Harmonious Gardens: 4 Companion Planting Charts for Fruits, Veggies, Herbs, and More
The companion planting charts below are notes and ideas I’ve picked up through research and trial and error. Hopefully these charts help you to create your own ecosystem of balance and artistry!
Companion Planting Chart for Vegetables:
Companion Planting Carrots:
Plant with beans, Brassicas, chives, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, pole beans, radish, rosemary, sage, and tomatoes.
Bad Companions for Carrots:
Avoid planting with dill, parsnips, and potatoes.
Other Notes:
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to keep some space between root crops so they don’t compete for available phosphorus. Carrots planted near tomatoes may have stunted roots, but will have exceptional flavour. Chives also benefit carrots.
Companion Planting Cucumbers:
Plant cucumbers beside asparagus, beans, Brassicas, celery, corn, dill, kohlrabi, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, and tomatoes. Dill attracts predatory insects, and nasturtiums will improve the flavor and growth of cucumbers. Both corn and sunflowers can act as a trellis for cucumbers to good effect.
Bad Companions for Cucumbers:
Aromatic herbs, including sage. However, oregano is fine next to cucumbers.
Companion Planting Eggplant:
Good companions for eggplant are amaranth, beans, marigolds, peas, peppers, spinach, and thyme.
Bad Companions for Eggplant:
Don’t plant near fennel.
Companion Planting With Garlic:
Garlic is a good companion for beets, Brassicas, celery, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries, and tomatoes.
Bad Companions for Garlic:
Avoid planting it near peas or beans of any kind.
Other Notes About Garlic:
Planting garlic near roses will help to repel aphids. Because of its sulfur compounds, it may also help repel whiteflies, Japanese beetles, root maggots, carrot rust fly, and other pests. Garlic, made into a tea, or spray, will act as a systemic pesticide, drawing up into the cells of the plants.
I’ve had a stand of garlic in my garden for the last 4 years – I leave it and dig out bulbs whenever I need them! Even as they age, they’re flavorful and perfect. These bulbs are proliferating in a drier area of my garden with some loam, but mostly a rocky clay area protected from intense sun.
Companion Planting Lettuce:
Good companions for lettuce are beets, Brassicas, carrots, celery, chervil, cucumbers, dill, garlic, onions, radish, spinach, squash, and strawberries.
Companion Planting Onions:
Plant chamomile and summer savory near onions to improve their flavour. Onions also work well alongside beets, Brassicas, carrots, dill, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes. Don’t plant onions near asparagus, or peas of any kind. Onions help to repel the carrot rust fly.
Companion Planting Peppers:
Good companions for peppers are carrots, cucumbers, radishes, squash, asparagus, basil, endive, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and members of the Allium family (onions, garlic, etc). Eggplant, a member of the nightshade family along with peppers, thrives alongside peppers. Spinach, lettuce and chard are suitable pepper companions.
Bad Companions for Peppers:
Don’t plant peppers next to beans, Brassicas, or fennel.
Peppers shouldn’t be planted with nightshades other than eggplants (tomatoes, potatoes) due to all being prone to bacterial wilt. If they are planted together and one gets bacterial wilt, it will spread to other nightshades.
Companion Planting Potatoes:
Good companions for potatoes are bush beans, celery, corn, garlic, marigolds/calendula, onions, and peas.
Bad Companions for Potatoes:
Avoid planting potatoes near asparagus, Brassicas, carrots, cucumber, kohlrabi, melons, parsnips, rutabaga, squash, sunflower, and turnips.
Potatoes shouldn’t be planted with tomatoes or peppers due to all being prone to bacterial wilt. If they are planted together and one gets bacterial wilt, it will spread.
Companion Planting Squash:
Good companions for squash are corn, lettuce, melons, peas, and radish. Borage is said to improve the growth and flavor of squash. Marigolds and nasturtium repel numerous squash pest insects.
Bad Companions for Squash:
Avoid planting near Brassicas or potatoes.
Companion Planting Tomatoes:
Good companions for tomatoes are amaranth, asparagus, basil, bean, borage, calendula/marigold, carrots, celery, chive, cleome, cosmos, cucumber, garlic, lemon balm, lettuce, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, peas, sage, stinging nettle, sow thistle, and squash.
Bad Companions for Tomatoes:
Cabbage (Brassica) family: All relatives of cabbage stunt the growth of tomato plants (including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, rutabaga, and turnip).
