Cabbage + Dill

Cabbage and dill work well together when the goal is reducing cabbage moth pressure without sprays. Dill that reaches the flowering stage draws parasitoid wasps, which lay their eggs in cabbage moth eggs and larvae, breaking the pest cycle before visible leaf damage accumulates. The key is letting at least some dill plants bolt rather than harvesting all foliage before flower.

Spacing: plant dill at the ends of cabbage rows rather than interplanted throughout. This limits root competition during head formation and concentrates the flowering zone where it benefits the most plants. Dill is a tap-rooted annual that tolerates the same well-drained, moderately fertile soil cabbage prefers, so no separate bed amendments are needed.

Sow dill 3 to 4 weeks before cabbage transplants go in so it can establish and begin flowering as cabbage becomes susceptible to moth feeding. This pairing is less useful if dill harvest is the primary goal; a plant going to flower is no longer producing usable leaf.