequate function creativity and practicality , with a smidgen of family line wisdom sprinkled in .
Kohlrabi , Brassica oleraceavar.gongylodes , is a genus Brassica , and it ’s one of the oddest - looking kail crops you’re able to grow . It frolic an above - ground bulb in purple or lightsome cat valium that sprouts stalks of the same people of colour with green leave .
You ’ll need to get a little creative in finding either vegetables or coolheaded - time of year ornamentals that will depend attractive raise or blooming alongside it .
But you ’ll want to be reasonable , too , grow this veg next to works that will discourage the pests it ’s prone to .
The ideal companion may also attractbeneficial insects , shed some shade as the weather warm up , or improve the use of soil nutrient in your garden .
Some of my suggest companions provide two or more of these benefit in combination .
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Along with takingcompanion works enquiry seriously , I also hold a bit of the commonsense home - gardener advice that enrich the concept .
There is hard scientific discipline behind some of the rule for opt vegetables to grow next to each other to do good one or both , but some of what we know is more a matter of shared experience akin tofolk soundness – particularly the claims that one flora will make the yield of another taste good .
When familiar planting recommendations come from these source versus the scientific discipline research lab , I always like to offer the advice to go in advance and render it when it ’s appealing .
Most of the do ’s and don’ts are n’t that restrictive , and you might get hold a try - and - honest jazz band that will work for you .
To aid the cause , I ’ve gather a listing of pairings that also look effective together , or provide more pragmatic benefits to each other .
I ’ll share a few plants that should not be grouped close to this odd - but - tasty cole crop as well , for both their sakes .
Ready to opt some sidekick and banish a few others ? Here ’s the lineup :
The Best Companion Plants for Kohlrabi
No matter where you choose to grow these cool - season vegetable , placing the full companions nearby may give them the full benefit of pest shelter , moisture retentivity , a nutrient cost increase , and visual interest to boot .
These plants make the good neighbors :
1. Beans
Beans are o.k. friends for this gravid eater , since they pay off N in the soil instead of competing for it .
This is beneficial whether you institute the beans the time of year before so they can enrich the soil for flora to come , or if you prefer to grow them alongside this crisp veggie .
I like to plant kohlrabi at the base of eight to 10 trellisedpole noodle flora .
That fashion , by the time the atmospheric condition heats up a picayune in late bound or early summertime , the vines are magniloquent enough to bewilder tad on the cool - conditions harvest , which cools both air and dirt and serve to extend the season a bit .
‘ Trionfo Violetto ’ edible bean
Varieties of beans that produce purple pods also impart a playful complemental color jazz band with kohlrabi . One suitable alternative is ‘ Trionfo Violetto , ’ a pole bean which matures 64 days from sowing .
‘ Trionfo Violetto ’ seeds are available in 10 - gramme packetsfrom Botanical Interests .
Learn beans in our templet .
2. Beets
Likebroccoliand some other Brassica , kohlrabi roots take up significant amount of calcium from the soil .
jubilantly , Beta vulgaris ( Beta vulgaris ) do n’t need much of that particular mineral to satisfy their nutritionary want , so the two get along quite well when planted together .
‘ Bull ’s Blood ’ common beet
And if you prefer for a cultivar ofB. oleraceavar.gongylodeswith tripping green bulbs , like ‘ White Vienna , ’ and a Beta vulgaris variety with red stalks and red leave , such as ‘ Bull ’s Blood , ’ the two will look fetching intersperse in your garden .
‘ Bull ’s Blood ’ beet seeds are uncommitted in three - gram packetsfrom Botanical Interests .
interpret more about sowing and growing your own beets here .
3. Celery
The idea that Apium graveolens dulce better the flavor of nearby brassicas is a bit of folk music wisdom .
Since the plants are good at share space without diffuse , you may want to grow them as neighbors , despite the lack of hard scientific evidence to brook this .
See for yourself if the better taste call hold true .
Celery appreciates cool weather , so you could clock the two sets of plants to be harvested simultaneously , then reset the whole bed for a unlike crop .
‘ Tendercrisp ’ Celery
The ‘ Tendercrisp ’ motley grow up 26 column inch tall , and needs to be spaced about six in to a foot from the skinny flora .
‘ Tendercrisp ’ seeds are useable in various packet sizes and one - quid sacksfrom True Leaf Market .
Learn to farm celery in our guidebook .
4. Chamomile
Chamaemelum nobilis flowers are cute , and they look like miniature daisies , so I think they ’re attractive grow near colourful , bumpkinly turnip cabbage .
This beneficial herbaceous plant also repulse pestilence like whitefly , attracts beneficial wasps and ladybird beetle , and fight off fungal disease includingpowdery mildew .
Even if you grow chamomile far away from any member of the cabbage family , make indisputable to brood the leaf and expend the tea to spray it on the young plant if they ’re growing elsewhere in your garden .
This will serve to preventdamping off , a debilitating fungal infection that may strike the young seedling in picky .
German Chamomile
Packets of constitutive or ceremonious German Anthemis nobilis seeds areavailable from Botanical Interests .
Learn more about growing chamomile here .
5. Chives
Allonion family member , or alliums , can repel the moths , jot , aphids , andflea beetlesthat often pest brassicas .
Chives
My top companion recommendation here is to grow chives ( Allium schoenoprasum ) , because they also burst forth with swooning purple flowers that look adorable next to Brassica oleracea gongylodes in any color .
True Leaf Market sellschive seeds in various packet sizes and one - pound poke .
memorize your own cive in our template .
6. Dill
The aromatic jaundiced flowers of dill ( Anethum graveolens ) are highly appealing to beneficial insects like wasps and hoverflies that dispatch turnip cabbage enemies like aphid and youngcabbage worm .
