Companion Planting

All plants have relationships with the plants around them. These can be beneficial resulting in improved:

• Pollination
  • Plants attract pollinators to the vegetable plant for better crop production

• Nutrient fixing in the soil
  • Legumes like peas and beans fix nitrogen into the soil

• Beneficial insect habitat
  • Plants that can provide shade or foliage for beneficial insects like beetles to hide

• Attracts beneficial insects
  • Certain plants attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, hoverflies, or beetles

• Shade regulation
  • Some plants don’t want full sun, plants that provide shade like corn or squash provide needed shade

• Weed suppression
  • Plants that sprawl like squash or zucchini are great at suppressing weeds

• Trap cropping
  • Certain plants can be used as a sacrifice to save other crops
  • Nasturtiums or radishes can be used this way, they are fast-growing and can take being eaten by aphids

Common Beneficial Plants for Vegetable Crops

• Alyssum
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Used to fill space between plants to suppress weeds

• Basil
  • Great specifically with tomatoes

• Beans
  • Great for nitrogen-fixing, avoid planting near onions and garlic

• Borage
  • All around great companion plant
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Sprawls creating shade to suppress weeds and create habitat for beneficial insects

• Calendula
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Flowers are edible

• Clover
  • Builds soil nitrogen
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Used as ‘green’ compost or cover cropping

• Cosmos
  • Provides food and habitat for beneficial insects

• Dill
  • Like other umbellifers, they are the first to bloom in the spring providing necessary food to pollinators
  • Don’t plant near carrots or tomatoes

• Echinacea
  • Attracts many different beneficial insects

• Lavender
  • Attracts great pollinators
  • Good for other Mediterranean herbs like sage and rosemary

• Marigold
  • Attracts beneficial insects
  • Mexican Marigold can actually deter rabbits

    

• Mint
  • Attracts beneficial insects
  • Can spread and take over a garden easily, keep it separate but in a pot nearby

• Nasturtium
  • Good trap crop for aphids ~ they will attract the aphids instead of them attacking a vegetable crop
  • Leaves and flowers are edible
  • Attract pollinators
  • Spreads across the ground, providing habitat for beneficial insects and suppress weeds

• Phacelia
  • Great for attracting pollinators
  • If you notice a plant not pollinating well, plant around them (squash or zucchini)

• Sunflowers
  • Attracts pollinators
  • Great structure for trailing crops, like beans and peas, to grow up on

• Yarrow
  • An umbellifer, that like dill, is one of the first plants to flower in the spring, vital for pollinator health
  • Its scent repels aphids and attracts other beneficial insects

Common Pairings:

• Dill & Cabbage
• Tomatoes & Basil and Tomatoes & Cabbage
• Roses & Garlic
• Cucumbers & Nasturtiums
• Calendula & Broccoli
• Marigold & Melons
• Three Sisters – Corn, Beans, & Squash
• Lettuce and tall flowers (provides shade)
• Potatoes & Sweet Alyssum
• Sweet Alyssum & Swiss Chard
• Lettuce & Chives, or Lettuce & Garlic

More information:

West Coast Seeds

Burpee

The Old Farmers Almanac