Vegetable Companion Planting Chart PDF
If you want a quick tip to help you grow a healthier garden, then this article on companion planting is just what you need. Get your free Vegetable Companion Planting Chart PDF below.
Be sure to download it and print it out. Use it to start a backyard garden binder that is full of helpful resources. Companion planting is a great way to grow organic vegetables, hers, and fruits that are healthy and thriving.
Companion gardening is a great way to help your plants thrive using their natural defenses to keep pests away from your garden.
Most plants grow better next to a companion, including vegetables, fruits, and herbs, and they grow better next to flowers.
Not all companion plants are good options, and knowing the difference will help you to choose the best layout for your backyard garden.
Benefits of Vegetable Companion Planting
Companion planting has several amazing benefits that can help your vegetable garden flourish if planted right. Knowing which plants grow best near others and why will help you to set up a garden in the healthiest way.
Benefit #1. Pest Control
It’s amazing to know that certain plants, when planted near other plants, will help to protect from pests in the garden.
Pests will have a more difficult time finding a patch of their favorite plant if it’s protected by a plant they don’t like. And some plants, like herbs and flowers, put off a naturally deterrent scent.
For instance, Marigolds are a gardener’s best friend because they are so beneficial.
- Plant Marigolds next to a patch of beans to deter bean beetles.
- They attract pollinators needed for fruit to grow.
- Marigolds will also bring in beneficial insects such as ladybugs and predatory insects.
- Plant Marigolds near tomatoes to deter Hornworm Caterpillars, the creepy guys.
Benefit #2. Support
Some plants can provide the necessary support for each other while they grow. This is seen in the ancient Cherokee Indian practice of three sisters helping to provide a nice harvest of three vegetable companion plants.
How it works:
- Plant corn first and allow it time to grow a few inches, then plant squash and beans.
- The corn will provide a natural trellis for beans.
- The beans will feed the necessary nitrogen needed to the corn.
- The squash grows along the ground, keeping weeds out and providing shade for the bean and corn roots.
- They also repel each other’s pests making it a great approach to gardening.
Planning your garden so that plants can support each other allows you to plant more and provides a better harvest.
Benefit #3. Saves Space
If your garden area is small, companion planting will help you maximize your space.
You can plant a ground growing vining plant under a taller plant to fill in space that would otherwise allow weeds to grow. Or you can grow fast-growing crops between slower growing ones.
For instance, radishes and green onions grow quickly. Plant them into any empty area around plants that will take a while to sprout, like lettuces, and they’ll be ready to harvest before your other plants start to fill up space.
This really is helpful if you are planting a container garden on your back porch. The more you can grow in your containers the more you can enjoy all summer long.
If you do not have room for a traditional backyard garden, you can grow all the food you love on your back porch. Read our guide on CONTAINER GARDENING TIPS to get started.
Benefit #4. Keeps the Soil Moist
Vining plants like squash and cucumbers provide shade to the soil around other plants, so moisture stays in the soil instead of evaporating.
If you experience long droughts in the summer, this will help to keep your garden healthy without the need to constantly water it.
Benefit #5. Reduces Weeds
There is nothing I dread more than weeding and if there is anything I can do, such as companion gardening, to cut down on it, I am game.
Covering the ground with vining plants does more than just shade the soil and keep moisture in, it also helps to prevent weed growth.
Cucumbers and squash are excellent crops to keep your garden weed-free. If the ground is covered, there’s no place for the weeds to grow.
Another way to keep weeds away is using mulch by scattering yard materials in your garden. Get tips on HOW MULCHING YOUR GARDEN STOPS THE WEEDS for our step-by-step guide.
Benefit #6. Helps with Disease Issues
When there is a large grouping of the same type of plant, disease spreads more easily and quickly. Adding various plants to your garden can break up the grouping and slow the spread of diseases. This is called planting in “patches” and can help to keep issues from cropping up.
Some plants even help others by making them less susceptible to disease. Take a look at the three sisters’ method that I talked about above.
Here are a few ideas:
- By planting beans you provide healthy nitrogen to corn.
- Growing basil with tomatoes makes your tomato plants healthier.
- Marigolds, my favorite go-to companion, make almost any vegetable healthier.
Putting plants to work for you is another great way to grow a bigger and healthier garden.
