When planning your vegetable garden, it is beneficial to learn the principles of companion planting to help you design a successful garden.
What is Companion Planting?
Companion plants are neighboring plants that will provide each other with additional beneficial nutrients and can provide an easy pest management strategy to help your garden flourish. Be careful, however, as some neighboring plants can have the opposite effect on each other. Before you start planting your garden, it is important to learn what plants should and should not be neighbors in your vegetable garden.
Companion Planting Favorites
Two plants all vegetable gardens can benefit from are Nasturtium and Marigold. Marigold flowers are known to not only help vegetables flourish, but their strong scented flowers repel insects and their roots prevent weeds from growing. In southern climates, they help kill harmful parasitic worms that are known to destroy vegetable plants and ornamentals.
Nasturtium blooms, like marigolds, attract pollinators to the garden but the flowers are also edible. Their best function, however, is as a trap crop. Aphids can’t resist them! Nasturtiums planted on the perimeter of the garden will attract aphids and whiteflies away from your vegetable plants.
Peas and beans are good companions for almost any vegetable garden as they provide the soil with nitrogen for neighboring plants to use.
Companion Planting Chart
| Plants | Plant Companions | Plant Enemies |
| Asparagus | Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Tomato | Alliums (Onion Family) |
| Bean, Bush | Beet, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Chard, Cucumber, Pea, Potato, Radish | Garlic, Leek, Onion |
| Bean, Pole | Corn, Potato, Radish | Beet, Garlic, Kohlrabi, Onion, Sunflowers |
| Beet | Bush Bean, Cabbage, Lettuce, Onion | Field Mustard, Pole Bean |
| Broccoli | Beet, Celery, Chard, Cucumber, Lettuce, Onions, Potato, Spinach | Dill, Pole Bean, Strawberry, Tomato |
| Cabbage | Beet, Celery, Chard, Cucumber, Lettuce, Onions, Potato, Spinach | Strawberry |
| Carrot | Bean, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Pea, Pepper, Tomato | Dill |
| Cauliflower | Alfalfa, Beets, Celery, Chard, Herbs, Onions, Spinach | Dill, Pole Bean, Strawberry, Tomato |
| Corn | Bean, Cucumber, Parsley, Pea, Potato, Squash | Tomato |
| Cucumber | Bean, Cabbage, Corn, Lettuce, Pea, Radish, Tomato | Herbs, Potato |
| Eggplant | Bean, Herbs, Pepper | |
| Fennel | None | Everything |
| Garlic | Cabbage, Fruit Trees, Roses, Tomato | Bean, Pea |
| Kale | Beet, Celery, Chard, Cucumber, Lettuce, Onion, Potato, Spinach | Pole Bean, Strawberry, Tomato |
| Lettuce | Beet, Carrot, Onion, Radish | Cabbage family (Brassicas) |
| Onion | Beet, Cabbage, Carrot, Lettuce, Pepper, Tomato | Bean, Pea |
| Pea | Bean, Carrot, Corn, Cucumber, Radish, Turnip | Garlic, Onion |
| Pepper | Carrot, Eggplant, Onion, Tomato | Fennel, Kohlrabi |
| Potato | Bean, Cabbage, Corn, Eggplant, Pea | Apple, Cherry, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Raspberry, Tomato |
| Radish | Bean, Carrot, Cucumber, Lettuce, Pea | Hyssop, Potato |
| Spinach | Cabbage, Celery, Strawberry | Hyssop |
| Squash | Corn, Melon, Pumpkin | |
| Swiss Chard | Bean, Cabbage family, Chives, Onion, Tomato | Corn, Cucumber, Herbs, Melon, Potato |
| Tomato | Asparagus, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Onion, Pepper | Corn, Dill, Kohlrabi, Potato |
| Turnip | Pea |
Vegetable Garden Planner
If you would like to learn more about vegetable garden companions, visit our online vegetable garden planner. This unique online garden planning tool allows you to easily plan your garden design, provides planting instructions for each vegetable seed or vegetable plant, supplies you with each vegetable’s planting companions, and offers you planting reminders. Check out our online vegetable garden planner and get started on planning your vegetable garden.
Other Recommended Reading
- Seed Starting FAQ
- How to Prevent Bolting in Vegetable Crops
- Summer Vegetable Gardening Common Problems Solutions
- 14 Fast Growing Vegetables
At Jung Seed Co, we strive to be your go-to guide for all your gardening needs. Our YouTube channel Jung Garden Center now includes our new video series All Things Green where our experts provide gardening tips for all levels of gardeners. When you need reliable gardening advice, turn to the trusted experts at Jung.
View our new catalog online or browse our website for all of your gardening favorites. To receive info on new products, exclusive deals, and specials, be sure to sign up for our weekly email. Join our Facebook page, to discuss all things gardening!