Ideal combinations would include pairing crops with other vegetables that repel pests while also improving growth and flavor of each other. Herbs make excellent companions in your vegetable garden: dill, chamomile, sage and thyme are good at deterring brassica pests while nasturtium repels squash bugs.
Corn thrives when planted alongside beans and squash (the Three Sisters), though its performance drops off considerably when placed near cucumber or melons.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes do well when planted alongside plants that add nitrogen to the soil, such as beans and peas. Furthermore, pollinators-attracting flowers such as marigolds or nasturtiums attract pollinators that help eliminate harmful insects that damage tomatoes such as hornworms or garden pests such as spider mites.
Carrots (Pisum sativum) make excellent companion plants for tomatoes because they loosen the soil around them to reduce fungal disease pressure. Carrots can even be planted alongside your trellised tomatoes for additional shade – though in this instance their size will reduce accordingly.
Avoid planting nightshade crops such as peppers and eggplants near tomatoes to save water, light and nutrients, while they could spread any disease into their surroundings and potentially cause blight in them as well as potatoes, corn and other members of the Solanaceae family. Instead, combine tomatoes with non-nightshade vegetables such as these:
Beans
Growing beans alongside other vegetables helps them quickly gain all the vitamins they require for proper development. Beans pair particularly well with brassicas such as kale and broccoli, as they share similar nutritional needs while simultaneously deterring many common pests.
Beans pair well with members of the squash family, such as corn and pumpkin plants. Squash leaves act as natural trellises for beans while their shade helps cool roots while maintaining moisture.
Bush beans pair well with radishes, cilantro and arugula which attract beneficial insects while simultaneously disorienting garden pests. Chamomile can help repel bean beetles; marigolds deter Mexican bean beetles as well as other bean pests that attack them; they also repel Mexican bean beetles when planted near beans as do nasturtiums and summer savory. Other plants that work with beans include rosemary, dill and basil which add flavor while deterring insects while repelling bugs from eating the beans themselves! Avoid planting alliums (onions /scallions/ etc) because these will compete for soil nutrients between each other!
Lettuce
Since lettuce’s shallow roots allow it to thrive with other similar-need vegetables, such as root crops like carrots and beets, it makes sense for them to share the same garden bed alongside lettuce since their nutrients don’t compete for each other’s limited soil resources. Companion planting with these crops also helps mitigate water loss due to evaporation during hot weather – something the lettuce plants depend upon greatly when in need.
Cucumbers, squash and radishes make great companion plants to lettuce as they are slow-growing companions that will fill in any gaps left by fast-growing lettuce plants. Furthermore, these slow-growers may help deter pests such as cucumber beetles and squash vine borers that feed off of young lettuce plants by eating away at their leaves quickly.
Spinach, chard and other dark leafy greens make excellent companions for lettuce because they provide shade during afternoon sun exposure when temperatures heat up, as well as repel slugs with natural predators that eat them away.
Peas
Snow, snap and traditional garden peas all pair perfectly in a vegetable garden together, from snow peas to snap peas and traditional garden varieties, with beans and cucumbers. All three plants share similar growing needs and trellises together seamlessly, saving money on materials while taking up less space in your plot. Peas can coexist happily with most other vegetables though onions or garlic (alliums) could hinder peas from reaching full growth potential; their presence competes for nutrients needed by peas while spreading diseases like blight which could potentially harm or kill them completely.
Cucumbers come in both bush-type and vining varieties, both of which make ideal companions for peas. Vining varieties can use the same trellising system as your peas to save space while harvesting produce all spring and summer long. Peas contribute nitrogen to the soil that supports cucumber growth while their natural aroma deters pests that would otherwise feast upon your crop; herbs such as dill or marigold flowers can even lure these pests away from the pea plant, further protecting your crop!
