One of the most frustrating parts of gardening for any avid gardener is managing pests appropriately. According to CABI, these pesky creatures are one of the reasons why we throw away up to 40% of our crops. However, there are planting techniques that can ease how much manual intervention you have to do yourself. If you’re working with cabbage, planting dill next to it could help make your life much easier, as it will support your plants by deterring any potentially harmful pests. For example, aphids will gravitate toward the dill, thus removing your cabbages from the firing line. As a result, you should end up with plants that can thrive without you having to intervene.
However, this isn’t the only benefit of planting dill next to cabbage in your garden. It can also help in other ways so that your cabbage can grow in peace. This should save you both time and money from managing the pests. Below, we’ll take a look at what else dill can do and how you can use it in harmony with your cabbage.
Cabbage pollinators are a fan of dill
As well as being able to cast away potentially damaging pests from your cabbage plants, dill also helps to lure in pollinating insects. These pollinating insects, such as honey bees, are essential for the growth of your cabbages and can help your entire garden thrive. Therefore, if you plant them next to each other, it is likely these little helpers may just pay a visit to your cabbages too. Even better, you can harvest and use dill in plenty of delicious recipes — yet another reason to use it in your garden.
The main reason that dill works so well to attract and deter pests from your cabbage is because the powerful scent is appealing. As a result, insects end up gravitating toward the dill instead of the cabbage. However, you should also consider if any pests could be detrimental to the dill. For example, you should look out for tomato hornworms or large amounts of aphids, as they could damage the plant, and defeat the purpose of growing it to benefit your cabbage.
What to know about planting dill next to cabbage
When planting dill and cabbage together, you need to ensure that you allow them enough space. The amount of space will boil down to the type of cabbage you’re planting, although all are generally known to require a bit of room. When it comes to dill, you should ensure that there is at least 20 centimeters between each plant as it begins to grow. Likewise, both of these plants need at least six hours of sunlight every day, so make sure to plant them in an area that can provide that. This should allow them to have a bigger impact as companion plants.
If you’re lacking in experience with these plants, don’t worry. The best time to plant dill is during spring or the start of summer, so you should have plenty of opportunities. When it comes to your cabbages, you should aim to plant them in spring. This should allow the pairing to work in harmony and grow at a similar pace, thus reaping the full benefits of being companion plants. Of course, you should always keep a close eye on things as your plants begin to grow to ensure that no sneaky pests are lurking around. However, once the dill begins to grow, you should be able to notice its impact pretty quickly.