‘ Mammoth ’ Dill
And this herbaceous plant will flower in time to prove helpful throughout most of the growing time of year . Both turnip cabbage and dill can be planted in other spring , or start as a second crop for early autumn .
Live ‘ Mammoth ’ dill plants areavailable from Burpee .
Learnhow to set and grow dill in our template .
7. Nasturtiums
This vibrant annual flower with its peppery , edible blooms helps to protect cole crop fromcabbage loopers , Trichoplusia nickel .
Nasturtiums also spread to act as earth cover , which helps to keep the moisture that is so beloved by turnip cabbage , while helping the gardener to save sentence on weeding as well .
‘ Butterscotch ’ Nasturtiums
Like some of the herbs that have been mentioned already , Nasturtium also attract predatory wasps and other beneficial worm that love to prey on aphids .
Seeds for the deep yellow ‘ Butterscotch ’ variety are available in three - gram packetsfrom Botanical Interests .
Learn nasturtiums in our comprehensive guide .
8. Rosemary
The perennial herb known as rosemary ( Salvia rosmarinus ) will benefit kohlrabi as a neighbour , but keep in mind that it is n’t an yearbook . This intend you should implant itnearthe vegetable garden , not in it .
Otherwise , you ’ll use a batch of energy trying to cultivate around it as you splay your vegetable crops and sow in raw ones each spring .
With that said , planting rosemary on the border of the veggie game or in a container you may place nearby will provide you with an easy - to - grow culinary herbaceous plant that also deters boodle moths ( Mamestra brassicae ) and cabbage measuring worm ( Trichoplusia ni ) .
‘ Prostratus ’ Rosemary
And quondam - timers swear by pruning Rosmarinus officinalis and spreading the fresh or dry out sprigs on the ground near brassicas to repelslugs and escargot . The reasoning behind this is that those pests do n’t like to slide over the spiky leaves .
survive ‘ Prostratus ’ rosemary plants areavailable for leverage from Burpee .
Check out our guide tolearn how to plant and grow rosemary .
9. Sweet Alyssum
Not everything that plays well with kohlrabi in the garden will make it into the kitchen !
The flowering yearly that ’s commonly prognosticate sweet alyssum ( Lobularia maritima ) , for instance , is fragrant and has appeal clean blooms , but it ’s not edible .
But it offers so many other benefits as a chum for member of the lolly kin that it ’s still a good use of garden space .
For one , it attracts hoverflies , which take care of the aphid that often plague brassicas .
Two , its mounding habit is helpful to cover bare dirt in the garden , slim pot and retaining wet .
Three , it wo n’t vie for nutrients when you plant it next to heavy feeder .
‘ Tiny Tim ’ Sweet Alyssum
Most significantly , though , it blooms in early spring , about the same time when nerveless - time of year veg necessitate pollinators and beneficial worm to pay them a visit .
And it ’s price - good , grow from inexpensive seed and pullulate just five to seven days after sow .
‘ midget Tim ’ cherubic madwort seeds areavailable from Eden Brothersin various packet sizes .
get wind this fragrant annual in your garden with this guide .
Bad Companions
Along with choosing good associate , there are a few plants you ’ll require to keep aside from this cole crop .
To set out , I have a bit of disappointing news . Once you ’ve located ( or create ) a position that meets all of kohlrabi ’s growing needs , you might imagine that its fellow brassicas likekaleand broccoli would be suitable alternative to grow there as well .
But while these other cabbage house cole crops do boom in the same type of stain and level of lightness , propagating different types of brassica plants near each other means they can each pull in pests that will adversely involve all of them once they get .
stave off planting one elephantine pestis attraction if at all potential !
Also , the brassicas are heavy feeders and they need sizable moisture , so planting them closelipped together means they ’ll have to compete for water and nutrients . That can go to stunted growth , yellowing leaves , and low yields .
Other fruits and vegetables that are fleshy feeders and make bad kohlrabi neighbors includecorn , cucurbits likesummer squashorpumpkins , capsicum , strawberry mark , andtomatoes .
If you must implant any of these nutrient fiends close to your Brassica oleracea gongylodes , prepare by adding loads of organic subject to the soil ahead of planting , and plan to water and fertilise on a regular basis throughout the late spring and summertime .
And do n’t draw a blank that a few plant are allelopathic to brassicas , meaning they produce chemical that keep them from growing well . The chemical substance get into the soil when rain washes them down or the leaves fall onto the garden secret plan .
helianthus , includingHelianthus annuusand some other species , can prevent nearby seed from germinating , for example .
Nor will kohlrabi fare well planted within 50 feet of ablack walnut ( Juglans nigra ) , which produce a chemical substance known as juglone that can cause the plant to wilt , change by reversal yellowed , or languish .
record more about pitch-dark walnut tree juglone perniciousness here .
Kohlrabi’s Best Buds
Particularly if you ’re turn them for their buffoonish estimable looks in a window box or for other type of comestible landscape gardening , it ’s fun to try out with Brassica oleracea gongylodes companions .
If a certain pairing does n’t befit you – or it does n’t create healthy flora – you’re able to always hear something raw next year , or even with sequent plantings later in the season .
And you could remain to tweak and tot up or take off for years to come . Just commend to keep government note inyour horticulture diary !
The same holds true if you ’re seek to keep this brassica away from the plants it does n’t play well with . you could always bring to your inclination of estimable and bad neighbors , establish on personal growing experience .
Seeking more of the best way to grow and deal for this absorbing vegetable ? take thesekohlrabi guidesnext :
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About
Rose Kennedy