Radishes
Radishes are one of the easiest and fastest vegetables to cultivate, pairing perfectly with virtually all other plants. Their loosening effect on soil conditions benefits carrots while their attraction of ladybugs and lacewings protects lettuce from pests like carrot fly. Onions can also act as great companions since both produce their own pest-killers but too close together can block sunlight reaching carrot tops; try keeping at least a couple rows between each planting for best results.
Legumes such as beans and peas provide nitrogen to the soil that allows cucumbers to flourish, while nasturtium, marigolds, tansy, and nasturtium repel cucumber beetles while improving crop growth. Dill attracts beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps that pollinate cucumbers pollinate while keeping pest levels down. Cucumbers don’t do well when planted near potatoes which compete for nutrients and moisture with them – instead pair them up with spinach which will repel leaf miners which also attack spinach plants to increase both plants’ success!
Carrots
Carrots thrive when planted alongside other root vegetables in similar soil conditions. Taller plants that might shade or outcompete for nutrients should not be allowed near them; compost or rotted manure mixed into the top 8-10 inches of soil works perfectly, and to further ensure success add a slow-release liquid fertilizer every 3-4 weeks for extra support.
Carrots make excellent companions, particularly with radishes (which prefer the shallow top inch of soil while carrots dig deeper), lettuce, peas and many herbs. Carrots also pair well with cabbage and broccoli since their deeper roots do not compete for nutrients with carrots’ shallow roots. In particular, carrots work particularly well when planted near onions that deter carrot flies; and even better with chives that act both as natural pest deterrents and soil nutrient scavengers like chives do; borage also plays dual duties by sucking trace elements from the ground while attracting pollinators’s attention!
Beets
Companion planting, an age-old organic gardening technique that utilizes close planting arrangements of similar species of plants for mutual benefits, can make for easier gardening experience and provide extra advantages over time. Companion plants can improve soil fertility, repel pests and diseases, add flavor to meals and even increase resistance against harmful UV radiation exposure.
Beets are resilient cool-weather crops that thrive in many climates and make an excellent companion plant in any garden. They go well with other cool-season vegetables like kohlrabi, brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts as they share similar growing conditions, providing mutual assistance between each other’s efforts to thrive. Beets also flourish when combined with tall crops like tomatoes that provide shade from summer sun.
Beets pair well with carrots, radishes and leeks as companion crops. Additionally, planting with onions may prove particularly helpful in repelling onion flies and other damaging insects that damage beet roots. Beware planting beets near pole beans and field mustard as this could inhibit their growth.
Basil
Basil thrives in warm conditions and is easy to grow alongside many different vegetables. It makes an excellent companion for root crops like beets (Beta vulgaris), which benefit from basil’s ability to deter soil-boring insects, while early-season crops like tomatoes benefit from having basil near.
Other popular companions for basil include radishes, brassica vegetables and lettuce – as their shared soil requirements make for an ideal pairing and they may enhance each other’s flavors.
Marigold (Tagetes patula) blooming fragrant flowers work alongside basil to deter pest insects and maintain healthy soil. Borage (Borago officinalis), another plant known to thrive alongside basil plants, improves flavor of herbs such as parsley, chives, oregano, sage and rosemary while adding color to any garden while acting as a trap crop to capture any pests that damage basil plants.
Spinach
Spinach makes an excellent companion crop for many garden crops, especially legumes. Leguminous plants capture and fix nitrogen from the air into forms spinach can use, thus improving soil fertility and increasing crop yields by improving yield.
Other leafy greens such as bok choy, chard and romanesco also pair well with spinach and can be planted together for efficient space utilization. All three require similar light and nutrient conditions and help keep soil temperatures cooler, helping prevent spinach bolting during late spring and early summer.
Fennel can be an unfavorable addition, as its roots release allopathic chemicals that inhibit the growth of spinach and other vegetables, shading out smaller spinach plants from sunlight. Furthermore, growing it near potatoes – heavy feeders who consume all available resources in their soil and leave nothing left over for spinach! – is another bad decision.