Vegetable Companion Planting – Keep Your Plants Disease and Insect Free with Good Neighbors
Vegetable companion planting has been around for hundreds of years. It has been known for ages that planting different combinations of plants next to each other is mutually beneficial for them.
There are several reasons why this is so.
- Vegetable companion planting attracts good insects or repel pests thereby providing a natural method of pest control
- They offer shade and often loosen the roots of each others plant
- Aromatic herbs often help flavors to develop in their companion plants such as growing basil next to tomatoes
- Encourages a higher produce yield by planting compatible plants next to each other
On the other hand, by planting vegetables next to plants that are not compatible, the growth and yield of your vegetable crop is apt to be disappointing. Below is a chart for your reference that will give you some popular vegetable companion planting information.
One of the best known flowers friendly to vegetables is the humble marigold. They have a great capacity to deter all manner of insect pests. They are particular friends or tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage and asparagus. Another flower that has the ability to deter potato bugs is nasturtiums. Your potato crop will benefit from this companion planting duo.
| Plant | Likes | Dislikes |
| Artichoke | Parsley | Garlic |
| Asparagus | Tomatoes, Parsley, Basil | |
| Beans | Celery, Cucumbers | Onions, Fennel |
| Beets | Bush Beans, Lettuce, Onions | Scarlet Runner and other pole beans, Mustard |
| Brocolli | Potatoes, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Dill | Strawberries, Tomatoes |
| Cabbage | Onions, Dill, Celery | Tomatoes, Strawberries |
| Carrots | Onion, Garlic, Leeks, Tomatoes, Lettuce | Dill |
| Cucumbers | Lettuce, Peas, Sunflower, Radishes | Potatoes, Aromatic Herbs |
| Garlic | Carrots, Beets, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Lettuce | Peas, Beans |
| Lettuce | Carrots, Cucumber, Strawberries, Radishes Garlic | Fennel |
| Onions | Lettuce, Beets, Strawberries, Tomatoes | All Beans, Peas |
| Peas | Turnips, Mint, Radishes | The entire onion family |
| Radishes | Almost all plants, especially leaf lettuce | Cabbage Family, Turnips |
| Spinach | Peas, Strawberries, Rhubarb | |
| Squash | Fennel, Nasturtium, Cucumbers | |
| Tomatoes | Asparagus, Carrots, Celery, Onion | Cabbage, Cauliflower, Fennel |
If you would like more information on the various plants to use for companion planting and natural insect and disease control, you’ll find “Carrots Love Tomatoes” by Louise Riotte is available from Amazon.