There are some plants that do well together (companion plants) when they are planted next to each other and there are certain combinations of plants that slows the growth of one or both types of plants. Basically, certain plants love each other and certain plants hate each other.
Companion planting can be a complex and often overwhelming if you let it. But as you gain more experience and develop a feeling for gardening, companion planting will become clearer. Just be sure not to let too much planning spoil the fun and excitement of working in the garden!
This isn’t to say that you can’t grow these plants together in the same garden, just don’t grow them right next to each other. Below is a guide to help indentify what grows well together and what doesn’t. The chart list the compatibility, both the good and the bad, of plants when planted next to each other.
Companion planting is a discipline in which further analysis needs to be carried out. There are a lot of unknowns and variables that must be considered. Such as, the age of the vegetables or herbs, the percent of each of the varieties of plants grown in combination, and how close together they are planted.
It should be done with an inquisitive approach to see what actually works well together and what doesn’t. Are the benfits or negative influences due to root excretions, plant aroma, or the pollen of composite flowers that attracts cetain beneficial insects?
Further study on the causes of some of these beneficial relationships is recommended and can be found in the articles on this website. They are listed in the box on the right of this page for your convenience.
Planting techniques are for: health; nutrition; physical complementarity; and weed, insect, and animal relationships.
Companion Planting Chart for Vegetables
| Plant (Vegetable) | Good Companions | Bad Companions |
| Asparagus | Tomatoes, parsley, basil | |
| Beans | Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflowe, cabbage, eggplant, summer savory, most other vegetablesand herbs | Onions, garlic, gladiolus, chives |
| Beans, bush | Potatoes, cucumbers, corn, strawberries, celery, summer savory | Onions |
| Beans, pole | Corn, summer savory, sunflower | Onions, beets, kohlrabi, cabbgae |
| Beets | Onions, Kohlrabi | Pole beans |
| Cabbage family (cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kolrabi, broccoli) | Aromatic plants, potatoes, celery, dill, hyssop, chamomile, sage, peppermint, rosemary, beets, onions | Stawberries, tomatoes, pole beans |
| Carrots | Peas, leaf lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes | Dill |
| Celery | Leeks, tomatoes, bush beans, cauliflowe, cabbage | |
| Chives | Carrots, tomatoes | Peas, beans |
| Corn | Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash | Tomato |
| Cucumbers | Beans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflowers, lettuc | Potatoes, aromatice herbs |
| Eggplant | Beans, potatoes, spinach | |
| Leeks | Onions, celery, carrots | |
| Lettuce | Carrots and radishes (lettuce, carrots, and radishes make a strong team grown together), strawberries, cucumbers, onions | |
| Melons | Corn, Nasturtium, Radish | |
| Onions(garlic) | Beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory, leeks,chamomile (sparsely), pepper | Peas, beans |
| Parsley | Tomatoes, asparagus | |
| Peas | Carrots, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, corn, beans, most vegetables and herbs | onions, garlic, gladilus, potatoes, chives |
| Potatoes | Beans, corn, cabbage, horseradish (should be planted at the corners of the patch), marigolds, eggplant (as a lure for the Coloradopotato beetle) | Pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, sunflowers, tomatoes, raspberries |
| Pepper | Onion | |
| Pumplins | Corn | Potatoes |
| Radishes | Peas, nasturtiums, lettuce, melons, cucumbers | Hyssop |
| Soybeans | Grows with anything, helps everything | |
| Spinach | Strawberries, eggplant | |
| Squash | Nasturtiums, corn | Potatoes |
| Strawberries | Bush beans, spinach, borage, ettuce (as a border), onions | Cabbage |
| Sunflowers | Cucumbers | Potatoes |
| Tomatoes | Chives, onions, parsley, asparagus, marigolds, nasturtiums, carrots | Corn, Kohlrabi |
| Turnips | Peas |
Oak tree: Concentrates calcium in its bark (bark ash is 77% calcium). In a special tea, it helps plants resist harmful diseases. The oak tree provides a beneficial influence around it that helps create excellent soil underneath its branches. This is a great place to build a compost pile for the same reason, but keep the pile at least 6 feet from the tree trunk so the environment near the tree will not be conducive to disease or attractive to harmful insects.
