Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Lamiaceae

Cabbage

Brassica oleracea var. capitata

Brassicaceae

Can you plant basil and cabbage together?

Yes. Basil and cabbage grow well together. A shared bed gave about 12% more harvest than separate beds in 2 field trials. That rests on two studies, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.

Why basil and cabbage work together

More harvest from the same bed. In 2 field trials, a bed with both crops gave about 12% more harvest than the same space split into a basil bed and a cabbage bed.
Do Tomatoes Love Basil but Hate Brussels Sprouts? Competition and Land-Use Efficiency of Popularly Recommended and Discouraged Crop Mixtures in Biointensive Agriculture Systems (Bomford · 2009)
and 1 more source

What to plant with basil and cabbage

Good neighbours of both, best tested first.

EggplantWith basil: Draws in pest-eating insectsWith cabbage: 54% more harvest
TomatoWith basil: 7% more harvestWith cabbage: 34% more harvest
OkraWith basil: Bigger combined harvestWith cabbage: Bigger combined harvest

How each one was tested, with the evidence

What to keep away from basil and cabbage

ThymeWith basil: Garden charts advise against it, not tested

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

Tradition

No chart mentions this pair.

Research

No papers found on this pair.

Yield trial

Good

0.42

0.70

Cabbage 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.

What is going on (1)

Pick a card to spotlight its animation in the scene.

Basil CabbageMedian land equivalent ratio 1.12 over 2 trials: growing them together gave 1.12 times the harvest of two separate plots of the same size.

Partial LERs (medians): Basil 0.43 + Cabbage 0.70. Range across treatments 0.99 to 1.25. Medians are taken separately, so the parts need not add up to the median LER. LER above 1 is biased upward by publication bias.

Yield trialfield trial x2

Do Tomatoes Love Basil but Hate Brussels Sprouts? Competition and Land-Use Efficiency of Popularly Recommended and Discouraged Crop Mixtures in Biointensive Agriculture Systems (Bomford · 2009)

Agronomic performance and biological efficiency of kale intercropped with spice species (Alves De Araujo Hendges · 2019)

Companion plants for both basil and cabbage

Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.

Plant	With basil	With cabbage
Eggplant	Draws in pest-eating insectsGreenhouse or pot trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for basil and eggplant	54% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cabbage and eggplant
Tomato	Helpful plant chemistry, fewer pests and better soil and nutrient uptake7% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 6 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for basil and tomatoes	34% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 4 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cabbage and tomatoes
Okra	Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for basil and okra	Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for cabbage and okra

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

Yield trialGood2 entries

GoodLER 1.19field trial

USA, 2001-2002; Replacement design; median LER 1.19 over 2 treatment(s) · partial LER Basil 0.08, Cabbage 1.1
Do Tomatoes Love Basil but Hate Brussels Sprouts? Competition and Land-Use Efficiency of Popularly Recommended and Discouraged Crop Mixtures in Biointensive Agriculture Systems (Bomford · 2009)
GoodLER 1.06field trial

Brazil, 2015; Additive design; median LER 1.06 over 1 treatment(s) · partial LER Basil 0.77, Cabbage 0.29
Agronomic performance and biological efficiency of kale intercropped with spice species (Alves De Araujo Hendges · 2019)

Plan a bed with basil and cabbage

All neighbours of basil and of cabbage, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.

Have you grown basil and cabbage 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.