Companion Planting Chart for Vegetable Garden: Tomatoes, Potatoes, and More! | Guide to Companion Planting

What Is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is the follow of rising one plant to assist one other as a part of a group. Fruits, greens, and herbs are noticeably extra resilient and productive when every member helps the subsequent. The advantages will be one-way, resembling when nectar-rich flowers planted round fruiting crops, like tomatoes, enhance insect pollination, or reciprocal, resembling when the well-known Three Sisters of corn, pole beans, and squash are grown collectively for mutual profit. 

By rising communities of crops which can be recognized to help one another, it can save you numerous time and potential heartache. That is nature’s approach of minimizing pest injury, boosting soil fertility, lowering weed competitors, and, finally, rising yields. Productive gardens cultivated with companion planting in thoughts additionally are likely to look higher, too! 

Figuring out which crops develop effectively collectively is useful. This can be a tried-and-tested technique to scale back pests, entice pollinators, and increase progress! Listed below are widespread examples.

• Tomatoes and basil are pure companions within the kitchen and backyard. Basil repels sure insect pests, resembling thrips, and likewise disorients moths that lay tomato hornworms. 
• Aphids severely crimp your crop! However aphids can’t stand garlic! With this in thoughts, garlic planted as a barrier makes crops much less susceptible to pest assault. For instance, develop potatoes between rows of garlic—it serves as a pungent bodyguard.
• Nasturtium flowers grown near kale, cabbage, broccoli, and any brassica crops will lure hungry caterpillars away from consuming your crops.

See extra examples and a full chart of confirmed companions under!

7 Advantages of Companion Planting

There are a lot extra good causes to plant sure crops collectively:

1. Deterring pests: One of many largest challenges for any gardener is pests. Positive, you may spray pesticides, however these are very blunt instruments which have severe repercussions for nontarget species, together with helpful bugs. It’s higher to plant companions. Planting single crops in giant blocks—which many people do—makes it simpler for pests to seek out and assault them. Nonetheless, overwhelming proof helps the homesteader’s hunch that intermingling crops makes for fewer nemeses.
2. Attracting beneficials: Some crops additionally entice helpful bugs. For instance, borage attracts pollinating bees and tiny pest-eating wasps. Useful insect-attracting crops have obtained the thumbs-up from researchers, validating the efforts of gardeners who plant “pollinator strips” (rows of pollinator-magnet crops) throughout the backyard to encourage pollinators and pest predators.
3. Shade regulation: Massive crops present shade for smaller crops needing solar safety—for instance, corn shades lettuce.
4. Pure helps: Tall crops, like corn and sunflowers, can help lower-growing, sprawling crops resembling cucumbers and peas.
5. Improved plant well being: When one plant absorbs sure substances from the soil, it could change the soil biochemistry in favor of close by crops.
6. Bettering soil fertility: Some crops, like beans, peas, and different legumes, assist to make nitrogen extra out there within the soil. Equally, crops with lengthy taproots, like burdock, carry up vitamins from deep within the soil, enriching the topsoil to the advantage of shallow-rooted crops.  
7. Weed suppression: Planting sprawling crops like potatoes with tall, upright crops minimizes open areas the place weeds usually take maintain.

Proof-Primarily based Companion Planting Philosophy

Till lately, numerous companion planting was primarily based on little greater than rumour, however there’s an rising physique of scientifically grounded analysis that proves that rising particular crops collectively can scale back pests, increase progress, and even assist wildlife. We’ve collected all of it and up to date our companion planting chart under! Some background:

1. Historically, it was thought that greens had “associates” and “foes”—companion crops that both benefitted the greens’ progress or impeded it. This isn’t essentially mistaken, however we’ve discovered that just about all of the associations are optimistic; there are maybe two or three “unhealthy” combos (e.g., black walnut timber, which secrete progress inhibitors by way of their roots). The underside line is that there may be merely extra proof for “good” companions than “unhealthy” ones, so we now focus extra on why greens want associates!
2. There are misconceptions about companion planting on the web, which we discovered regarding. Many examples of companion planting have been primarily based on folklore or rumour. Whereas observations in our personal backyard will be beneficial, we determined that our reference information ought to solely spotlight companion plant pairings backed up by scientific proof and tried-and-true practices.
3. Whereas companion planting historically referred to vegetable plant pairs, we’ve added extra flowers to our chart; many are glorious pure insect repellents. Nasturtium is head and shoulders above all of them, taking the brunt of pest assaults. (See extra under.) In fact, any nectar-rich flowers resembling zinnia, comfrey, and ageratum will entice pollinators resembling bees to the backyard and assist to spice up the pollination of flowering crop crops like tomatoes, beans, and squash.

Examples of the Finest Companion Vegetation

Listed below are a few of the finest companion planting combos to your backyard. (See extra within the chart under.)

