Last year my garden neighbor had a beautiful garden with flowers, herbs and veggies all mixed together. It got me thinking, and this year I’m doing some research on companion planting.
As it turns out, certain vegetables will do better or worse depending on what plants are growing around it. It makes sense when you think about it. Certain plants take more of different nutrients, or even attract or repel pests.
For instance, basil is a great companion for tomatoes and peppers, as they help improve growth and flavor. Basil is also known to repel flies and mosquitoes (not particularly beneficial for the plants, but nice for us!) Another combination that I’m going to try is planting dill and radishes near my cucumbers. Radishes are supposed to repel cucumber beetles, and dill supposedly helps attract “beneficial predators.” I’m hoping this will work because last year my cukes didn’t fare too well against the pests.
Here are the charts I used from Tinker’s Gardens:
Vegetable Companion Planting Chart
| Plant | Good Companions | Bad Companions |
| Basil | Pepper, Tomato, Marigold | |
| Bush Beans | Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chard, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Leek, Lettuce, Parsnip, Pea, Potato, Radish, Rosemary, Strawberry, Savory, Sunflower, Tansy, Marigold |
Basil, Fennel, Kohlrabi, Onion |
| Pole Beans | Carrots, Cauliflower, Chard, Corn Cucumber, Eggplant, Lettuce, Marigold, Pea, Potato, Radish, Rosemary, Savory, Strawberry, Tansy |
Basil, Beets, Cabbage, Fennel, Kohlrabi, Onion, Radish, Sunflower |
| Beets | Bush Beans, Cabbage family, Lettuce, Lima Bean, Onion, Radish, Sage |
Mustard, Pole Bean |
| Cabbage Family | Bush Beans, Beets, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Dill, Lettuce, Mint, Nasturtium, Onions, Rosemary, Sage, Spinach, Thyme, All Strong Herbs, Marigold, Nasturtium |
Pole Bean, Strawberry, Tomato |
| Carrots | Beans, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Chives, Lettuce, Leek, Onion, Peas, Radish, Rosemary, Sage, Tomato |
Celery, Dill, Parsnip |
| Celery | Almost everything except —> —> —> —> |
Carrot, Parsley, Parsnip |
| Corn | All Beans, Beets, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Cucumber, Melons, Parsley, Peas, Early Potatoes, Pumpkin, Squash |
Tomato |
| Cucumbers | Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Cabbage family, Corn, Dill, Eggplant, Lettuce, Marigold, Nasturtium, Onions, Peas, Radish, Tomato, Savory, Sunflower, No Strong Herbs |
Potato |
| Eggplant | Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Peas, Peppers, Potato, Spinach |
Fennel |
| Lettuce | Everything, but especially Carrots, Garlic, Onion and Radish |
— none — |
| Melon | Corn, Nasturtium, Radish | Potato |
| Onion | Beets, Cabbage family, Carrots, Celery, Cucumber, Lettuce, Parsnip, Pepper, Spinach, Squash, Strawberries, Tomato, Turnip, Savory |
Asparagus, Beans, Peas, Sage |
| Parsley | Tomato | — none — |
| Peas | Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Celery, Chicory, Corn Cucumber, Eggplant, Parsley, Early Potato, Radish, Spinach, Strawberry, Sweet pepper, Turnips |
Onion, Late Potato |
| Potato | Bush bean, Cabbage family, Carrot, Corn, Horseradish, Marigold, Onion, Parsnip, Peas |
Cucumber, Kohlrabi, Parsnip, Pumpkin, Rutabaga, Squash family, Sunflower, Turnip, Fennel, |
| Radish | Beet, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Cucumber, Lettuce, Melons, Nasturtium, Parsnip, Peas, Spinach, Squash family |
Hyssop |
| Spinach | Celeriac, Celery, Corn, Eggplant, Cauliflower |
|
| Squash | Corn, Onion, Radish | |
| Strawberry | Bush Beans, Lettuce, Nasturtium, Onion, Radish, Spinach |
Cabbage, Potato |
| Tomato | Asparagus, Basil, Bean, Cabbage family, Carrots, Celery, Chive, Cucumber, Garlic, Head lettuce, Marigold, Mint, Nasturtium, Onion, Parsley, Pepper, Marigold |
Pole beans, Corn Dill, Fennel, Potato |