Corn due to corn earworm (same as the tomato fruitworm); dill due to stunted growth (if allowed to seed); eggplant, peppers, and potatoes due to blight; fennel due to stunted growth.
Walnuts: Don’t plant tomatoes under walnut or butternut trees, which produce juglone which inhibits the growth of tomatoes and all the members of the nightshade family (peppers, potatoes, eggplants). Tomatoes are also susceptible to the disease walnut wilt.
Companion Planting Chart for Fruits:
Companion Planting Apple Trees:
Herbs such as basil, dill, oregano, and thyme can help ward off pests. Chives are said to have antifungal properties that can help prevent scab when planted near apple trees.
My dwarf honey crisp apple is thriving with garlic chives growing directly next to it’s trunk. I have strawberries growing on the peripheral (about 2 feet and further from the trunk) and plan to add thyme for both the strawberries and apple tree. These are all set in a raised bed in my east garden, with horse manure compost used as the soil. EVERYTHING is thriving in this bed!
Companion Planting Blueberries:
Evergreens and dogwoods are good companions for blueberries, due to all liking a more acidic environment. Pine trees and their needles can actually alter the soil to a more acidic state, so using pine needles as mulch around blueberries can be beneficial. Blueberries want 6+ hours of sun, so don’t plant in the shade of these trees.
Strawberries grow well with blueberries and can provide shade for the blueberry’s roots.
Other Notes:
I have a sickly blueberry that was moved a couple times and spent too long in a pot (a few years!). I planted it in the edge of a bed that contains strawberries, an apple tree, and chives, and it’s actually sending up new shoots (I thought I lost it). It’s in a raised bed with horse manure compost as the soil, mixed with some sand directly around the blueberry plant. Now that it’s actually growing, I plan to add some pine needles around it and see if it helps – I’ll update here!
Companion Planting Strawberries:
These little plants respond strongly to nearby plants. Couple them with beans, borage, garlic, lettuce, onions, peas, spinach, and thyme.
Bad Companions for Strawberries:
Avoid Brassicas, fennel, and kohlrabi.
Companion Planting Watermelons:
Good companions for watermelon are corn, marigolds, nasturtiums, pumpkin, radish, squash, and sunflowers.
Bad Companions for Watermelons:
Avoid planting near potatoes.
Other Notes:
Melon leaves are full of calcium, so they’re good for the compost heap.
Companion Planting Chart for Herbs:
Herbs A-D:
Companion Planting Basil:
Will improve the flavor and vigor of tomatoes when inter-planted. Basil is good with asparagus, oregano, and peppers, and helps repel aphids, asparagus beetles, mites, flies, mosquitoes, and tomato hornworms.
Companion Planting Borage:
An excellent all around companion plant. Borage deters tomato hornworms and cabbage moth caterpillars. It’s particularly good planted near tomatoes and strawberries.
Borage is very attractive to pollinators, so plant it around squash, melons, and cucumbers for improved pollination. It’s also excellent for the soil and compost. Borage is deer-proof.
Other Notes:
Borage is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, and the plant can spread into pastures, so care should be taken.
Companion Planting Calendula:
Plant calendula (marigolds) with tomatoes and asparagus. Calendula attracts a wide range of pollinators because it provides nectar over the whole growing season.
Calendula repels a number of unwanted soil nematodes and asparagus beetles but may attract slugs.
Companion Planting Chamomile:
Attracts hoverflies and parasitic wasps. Plant chamomile near onions to improve their flavor.
Companion Planting Chervil:
Chervil is an excellent companion for Brassicas (red and green cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels sprouts, collards, kales, Savoy cabbage, and kohlrabi), lettuce, and radishes, but does best in part shade. Chervil helps to repel slugs and attract parasitic wasps.
Companion Planting Chives:
Improves the flavor of carrots and tomatoes. A companion plant for Brassicas (red and green cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels sprouts, collards, kales, Savoy cabbage, and kohlrabi). Chives help repel aphids, carrot rust flies, and Japanese beetles.
Bad Companions for Chives:
Avoid planting near beans and peas.
Companion Planting Cilantro:
Cilantro repels aphids, potato beetles, and spider mites.