• Basil is a assist to tomatoes as an interplanted repellent to thrips, as talked about above. Basil additionally deters moths that lay eggs for tomato hornworms and armyworms. Basil additionally attracts bees, which improves pollination, tomato well being, and taste.
• Dill attracts ladybugs, which eat tiny backyard pests resembling aphids and spider mites.
• Borage pairs effectively with tomatoes, attracting pollinating bees. It additionally enhances strawberries’ taste and vigor.
• Garlic and garlic spray have a powerful scent that deters many bugs. Aphids can’t stand garlic! Garlic additionally repels onion flies, ermine moths, and Japanese beetles. Plant garlic between rows of potatoes alongside lettuces and cabbages and close to fruit timber, along with alyssum, to draw aphid-eating hoverflies.
• Mint deters aphids, ants, and flea beetles. Simply watch out to plant mint close by in its personal pot or mattress, as it’s a very aggressive grower!
• Nasturtiums entice hungry caterpillars away from brassicas like cabbage, broccoli, and kale, so develop these fairly flowers near these crops; nasturtiums additionally lure black flies away from fava beans.
• Parsley attracts helpful bugs to guard and pollinate tomatoes. Plant these herbs between tomatoes.
• Poached egg crops (a wildflower) attract hoverflies, which management aphids on close by lettuce. 
• Sage is a useful herb that repels carrot flies. Additionally, plant it round a cabbage patch to scale back harm from cabbage moths.
• Sunflowers pair effectively with cucumbers and pole beans. They assist present help for climbing crops and shade for crops, which may grow to be sun-stressed in hotter climates.
• Tansy is an actual draw to pest-eating bugs resembling ladybugs, ladybirds, and predatory wasps. On the identical time, tansy repels many typical baddies, resembling cutworm, which assaults asparagus, bean, cabbage, carrot, celery, corn, lettuce, pea, pepper, potato, and tomato crops. Tansy is a perennial, which implies you solely need to plant it as soon as. What extra may you need in a backyard flower?

Add extra flowers! Rising calendula or cosmos close by will entice tiny parasitizing wasps and aphid-hungry hoverflies. We additionally love marigolds for drawing in pest-hungry helpful bugs.

The Science Behind Companion Planting

Many research have put particular plant-insect relationships beneath the highlight. For instance, researchers on the College of Nebraska discovered that radishes planted with pumpkins seem to repel squash bugs. Equally, it has been proven elsewhere that nasturtiums grown round fruit timber can deter pests resembling codling moths as a result of nasturtiums secrete water-soluble glucosinolates from their roots into the soil. These can then be taken up by the timber, which tackle the identical defensive superpowers. 

Many brassica household crops, together with mustards, horseradish, cabbage, and kale, additionally use glucosinolates to defend in opposition to pests. 

Some companion combos work as a result of one plant hides the presence of one other, resembling that inseparable duo of tomato and basil. 

Evaluation by the College of Good Sophia Antipolis in France noticed a discount in tomato pests when basil was current—nice information for gardeners seeking to outwit thrips, a typical provider of the tomato noticed wilt virus. Plus, whereas pest populations decreased, no improve in pest predators was detected because the trigger, indicating that basil’s sturdy scent disguised the tomatoes from pests. Leaf form may do an important job of obscuring a goal plant. 

Confronted with a complicated array of leaves, a pest might fail to acknowledge its host plant amidst the melee. This works with thyme, one other tomato companion. Scientists at Iowa State noticed a discount in egg-laying by grownup armyworms when tomatoes have been interplanted with the herb. Used as a residing mulch like this, thyme introduced small leaves that did an important job of complicated the moths.

Many flowers wealthy in nectar and irresistible to bees, butterflies, and different pollinators are additionally an enormous draw for bugs that make a meal of backyard pests. Hoverflies can’t resist the sunny-side-up charms of poached egg crops (Limnanthes douglasii), and so they love a meal of juicy aphids, too. Pop poached egg crops close to lettuces, and guess what? Fewer aphids! 

One other instance is borage, which attracts tiny wasps which can be the pure enemies of tomato hornworm caterpillars. Borage can also be a well known bee magnet, so with it, you get a twofer: boosted pollination plus wasps laying parasitic eggs to purge infamous hornworm pests. The perfect buddy that any tomato may want for! 

A research printed by the Kentucky Academy of Science in Louisville discovered that planting dwarf sunflowers round a discipline of corn attracted a military of pest-hungry ladybugs. Different analysis confirms the effectiveness of dill in attracting parasitic wasps to manage cabbage worms and cabbage loopers; researchers at Rutgers College in New Jersey have additionally proven that dill additionally does an important job of luring enemies of the Colorado potato beetle.

