Vegetable Companion Chart

This tip brought to you by our Garden Guru Sheri Ann Richerson on Feb 04, 2010

Some vegetable seeds do better or worse based on what is growing near them. When choosing companion plants, look for ones that take the same kind of culture but take soil nourishment at different levels for the best results. Here are vegetable combinations that tend to work well together. Scientific evidence has proven companion planting works. Certain plants, such as various herbs attract beneficial insects into the garden. Some companion plants such as marigolds or garlic are used to repel bad bugs. Best of all, companion planting can help you utilize your garden space. If you plant a tomato and grow carrots under the tomato plants, you will get two crops from the same piece of land.

Beets grow well alongside cabbage, onion, broccoli and cauliflower. Bush beans also make a good companion plant but pole beans should be avoided.

Carrots grow well alongside peas, turnips, cucumbers, or tomatoes. Carrots and peas work well together because the carrot roots contain an exudate that is beneficial to the growth of peas. Some herbs such as rosemary, wormwood and sage make good companion plants too because they help repel the carrot fly thus preventing the maggot larva from attacking the roots of young carrot plants.

Corn grows well with peas, beans, squash, melons, potatoes and pumpkin. Peas and beans restore the nitrogen to the soil that the corn uses up. Squash, melons and pumpkins benefit from the shade the corn provides and helps keep raccoons at bay since they get tangled up in the vines.

Avoid planting the following vegetable seed varieties next to each other:

Squash and radishes.

Peas and cauliflower.

Pole beans and beets.

Carrots and dill.

By learning what plants do well near one another by reading books on companion planting such as "Carrots Love Tomatoes", using crop rotation techniques and inter-planting annual herbs, flowers and vegetables you will be well on your way to natural pest control. Your garden will reward you with a more abundant crop that is blemish free.