Garden Companion Planting Guide
I’ve been growing vegetables in some capacity since I was about seven or eight years old. When I was growing up in Toronto, my best friend who lived around the corner from me had a pretty large back garden and would grow some veggies every year. I used to come over and help her out with the planting and then the harvesting later in the summer. Our specialty was potatoes. I remember going over to her house to harvest the potatoes and then using them to make homemade french fries. It was always a lot of fun. I’d say that this summer activity of ours is what sparked my interest in gardening, which has only grown bigger over the years. I had my first real vegetable garden of my own the summer after we moved into my current family home. What started out as a roughly 8×10 foot garden has developed and grown over the years to become an 8×23 foot garden now with raised beds, which we built a couple of summers ago. Planning and caring for my garden is one of my favourite things to do. There is something so satisfying about growing your own food and flowers. In the summer months I can often be found just wandering around the garden checking on my various beds of vegetables, flowers, and herbs.
I’ve consumed a lot of content about gardening over the years through various mediums such as social media accounts I follow or books that I’ve read. These are a couple of my favourite instagram accounts for gardening tips and inspiration: Urban Farmstead and Seattle Urban Farm Co. One topic that I learned quite a bit about early on in my gardening journey is the idea of companion planting. Companion planting is arranging your garden so that ‘compatible’ plants are grown near one another. This can increase crop yields and reduce the risk of certain pests and diseases. Similarly, planting certain plants next to other that they are not ‘compatible’ with can have the opposite effect. There are tons of great resources online about companion planting and its benefits. I did quite a bit of research about it a number of years ago and transferred that information into my trusty garden planning journal for easy reference every year when I sit down to plan my garden. So if you’ve ever had a crop do great one year and terrible the next, what you planted it next to could be a factor.
Below you can. find a list of common garden vegetables and their best growing companions. If you’d like to keep this list handy, you can download this PDF to keep on hand for making planting decisions.
Companion Planting Guide
Beans
Plant Near: Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peas, potatoes, radishes, squash, strawberries, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Garlic, onions, peppers, sunflowers
Beets
Plant Near: Asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Swiss chard
Steer Clear: Mustard, pole beans
Broccoli
Plant Near: Beans, beets, celery, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, sage, marigolds
Steer Clear: Cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, pole beans, tomatoes
Brussels Sprouts
Plant Near: Dill, lettuce, radishes, sage, spinach, turnips
Steer Clear: Tomatoes
Cabbage
Plant Near: Beans, celery, cucumbers, dill, kale, lettuce, onions, potatoes, sage, spinach, thyme
Steer Clear: Broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, tomatoes
Carrots
Plant Near: Beans, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, rosemary, sage, tomatoes, leeks
Steer Clear: Dill, parsley
Cauliflower
Plant Near: Beans, beets, celery, cucumber, sage, thyme
Steer Clear: Broccoli, cabbage, strawberries, tomatoes
Celery
Plant Near: Beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, spinach, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Parsnips, potatoes
Corn
Plant Near: Beans, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, peas, potatoes, squash, sunflowers
Steer Clear: Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Plant Near: Beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, lettuce, peas, radishes, sunflowers
Steer Clear: Herbs, melons, potatoes
Eggplant
Plant Near: Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, peas, potatoes, radishes, squash, strawberries, tomatoes, basil, spinach, beans
Steer Clear: Onions, garlic, peppers
Garlic
Plant Near: Cucumbers, lettuce
Kale
Plant Near: Cabbage, dill, potatoes, rosemary, sage
Steer Clear: Strawberries, tomatoes
Lettuce
Plant Near: Asparagus, beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, strawberries, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Broccoli
Melons
Plant Near: Corn, pea, radishes, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Cucumbers, potatoes
Onions
Plant Near: Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Beans, peas, sage
Parsnips
Plant Near: Garlic, onion, potatoes, radishes, peppers, beans, peas
Peas
Plant Near: Beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, melons, parsnips, potatoes, radishes, spinach, turnips
Steer Clear: Garlic, onions
Peppers
Plant Near: Basil, cilantro, onions, spinach, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Beans
Potatoes
Plant Near: Beans, broccoli, cabbage, corn, eggplant, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes
Steer Clear: Cucumbers, melons, squash, tomatoes, turnips
Radishes
Plant Near: Beets, beans, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, melons, peas, spinach, squash, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Brussels Sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower
Spinach
Plant Near: Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, dill, eggplant, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, radishes, strawberries, tomatoes
Steer Clear: Parsnips, potatoes
Squash
Plant Near: Beans, corn, cucumber, peas
Swiss Chard
Plant Near: Beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, cauliflower, turnip
Steer Clear: Parsnips
Tomatoes
Plant Near: Asparagus, basil, beans, borage, carrots, celery, dill, lettuce, melons, onions, parsley, peppers, radishes, spinach, thyme
Steer Clear: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, kale, potatoes
Zucchini
Plant Near: Corn, lettuce, marigolds, melons, nasturtium, peas, radishes, sunflowers, squash
Steer Clear: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, fennel, kale, potatoes
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the fruits and vegetables that can be grown in your garden, but it covers most of the basics. I encourage you to review this list either through this post or by downloading this PDF that summarizes what I’ve written above. In addition, I encourage you to do more research on the topic. Understanding more about companion planting will help your garden thrive.
Happy gardening!
xx
Ashley
Excellent article ,Ashley! Can’t wait to see what our garden will yield this summer!