Companion Planting Chart: 20 Frequent Greens

On this chart, you’ll discover a few of the commonest backyard crops and their appropriate companion crops. For extra crops, we’d level you to the online Almanac Garden Planner, which has an intensive database of companion crops and a brand new companion planting characteristic that makes it simpler than ever to seek out excellent matches to your crops. (Merely choose a crop, then click on on the heart-shaped Companion Planting button. The choice bar will then present solely these crops your chosen crop will love. Choose one and drop it into your backyard plan.)

Companion Planting Chart

Crop Title	Companions	Advantages and Notes
ASPARAGUS	Calendula   Petunias   Tomatoes	Calendula, tomatoes, and petunias are thought to discourage asparagus beetles.
BASIL	Peppers   Purslane   Tomatoes	Purslane is used to shade the soil round basil crops, serving to them to stay recent in sizzling climate.   Basil improves the expansion and taste of tomatoes and peppers.
BEANS	Beets   Corn   Lovage   Nasturtium   Rosemary   Squash   Strawberries   Sunflower	Nasturtiums can be utilized as a entice plant to entice aphids away from beans.   Lovage and rosemary even have glorious insect-repellent qualities.   Sunflowers can be utilized to create shade for sun-stressed crops.   Corn will profit from the beans’ nitrogen-fixing capabilities. Pole beans present structural help.
BEETS	Brassicas   Bush beans   Garlic   Lettuce   Onion household	Beets are companions for chicory and endive.   Onions shield in opposition to borers and cutworms.   Beets add minerals to the soil, as beet leaves are composed of 25% magnesium.
BROCCOLI	Oregano   Different Brassicas   (Cabbage, brussels sprouts,   cauliflower, and so forth.)	Oregano has insecticidal properties.   Plant Brassicas collectively in order that they’ll all be coated with nets to guard from pests resembling cabbage worms.   Additionally they all like lime added to the soil.
CABBAGE	Garlic   Nasturtium   Sage	Nasturtiums deter insect pests resembling beetles and aphids.   Garlic repels bugs with its odor when planted alongside cabbage.   Sage deters cabbage moths.
CARROTS	Chives   Leeks   Onions   Peas   Radishes   Rosemary   Sage	Chives enhance the expansion and taste of carrots and deter aphids, mites, and flies.   Rosemary and sage repel the carrot fly.   Leeks are thought to repel many flying pests (together with carrot rust fly).   Foes: Dill can scale back the yield of carrots.   Dill, coriander, and different members of the Carrot household shouldn’t be planted close to carrots (they have an inclination to cross-pollinate).
CORN	Beans (pole)   Cucumbers   Dill   Melons   Peas   Squash   Sunflower	Dill is assumed to guard in opposition to aphids and mites.   Beans can present extra nitrogen to the corn.   Sunflowers can act as a construction and a windbreak for corn, and dwarf sunflowers usher in ladybugs to manage aphids.   Pole beans are generally interplanted with corn, including nitrogen and offering structural help.   Spinach grows effectively within the shade of corn, preserving corn roots cool.
CUCUMBERS	Beans   Borage   Dill   Lettuce   Nasturtiums   Oregano   Radish   Sunflowers   Tansy	Dill is assumed to guard in opposition to aphids and mites.   Nasturtium deters aphids, beetles, and bugs and improves progress and taste.   Oregano deters pests normally.   Radish, Nasturtium, and Tansy repel cucumber beetles; radish additionally repels flea beetles.   Tansy additionally deters ants, beetles, bugs, and flying bugs, as does borage, bettering taste and progress.
LETTUCE	Chives   Onions   Oregano   Peas   Poached Egg crops   Radishes   Scallions   Zinnia	Chives, onions, and garlic deter aphids and different pests by masking the scent of the lettuce with their aroma.   Basil is assumed to enhance the flavour and progress of lettuce.   Radishes can be utilized as a entice crop for flea beetles.   Poached egg crops (Limnanthes), a wildflower, will carry hoverflies and different beneficials that eat aphids.
ONIONS	Beets   Cabbage   Carrot   Chard   Lettuce   Strawberry   Tomatoes	Onions shield in opposition to borers and cutworms. Their aroma disorients pests.   Onions profit from marigolds because the scent of marigolds reduces the egg laying of onion maggot fly.
PEAS	Alyssum   Carrot   Chives   Corn   Grapes   Lettuce   Mint   Radish   Spinach   Turnip	Chives deter aphids.   Mint improves well being and taste.   Alyssum brings in pollinators and encourages inexperienced lacewings, which eat aphids.   Foes: Don’t plant close to garlic and onion, as they may stunt the expansion of peas.
PEPPERS	Basil   Marjoram   Onions   Oregano	Herbs like basil, oregano, and marjoram have a protecting, insecticidal high quality.
POTATOES	Basil   Beans   Calendula   Catmint   Cilantro   Garlic   Horseradish   Oregano   Peas   Tansy	Beans can enhance the dimensions of potato tubers.   Cilantro protects in opposition to aphids, spider mites, and potato beetles.   Calendula, tansy, and horseradish planted on the nook of a potato patch chase away Colorado potato beetles.   (Be aware: Tansy is taken into account invasive in some areas. See native tips earlier than planting.)   Catmint additionally repels Colorado potato beetles however can carry cats into the vegetable backyard, so it’s a good suggestion to plant it in pots across the fringe of the plot.
RADISHES	Chervil   Lettuce   Nasturtium   Peas	Chervil improves progress and taste.   Nasturtiums are a superb entice crop for radishes.   Radishes are sometimes used as entice crops for flea beetles.   Peas give nitrogen to the soil, which advantages radishes.
WINTER SQUASH   and PUMPKINS	Beans (pole)   Buckwheat   Calendula   Corn   Marigold   Nasturtium   Oregano	Buckwheat brings in pest predators, which scale back insect pests.   Nasturtiums shield in opposition to pumpkin and squash beetles.   Oregano gives common pest safety.   Calendula deters beetles and root nematodes.   Squash is historically planted with corn and beans (“three sisters”) to disorient the grownup vine borer.
SPINACH	Beans   Cilantro   Eggplant   Oregano   Peas   Rosemary   Strawberries	Peas and beans present pure shade for spinach.   Cilantro, oregano, and rosemary are thought to repel bugs.
TOMATOES	Asparagus   Basil   Borage   Calendula   Dill   Garlic   Nasturtium   Onion   Parsley   Thyme	Calendula deters common backyard pests.   Asparagus repels nematodes.   Basil repels whiteflies, mosquitoes, spider mites, and aphids.   Basil additionally attracts bees, which improves pollination, tomato well being, and taste.   Borage repels hornworms.   Dill makes it tough for cutworms to put their eggs and helps parasitic wasps that assault pest caterpillars.   Thyme reduces egg laying by armyworms.
ZUCCHINI/ SUMMER SQUASH	Buckwheat   Oregano   Nasturtium   Zinnia	Buckwheat brings in pest predators which scale back insect pests.   To draw pollinators, plant oregano and zinnias.   Nasturtium protects in opposition to aphids and whiteflies.

