Help - Impulse buy - Red cabbages

[minicrank]

Hiya,
I have 4 small raised beds (3ft X 3ft) in my very small back garden and I have carefully planned and planted what I need to fill these. So far, so good - but yesterday I went to my local nursery to get a pepper plant (not one of mine has germinated) and as you do came back with a pepper plant and umm.. six red cabbages - which are ready to be planted out !!! Now its says these need to be planted out 18" apart and I just wandered does anyone know if I could actaully get away with planting them 12" apart interspersed (sorry my spelling is bad) with my brocoli plants ? PS Am I also getting obsessive ? Thanks.

[Two_Sheds]

Not really, no.
You should give away one or two of them, and give the rest the room they need

[Lottieval]

I always put things a bit closer than recommended spacing, I reckon that it works OK in raised beds. Also because your cabbage and broccoli will take quite a long time to mature you can plant quick crops, e.g. lettuce and other salads in between them, these will be done when your brassicas need real space.

[Eyren]

Or some dwarf beans would work nicely in between your properly-spaced brassicas - just cut the plants down at ground level when they've finished, and the nitrogen in their roots will feed the brassicas. Job done!

[minicrank]

Thanks guys, I never thought of growing anything in between - being very stupid at the best of times. I shall give both the beans and the lettuce a go 'cos I love cold dwarf beans in with my salad !!. Have decided to go halfway with the distancing and will thus plant one red cabbage in the front of the house at the edge of the lawn. That should confuse the postman !

[Getoffmylande]

The recommended planting gap is there to give maximum crop. If you are happier with 12" gaps then so be it. I normally give all of my cabbages the same distance but 18 inches fore the caulis