Benefit #7. Attracts Pollinators and Beneficial Insects
Mother nature is pretty amazing and the proof is with insects. Not all bugs are bad for a garden, some are actually beneficial, and they can help you to produce healthier plants and a larger harvest.
Spreading flowering cover around your garden can attract these insects making them liklier to stay because they have a good environment that is made just for them.
Good examples of flowering covers include:
- Clover
- Buckwheat
- Corriander
- Carrawy
- Dill
- Fennel
- Chives
Benefit #8. Provides Natural Trellises
We’ve looked at using corn as a trellis in the three sisters’ example, but there are other plants that can serve as a trellis for tall plants.
Companion flowers, Jerusalem artichokes, sorghum, amaranth, fruit trees, and nut trees are all good plants for providing a natural trellis.
Benefit #9. Improves Flavors
An added bonus of companion planting is that a variety of companion plants can improve the flavor of the plants they’re grown near.
Basil, for example,ir flavor is a great companion plant for many types of plants. It’s especially good to plant with lettuce and tomatoes because it improves the flavor of them.
As an added bonus, it also repels mosquitos.
Benefit #10. Allows for More Variety
Using this method, you’ll be able to plant more of a variety of plants and use them to benefit your other plants.
In areas you need to fill in, you can plant a few varieties of beans, tomatoes, peppers, or almost any other kind of vegetable.
With all the benefits of companion vegetable gardening, it only makes sense to use this planting method. After all, it benefits your plants, allows you to grow better crops, and allows you to garden organically with little effort.
Bad Companion Plants in a Garden
As we mentioned earlier, there are some companion gardening plants that don’t do well together.
#1. Beans should not be grown near onions; they are better planted with corn, marigolds, or potatoes as these plants will protect them from Mexican bean beetles.
#2. Tomatoes grow well with carrots and basil. In fact, tomatoes provide great shade for plants like onions and carrots. They keep the soil from getting too hot.
#3. Onions are great partners for tomatoes and carrots but should not be near beans.
#4. Cucumbers should not be near to potatoes but love to be paired with beans, cabbage, corn, and radishes.
#5. Peppers flourish with carrots, onions, parsley, tomatoes, and basil but should be kept away from cabbage or fennel.
#6. Garlic should never be grown near peas or beans, but it does well with cabbage, tomatoes, and most kinds of fruit trees.
Herb Companion Planting
Herbs grow well with almost anything so it’s a great idea to intermix them around your garden. They deter pests and they’re friendly with almost all types of plants.
Vegetable Herb Good Companions
- Rosemary makes a great companion for beans, cabbage, and carrots.
- Parsley is great with corn, tomatoes, and even roses.
- Sage works well with carrots, cabbage, and tomatoes. In fact, tomatoes tend to grow better when sage and basil are nearby.
- Dill enhances the flavor of cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, and onions.
A few herb companions to avoid:
- Oregano, parsley, thyme, and sage with cucumbers
- Rosemary and dill with carrots
Herb Resources:
Companion Gardening Planting Examples
Talking about companion planting theory is good, but examples, I feel, are better. Let’s look at a few companion examples you can use in your backyard garden this growing season.
Tomatoes
Good:
Tomatoes and basil make a great combination in the kitchen and in the garden. Basil helps tomatoes grow better, producing a higher crop, and it repels flies and mosquitos. Marigolds are another great companion as they repel garden pests. Tomatoes enjoy the company of asparagus, carrots, onions, celery, lettuce, spinach, and parsley.
Bad:
Tomatoes are not good companions with cabbage, peas, fennel, beets, dill, and rosemary. They also need to be kept away from corn and potatoes as they can share and spread some of the same diseases and pests.
Green Beans
Good:
Corn grows well with most bean varieties because the beans can use the corn stalks as a trellis. Beans also provide nitrogen-rich soil which is beneficial for the corn. Rosemary, marigolds, nasturtiums, and summer savory help to repel bean beetles.
Summer savory also helps to improve the flavor and growth of beans. Other friendly companions include Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, potatoes, radishes, and peas.
Bad:
Green beans are not good companions with beets or any onion.
Peppers
Good:
Peppers love basil, especially since the basil helps to repel insects and pests. And basil has been known to improve the flavor of the peppers. Other good companions are spinach, tomatoes, and onions.