Companion Planting Dill:
Dill improves the health of cabbages and other Brassicas. It’s a good companion for corn, cucumbers, lettuce, and onions. Dill attracts ladybird beetles, parasitoid wasps, hoverflies, bees, and garden spiders, making it one of the most useful companion planting candidates. Dill has a wide spread effect for attracting predatory insects.
Bad Companions for Dill:
Avoid planting near carrots, potatoes, sage, and tomatoes.
Herbs E-Z:
Companion Planting Echinacea:
Perennial (zones 4-9) coneflowers attract hoverflies and parasitoid wasps, making them useful for pest control in companion plantings.
Companion Planting Lemon Balm:
Perennial (zones 4-9) herb that attracts bees and other beneficial pollinators. The strong, citrusy smell deters several unwelcome pests, including gnats and mosquitoes.
Lemon Balm is of the mint family, and will take over an area through self-seeding (but is much easier to remove if needed than mint!). It’s a prolific grower and will make an intense stand of herbs in very little time. Because of it’s prolific growth habit, inter-planting with veggies isn’t ideal; however, just having this wonderful herb near your veggie beds is enough to reap benefits!
Companion Planting Mint:
Mint attracts earthworms, hoverflies and predatory wasps. It also repels cabbage moths, aphids, and flea beetles.
Mint is invasive. Planting in pots or in beds with measures to keep roots from spreading are the best options. Because of it’s prolific growth habit, inter-planting with veggies isn’t ideal; however, just having this wonderful herb near your veggie beds is enough to reap benefits!
Good Companions for Mint:
Mint grows well under apple trees.
Bad Companions for Mint:
Avoid planting near parsley.
Companion Planting Oregano:
Oregano is particularly good for repelling cabbage moths, and some people plant it between rows of Brassicas (red and green cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels sprouts, collards, kales, Savoy cabbage, and kohlrabi) for this purpose. Also good around asparagus and basil.
Like mint and lemon balm, oregano tends to take over an area. I prefer to give oregano it’s own area close to veggies and other herbs, but not inter-plant. That said, I do plant ornamental alliums in the peripheral and let the flower globe grow out through the oregano, which gives the flower bed some charm each spring!
Companion Planting Parsley:
Parsley likes asparagus, carrots, chives, corn, onions, and tomatoes. The leaves can be sprinkled on asparagus to repel asparagus beetles, and around roses, to improve their scent. Let some of your parsley go to bloom to attract hoverflies and predatory wasps.
Parsley is a lovely little plant that’s ideal for inter-planting. I grow carrots, tomatoes, and parsley together in beds and it makes amazing carrots and tomoatoes!
Bad Companions for Parsley:
Don’t inter-plant parsley with mint, but growing in a separate bed in the same garden works fine.
Companion Planting Sage:
Sage repels both cabbage moths and carrot rust flies, and is a great companion plant in the vegetable garden.
Bad Companions for Sage:
Don’t plant sage near cucumbers, which are sensitive to aromatic herbs.
Companion Planting Summer Savory:
This herb attracts honeybees and repels cabbage moths. Planting summer savory near beans and onions will improve the flavor of both.
Companion Planting Thyme:
An all around beneficial plant for the garden, thyme repels cabbage moths. Thyme also enhances the flavor of strawberries.
Ornamental and Other Plants:
Companion Planting Chrysanthemum:
White flowering mums repel Japanese beetles. All Chrysanthemums are attractive to tachinid flies and parasitic wasps.
Companion Planting Nasturtium:
Nasturtiums are a good trap crop for aphids. They deter whiteflies, cucumber beetles, squash beetles, Colorado potato beetles, and Mexican bean beetles. Nasturtiums are good for Brassicas, cucumbers, melons, radishes, and tomatoes. They grow close to the ground and provide good cover for ground beetles and spiders. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators and are good for bees.
Companion Planting Phacelia:
This family of annual flowers is fast to mature and attractive to a host of pollinators and beneficial insects. Phacelia attracts bees and predatory hoverflies.
Plant Phacelia around any crop showing poor pollination, particularly squash (including zucchini and pumpkin), melons, and cucumbers.
Phacelia can become invasive in some areas, so check with your local extension service before planting.
Companion Planting Sunflowers:
Sunflowers planted near rows of corn are said to increase yields. Use sunflowers as beacons to attract pollinators to other crops, particularly squash and pumpkins, and any other crop that requires insect pollination. Sunflowers are attractive to wild and domestic bees and ladybird beetles, which prey on aphids.