Herb Companion Chart
| Herb | Companions | Bad Companions |
Pests Repelled |
| Basil | Tomatoes | Rue | Flies, Mosquitoes |
| Borage | Tomatoes, Squash, Strawberries | Tomato Worm | |
| Caraway | Loosens soil. | Dill | |
| Catnip | Eggplant | Flea Beetle, Ants | |
| Chamomile | Cabbage, Onion | ||
| Coriander | Aphids | ||
| Chervil | Radish | ||
| Chives | Carrots | ||
| Dead Nettle | Potatoes | Potato Bug | |
| Dill | Cabbage | Caraway Carrots | |
| Fennel | Most plants dislike | ||
| Feverfew | Roses | attracts aphids away other plants | |
| Flax | Carrots, Potatoes | Potato Bug | |
| Garlic | Roses, Raspberries | Japanese Beetle, Aphids | |
| Horseradish | Potatoes | Potato Bug | |
| Henbit | Insect Repellent | ||
| Hyssop | Cabbage, Grapes | Radishes | Cabbage Moth |
| Lavender | Southernwood, rosemary, wormwood |
Moths – | |
| Marigolds | Plant everywhere in garden | Mexican Bean Beetles, Nematodes, others |
|
| Mint | Cabbage, Tomatoes | Cabbage Moth, aphids, flea beetles | |
| Nasturtium | Radishes, Cabbage, Cucurbits, fruit trees |
Aphids, Squash Bugs, Striped Pumpkin Beetle |
|
| Pennyroyal | Roses | Flies, Mosquitoes, Fleas, others | |
| Petunia | Beans | ||
| Pot Marigold | Tomatoes | Tomato Worm, Asparagus Beetles, others |
|
| Pyrethrums | Dried flower, repels insects | ||
| Rosemary | Cabbage, Beans Carrots, Sage | Cabbage Moth, Bean Beetle, Carrot Fly | |
| Rue | Roses and Raspberries | Sweet Basil | Japanese Beetles |
| Sage | Rosemary, Cabbage, Carrots | Cucumbers | Cabbage Moth, Carrot Fly, Flea Beetle, Slugs |
| Southernwood | Cabbages | Cabbage Moth | |
| Sow Thistle | Tomatoes, Onion, CornPlant sparsely
|
||
| Summer Savory | Beans | Bean Beetles | |
| Tansy | Fruit Trees, Roses, Raspberries | Flying Insects, Japanese Beetles, Striped Cucumber Beetles, Squash Bugs, Ants, Flies |
|
| Thyme | Cabbage | Cabbage Worm | |
| Wormwood | Plant as a border to repel animals |
||
| Yarrow | Plant near aromatic herbs, enhance essential oils. |
*Data courtesy of The Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
After a bit of puzzling, here is the chart I devised for my garden. (click to see the larger version)
This is my rough draft, and I may end up changing things a bit as I go. I just put my tomatoes and peppers in the ground on Wednesday, and have also planted some onion sets, lettuce, basil, and bean seeds. Hopefully our cold weather won’t persist for too long so my plants will finally have good growing conditions!
…..I’ve been doing companion planting for 5 years…and I don’t have a fence around my seven 4 x 8 raised beds. Now, the deer, they stink…and usually eat the leaves but not the flowers or beans from my bean plants. And I gave up on beets….
The best book I ever read on companion planting is called Carrots Love Tomatoes….
And my sketches every year look just like yours! How funny!
This has been so helpful.
Thank you for the fantastic chart.
Just one question though.
Did you ever think that you could maximize space
by utilizing circular and wave based planting shapes?
In other words doubling up the companions…
I have 3 different gardens in my backyard that I have planted for the past 3 years. I am not allowed a fence so I use netting to keep the deer and rabbits away with. This has worked great. I am making my main garden bigger this year as I want more carrots and beets. This has been so helpful for me. I was never sure what to plant with what. I also have lots of raspberries and some strawberries. I found if I paint little rocks with red paint the birds, thinking they are strawberries, try to eat them and when they can’t they don’t seem to bother them anymore through the season. I also have found that deer do eat daffodil leaves when they first are coming up. Frustrating!
These charts were SUPER helpful! thank you! I’m starting to try and plan my little garden spot in town, and now I’ll have some more ideas.