Bad:
Peppers are not good companions with beans of any kind. The vines will spread through the pepper plants.
Cucumbers
Good:
Marigolds and nasturtiums help to repel beetles and aphids from cucumbers. Celery, corn, beans, lettuce, dill, radishes, and peas also make good companion plants.
Bad:
Cucumbers are not good companions with any kind of aromatic herb like sage.
Lettuce
Good:
Planting mint with your lettuce will keep slugs at bay. Chives and garlic are good aphid repellants. Beets, broccoli, carrots, beans, corn, peas, radishes, and marigolds all grow nicely with lettuce.
Bad:
Lettuce is not good companions with parsley because it will crowd the lettuce.
Onions
Good:
Onions are a good friend for carrots because they will repel carrot flies. They also repel aphids so planting them near aphid-prone and onion-friendly veggies create natural pest control. Beets, lettuce, cabbage, parsnips, and tomatoes are all good vegetable garden companions. They also work well with marjoram, savory, and rosemary.
Bad:
Onions are not good companions for asparagus, peas, or beans.
How to Grow Reading:
Carrots
Good:
Carrots are sensitive to heat so they need a companion that will provide them some shade. Tomatoes work well for this task. Tomatoes also help to produce natural pest control. But it’s not a one-sided relationship; tomatoes benefit from carrots too.
Carrots aerate the soil for the tomato plant roots, allowing them to receive more air and water. Leeks are another nice companion since leeks repel carrot flies and carrots repel leek moths. Rosemary, chives, and sage are also good repellants
Bad:
Carrots are not good companions for dill and coriander because they can harm carrot plants. Also, parsnips suffer from the same pests and diseases as carrots so keep them apart to prevent an infestation.
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Zucchini/Summer Squash
Good:
Corn makes an excellent companion for squashes because it gives them plenty of space to grow. And the squash can keep weeds from growing up among the corn stalks. Squash also does well with peas, beans, radishes, marigolds, and dill.
Bad:
Squashes are not good companions for potatoes; they’re both prone to blight.
Radishes
Good:
Radishes are a good friend to cucumbers because they attract cucumber beetles away. They also do great with carrots because they are harvested early and they can loosen the soil for carrots, giving them more room to grow. Beets, cabbage, kale, lettuce, spinach, onions, and squash also make great vegetable garden companions.
Bad:
Radishes are not good companions for hyssop.
How to Grow Reading:
Sweet Corn
Good:
Corn grows well with nitrogen in the soil, so most kinds of beans, especially green beans, are a great companion. Cornstalks also benefit climbing plants by becoming a natural trellis for them so any kind of bean, cucumbers, peas, pumpkins, and melons all make good companion vegetables. Zucchini and squash also grow well along the ground in the space provided by the stalks as they grow tall, and the keep the ground shaded for the corn.
Bad:
Corn is not good companions with tomatoes because they can both be attacked by corn earthworms, spreading pests and disease.
How to Grow Reading:
Companion garden plants can help your garden thrive and produce bigger crops. Companion planting also allows you to grow organically because the plants serve as natural pesticides and soil nutrients.
When it comes to companion gardening, the best way to plant is to plan ahead. Decide what kinds of plants you want to grow, how long they take to harvest, and research what plants grow well (or don’t grow well) together. Planning ahead will allow you success from the start.
Plants that harvest early can be planted between plants that take longer to grow, allowing you more useable space in your garden. And planting using the three sisters method will also provide more space by growing three plants in the same area and allowing them to benefit each other in their growth.
If your garden area is small or you want to grow your garden more organically, companion gardening is the way to go. You’ll be able to garden more naturally, you’ll save time and space, and all while benefitting your garden to produce a bigger, better, and tastier harvest.
Tracy,
Im a big fan of companion planting and have been doing that for a few years now. You’ve got some good info here!
Thank you, Lisa!
Having a hard time finding the link for the vegetable companion chart. Got the herbal one fine, thank you! Help?
Thank you for letting me know, all fixed now!
never seen a pdf…… eyes are not great, but theres a lot of ads, and pop up’s, but didn’t see the pdf
Sorry about that! Yes, it is at the end of the article. You will need to type in your email address so our team can send it to you. Look for a big picture at the bottom with the checklist on it!