Companion Planting: The Complete Guide to Plants That Grow Better Together
Companion planting is all about pairing plants that grow well together to improve each other's health and growth. Some plants absolutely love the company of others, while some get negatively affected when planted too close to the wrong neighbors. I used to find this whole thing pretty daunting—trying to figure out which plants go together and what plants don't. But once you learn the basics, it's actually pretty straightforward.
Different plants bring different benefits to their companions. Marigolds and chrysanthemums deter pests naturally. Bee balm and butterfly plants attract pollinators that help everything grow better. It's like creating little plant communities where everyone helps each other out.
Why Companion Planting Works: Plants can repel pests, attract beneficial insects, improve soil quality, provide shade, support climbing vines, enhance flavors, and even release compounds that help neighboring plants thrive. It's gardening that works with nature instead of against it.
🍅 Tomatoes
✓ Plant With
Basil! Tomatoes and basil were made to grow together (and taste amazing together too). Basil actually helps tomatoes produce greater yields and repels both flies and mosquitoes. It's the ultimate companion plant.
Carrots are another amazing companion. They help aerate the soil when you harvest them, providing better water penetration to tomato roots.
Marigolds are perfect if you're looking for a flower element that also deters pests.
Other good companions: Asparagus, celery, the onion family, lettuce, parsley, and spinach.
✗ Avoid
Cabbage, beets, peas, fennel, dill, and rosemary don't play well with tomatoes.
Corn and tomatoes both suffer from corn earworm. Keep them separated.
Tomatoes and potatoes are both susceptible to blight—a devastating disease. Keep these plants far apart to prevent the spread of pests and diseases.
🌶️ Peppers
✓ Plant With
Basil is fantastic at repelling pests like aphids, spider mites, mosquitoes, and flies. Plus, it actually improves the pepper's flavor. Win-win!
Other good companions: Onions, spinach, and tomatoes.
✗ Avoid
Beans—their vines like to spread around and crowd pepper plants, which peppers really don't appreciate.
🫘 Green Beans
✓ Plant With
Corn! This is a classic example of a "sister crop." Bean vines wrap around corn stalks for support, creating a beautiful symbiotic relationship. Beans also fix nitrogen in the soil, which corn absolutely loves.
Other companions: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cucumbers, peas, potatoes, and radishes.
✗ Avoid
Beets or anything from the onion family. Onions will actually impede the growth of bean plants.
🥒 Cucumbers
✓ Plant With
Marigolds and nasturtiums for pest deterrent plus a gorgeous pop of color in your garden.
Other companions: Beans, celery, corn, lettuce, dill, peas, and radishes.
✗ Avoid
Aromatic herbs like sage—they'll actually stunt cucumber growth.
🧅 Onions
✓ Plant With
Carrots—onions repel the dreaded carrot fly. Onions will also chase away aphids, so plant them near aphid-prone (but onion-friendly) vegetables.
Other companions: Beets, cabbage, lettuce, parsnips, tomatoes, and spices like marjoram, savory, and rosemary.
✗ Avoid
Asparagus, beans, and peas don't do well near onions.
🥬 Lettuce
✓ Plant With
Mint! It keeps away the slugs that love to munch on lettuce leaves. Chives and garlic also help repel pests.
Other companions: Beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, corn, peas, radishes, and marigolds.
✗ Avoid
Parsley—it grows as a small but bushy plant that ends up crowding your lettuce.
🫛 Summer Squash & Zucchini
✓ Plant With
Corn! As squash vines, it'll wrap around corn stalks for support. This is another classic "sister crop" relationship. Squash also does well with beans, peas, radishes, dill, and marigolds.
✗ Avoid
Potatoes. Both potatoes and squash are prone to blight. Keep them separated to prevent disease spread.
🥕 Carrots
✓ Plant With
Tomato plants can provide carrots with a bit of shade—carrots can be heat sensitive. Tomatoes produce solanine, a natural insecticide that targets pests affecting carrots. Meanwhile, carrots aerate the soil around tomato roots, allowing more air and water to reach them. It's a perfect partnership!
Leeks and carrots are also natural companions.
Herbs: Rosemary, sage, and chives are great herbs to plant with carrots.
✗ Avoid
Coriander and dill—they both produce compounds that can harm carrot plants.
Parsnips suffer from the same diseases and pests as carrots, so keep them apart to minimize potential infestations.
🌿 Radishes
✓ Plant With
Cucumbers—radishes can attract cucumber beetles away from the cucumber itself, acting as a trap crop.
They also do well among carrots because radishes are harvested before carrots mature, and they loosen the soil as the carrots start to really take off.
Other companions: Onions, beets, cabbage, kale, lettuce, spinach, and squash.
✗ Avoid
The herb hyssop—not a good match for radishes.
🌽 Sweet Corn
✓ Plant With
Corn loves vegetables that fix nitrogen in the soil—like green beans. Cornstalks also make a fantastic natural trellis for vining or trailing plants including beans, cucumbers, peas, pumpkins, and melons. These are the famous "sister crops" from Native American agriculture.
Zucchini is also a good companion when planted among corn.
✗ Avoid
Tomatoes and corn are both affected by corn earworm. Plant these two far apart to minimize pest spread. When rotating crops, don't just swap these two out for each other—that defeats the purpose!
Building Healthy Soil for Companion Planting
While companion planting helps plants support each other, the foundation of a great garden is always healthy soil. Start with quality amendments like Ancient Soil to build living soil packed with beneficial microbes. Add Worm Castings for complete nutrition, and use Plant Juice to keep everything thriving throughout the season.
When your soil is healthy, companion planting becomes even more effective. Plants with strong, healthy root systems better support their companions and resist pests and diseases naturally.
You Got This!
Companion planting isn't as daunting as it seems at first. Start with a few tried-and-true combinations like tomatoes with basil, or the classic "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash. As you see how well these partnerships work, you'll get more confident about experimenting with other combinations.
The key is observing your garden and learning what works in your specific conditions. Every garden is a little different, and that's part of what makes gardening so interesting!
Keep Learning About Vegetable Gardening
Want to dive deeper into growing amazing vegetables? Check out our guides on creating explosive vegetable gardens, vegetable garden success, and raised garden bed care. Plus, our complete guide to organic plant care covers everything you need to build thriving, sustainable gardens.