Brassicaceae — Cabbage family

Shared risks

• clubroot
• cabbage root fly
• cabbage white caterpillars
• diamondback moth
• flea beetles
• cabbage aphid

Named risks, not an arbitrary score: these are the organisms that carry over in soil, debris or volunteers.

Rotation guidance

Leave 3 years before returning any cabbage family member to the same bed. Rotation concerns previous seasons in a bed; it is separate from which plants grow together now.

• Clubroot persists in soil for many years; rotation alone is not a cure but slows build-up.
• Radish and arugula are short crops that still count as brassica occupancy for rotation.
• Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is a brassica: it can host flea beetles and clubroot even though it is grown as an insectary flower.

Sources

• Living soil, healthy garden: crop rotation and soil health (2023)
• Managing plant diseases in the home garden (2023)
• Host-plant selection by insects – a theory based on 'appropriate/inappropriate landings' by pest insects of cruciferous plants (2000)

Exceptions and small-garden notes

Short crops (radish, arugula, baby leaves) still count as occupancy for the family. In a garden with one or two beds, strict rotation is impossible; instead, alternate families within a bed by half, remove crop debris, choose resistant cultivars and keep a bed history so the planner can warn you.

Other families: Solanaceae · Fabaceae · Cucurbitaceae · Apiaceae · Asteraceae · Amaryllidaceae · Lamiaceae · Amaranthaceae · Poaceae · Rosaceae · Other families