Click here for a printable companion planting guide.

Video: The way to Plan a Companion Planting

It’s actually useful to see companion planting in motion. On this video, Ben explains tips on how to harness the ability of flowers to discourage pests, entice pollinators, and even enhance soil.

Extra Companion Gardening Suggestions

A lot of companion planting considers the peak of various greens.

• Lettuce, radishes, and different quick-growing crops sown between hills of melons or winter squash will mature and be harvested lengthy earlier than these vines want extra legroom.
• Leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard will develop within the shadow of corn.
• Bush beans tolerate the dapple shade that corn casts and, since their roots occupy completely different ranges within the soil, don’t compete for water and vitamins.
• Don’t get too fixated with pairing up crops. Right spacing, solar, water, and good soil administration are crucial influences in your rising crops. 
• Why not begin small with a number of marigolds and zinnia seeds—and watch the helpful bugs come! Different choices to begin with? How about calendula, nasturtium, basil, and borage? 

A Helpful Companion Planting Instrument

All of this companion planning data is effectively and good, however truthfully, who has the time to analysis scientifically rigorous companion planting combos? 

That’s why we now have our Backyard Planner. Our group has spent many months—years even—trawling by way of a lot of the peer-reviewed analysis on this space, exhaustively understanding what’s confirmed and what’s not. The result’s the Garden Planner’s Proof-Primarily based Companion Planting instrument.

Merely choose a backyard vegetable on the display screen after which click on the ‘Present Companions’ button. The number of crops is filtered to point out solely these crops that develop particularly effectively along with your chosen vegetable!! 

For instance, if you choose candy corn and click on on the Companion Plantings button, it exhibits that beans are an important companion! Learn more about the Garden Planner.

Be taught Extra

1. For concepts and inspiration, see readers’ companion garden plot plans with plant lists.
2. Are you simply getting began with gardening, or do you want a refresher course? Take a look at our Vegetable Gardening for Beginners how-to web page.
3. Want plant-specific rising recommendation? Learn by way of our many Growing Guides for greens, fruit, flowers, and herbs.

Companion planting can certainly assist gardeners to develop consistent with nature, however what we learn about this highly effective instrument is consistently evolving. Additional analysis over the approaching years will fill within the gaps and little question ship a number of extra surprises alongside the approach

Have you ever tried companion planting? What’s your go-to pairing? Inform us within the feedback under!