Companion Planting Chart for Herbs
A list of herbs, their companions, and their uses, including some beneficial weeds and flowers can be found in the companion chart for herbs below.
| Plant (Herb) | |
| Basil | Companion to tomatoes; dislikes rue intensely; improves growth and flavor; epels flies and mosquitoes |
| Bee balm | Companion to tomatoes; improves growth and flavo. |
| Borage | Companion to tomatoes, squash, and strawberries; deters tomato worms; improves growth and flavo. |
| Caraway | Plant here and there; loosens soil. |
| Catnip | Plant in borders; deters flea beetles. |
| Chamomile | Companion to cabbage and onions; improves growth and flavor. |
| Chervil | Companion to radishes; improves growth and flavor. |
| Chives | Companion to carrots; improves growth and flavor. |
| “Dead” nettle | Companion to potatoes; deters potato bugs; improves growth and flavor. |
| Dill | Companion to cabbage; dislikes carrots; improves the growth and health of cabbage. |
| Fennel | Plant away from gardens; most plants dislike it. |
| Flax | Companion to carrots and potatoes; deters potato bugs; improves growth and flavor. |
| Garlic | Plant near roses and raspberries; deters Japanese beetles; improves growth and health. |
| Henbit | General insect repellent. |
| Horseradish | Plant at the corners of a potato patch to deter potato bugs. |
| Hyssop | Deters cabbage moths; companion to cabbage and grapes.Keep away from radishes. |
| Lamb’s quarter’s | This edible weed should be allowed to grow in moderate amounts in the garden, especially in corn. |
| Lemon balm | Sprinkle throughout the garden. |
| Lovage | Improves flavor and health of plants if planted hee and there. |
| Marigolds | The workhorse of the pest deterrents. Plant throughout the garden; discourages Mexican bean beetles, nematodes, and other insects. |
| Marjoram | Here and there in the garden; improves flavor. |
| Mint | Companion to cabbage and tomatoes; improves health and flavor;deters white cabbage moths. |
| Mole plant | Deters moles and mice if planted here and there. |
| Nasturlium | Companion to radishes, cabbage, and gourds; plant under fruit trees; deters aphids, squash bugs, and striped pumpkin beetles; improves growth and flavor. |
| Peppermint | Planted among cabbages, it repels white cabbage butterflies |
| Petunia | Protects beans. |
| Pigweed | One of the best weeds for pumping nutrients from the subsoil; it is good for potatoes, onions, and corn; keep weeds thinned. |
| Pot marigold (Calendula) | Companion to tomatoes, but plant elsewhere in the garden, too; deters asparagus beetles, tomato worms, and general garden pests. |
| Purslane | deters asparagus beetles, tomato worms, and general garden pests. |
| Rosemary | Companion to cabbage, beans, carrots, and sage; deters cabbage moths, bean bettles, and carrot flies |
| Rue | Keep it far away from sweet basil; plant near roses and raspberries; deters Japanese beetles. |
| Sage | Plant with rosemary, cabbage, and carrots; keep away from cucumbers; deters cabbage moth, carrot fl. |
| Southernwood | Plant here and there in garden; companion to cabbage; improves growth and flavor; deters cabbage moths |
| Sow thistle | This weed in moderate amounts can help tomatoes, onions, and corn. |
| Summer savory | Plant with beans and onions; improves growth and flavor;deters bean beetles. |
| Tansy | Plant under fruit trees; companion to roses and raspberries; deters flying insects, Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles,squash bugs, and ants. |
| Tarragon | Good throughout the garden. |
| Thyme | Here and there in the garden; deters cabbage worms. |
| Valerian | Good anywhere in the garden. |
| Wormwood | As a border, it keeps animals from the garden. |
| Yarrow | Plant along borders, paths, and near aromatic herbs; enhances essential oil production. |
All-Around Beneficial Influence
Certain herbs and one tree have a beneficial influence on the whole plant community. These plants and their characteristics are:
- Lemon balm creates a beneficial atmosphee around itselfand attracts bees. Part of the mint family.
- Marjoram has a beneficial efect on surrounding plants.
- Oregano has a beneficial efect on surrounding plants.
- Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica): Helps neighboring plants to grow more resistant to spoiling. Increases the essential oil content in many herbs. Stimulates humus formation. Helps stimulate fermentation in compost piles. As a tea, it promotes plant growth and helps strengthen plants. Concentrates sulfur, potassium, calcium, and iron in its body.
- Valerian (Valeriana officinali): Helps most vegetables. Stimulates phosphorus activity in its vicinity. Encourages health and disease resistance in plants.
- Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile): A lime specialist. Contains a growth hormone which stimulates the growth of yeast. In a 1:100 ratio, it helps the growth of wheat. As a tea, it combats diseases such as damping off in young plants. Concentrates calcium, sulfur, and potash in its body.
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinal): Increases the aromatic quality of all herbs. In small amounts it helps most vegetables. Concentrates potash in its body.