It can make a significant difference to the final outcome if we plan our plant layout wisely. Companion planting means putting together at least two compatible vegetables for beneficial effects they are supposed to have on one another.
The same goes for herbs, fruit, and flowers. The right combination can increase nutrients, reduce destructive pests and diseases, attract beneficial insects, condition the soil, etc.
1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be great companions with various vegetables. You can plant them together with spinach, onions, beans, peas, cucumbers, peppers. carrots, lettuce, and arugula.
They will provide a shield against summer heat and sunlight. The best time to plant spinach and tomatoes is when the weather is cool. Before tomatoes are big enough to block the sunlight, the spinach will already mature.
If we want to plant them together with carrots is better to do it when tomatoes are still small. Combining them with basil will make all of them stronger. On the other hand, cauliflower, fennel, and potatoes shouldn’t be anywhere near them. Especially last ones represent a great risk of blight contamination.
2. Broccoli
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The best option would be to plant broccoli together with onions, leeks, potatoes, beetroot, celery, rosemary, chamomile, peppermint, dill, or sage. Still, we shouldn’t put them anywhere near tomatoes or peppers.
3. Peas
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Peas are actually good companions to the majority of vegetables and herbs. As members of the legume family, they can capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and add it to the soil. Nearby growing plants are benefiting from that. Most beneficial for Peas would be to plant them with carrots, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, sweet corn, and sage, but we should avoid putting them near onions, garlic, shallots, and potatoes.
4. Beans
One of the best choices when starting with gardening is definitely to plant beans. They are filled with nutrients and very easy to grow. Considering they’re legumes, they don’t need much fertilizer as they capture their own nitrogen from the atmosphere, and they don’t have many threats among pests or diseases. The best vegetables to plant together with beans are potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower, and celery. It is recommended to put potatoes in alternating rows with beans since they repel Mexican bean beetles. Savory and Rosemary will protect it against bean beetles. Make sure not to put them near alliums (onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, etc.) and fennel.
5. Cabbage
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Some of their best companions are onion, beans, and celery, but they also like beetroot, cucumber, potato, peas, garlic, leek, shallots, thyme, and sage. Vegetables such as carrots, peppers, radishes, tomatoes, and corn shouldn’t be planted near the cabbage.
6. Carrot
When we are planting carrots from seeds, it is advisable to pull out some of them when they start sprouting where there are too many of them. Suppose we leave them planted too densely; they will stay small because they need enough space to grow. Good companions for carrots are leeks, lettuce, peas, radishes, chives, rosemary, sage, but they dislike onions, garlic, leeks, and cabbage.
7. Radishes
Radishes are a perfect natural repellent against many unwanted pests. They like peas, lettuce, spinach, beans, squash, and cucumbers. Peas and radishes mutually help each other. The lettuce will make radishes more tender. Planting them in alternating rows with herb chervil can also be beneficial, making them taste hotter. Don’t plant radishes near cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, and Brussels sprouts.
8. Lettuce
Leaf lettuce likes carrots, onions, garlic, beetroot, cucumbers, beans, and radishes. Sadly this popular vegetable is often a target for slugs. The best solution is if we plant Nasturtium next to lettuce. Another good protector is an onion. Don’t put cabbage, celery, or parsley near it.
9. Spinach
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This healthy, nutritious plant gets along with practically every vegetable. Excellent companions are peas and beans. The only exception is potato. It is recommended to grow radishes alongside to keep pests at bay.
10. Cucumber
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Good companions are beans, peas, corn, radish, lettuce, cucumbers. It is very advisable to plant radishes beside cucumbers. They will help keep striped cucumber beetles away. Onions, garlic, leeks, and shallots are not the best option, and you absolutely shouldn’t put potatoes anywhere near them.
