Companion Planting Charts

Companion planting charts are called "voodoo"' by some and "essential" by others. Regardless of which side you're on, there are two undeniable facts supporting them: (1) symbiotic relationships exist for all life forms, including plants and (2) if nothing else, practicing companion planting won't hurt your garden...

• Symbiotic Relationships in Nature
• Companion Planting List by Crop
• What has worked for YOU?

Symbiotic Relationships in Nature Support the Use of Companion Planting Charts

Symbiotic relationships occur when separate life forms interact with each other and either one or both species benefit in some way. Sometimes the relationship helps both parties (mutualism), sometimes it helps one and hurts the other (parasitism) and sometimes it helps one and the other is unaffected (commensalism).

Symbiosis occurs for virtually every living thing at one time or another. Consider some examples from the animal kingdom...

• Oxpeckers ride the back of rhinos and eat parasites (mutualism)
• Mosquitoes suck the blood of mammals (parasitism)
• Clownfish hide among sea anemones for protection (commensalism)

Similarly, symbiosis occurs everywhere in the plant world, including your garden. For instance...

• Legumes such as beans, peas and clover are able to fix nitrogen in the soil, thereby making the soil more nutritious for other plants
• Marigolds release a chemical called thiopene that repels nematodes (type of worms)

And on a less scientific level...

• Tall plants or "full" plants can "shade out" areas of your garden, thus preventing garden weeds from getting the sunlight they need to grow
• Thorny bushes can prevent deer or raccoons from pillaging your crop

Long story short, companion planting charts make sense on some level. The question comes down to exactly which plants benefit one another and which plants hurt one another...

Companion Planting Charts: Which Together and Which to Separate?

The following companion planting list will give you a generally accepted answer to that question, but it is far from gospel. There are countless factors that differ from region to region and from garden to garden.

Use this page as a starting point, then make your own observations and adjust accordingly.

Crop	Companion Plants	Plants to Avoid
Apples	Chives	None
Artichokes	Sunflower, tarragon	None
Asparagus	Basil, carrots, parsley, tomato	Chive, garlic, leek, onion
Basil	Peppers, tomato, marigold	None
Beans, Bush	Beet, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, leek, lettuce, marigold, parsnip, peas, potato, radish, rosemary, strawberry, sunflower	Basil, fennel, kohlrabi, onions
Beans, Pole	Carrots, cauliflower, chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, marigold, peas, potato, radish, rosemary, strawberry	Basil, beets, cabbage, fennel, kohlrabi, onions, radish, sunflower
Beets	Bush beans, cabbage, corn, leek, lettuce, lima bean, onion, radish	Pole beans
Blueberries	Plant near other ericaceous plants such as pines and oaks	None
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Broccoli	Basil, beet, bush beans, carrot, celery, chard, cucumber, dill, garlic, kale, lettuce, marigold, mint, onion, oregano, potato, rosemary, sage, spinach, thyme, tomato	Lima beans, pole beans, snap beans, strawberry
Brussels sprouts	Beet, bush beans, carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onion, pea, potato, radish, spinach, tomato	Kohlrabi, pole beans, strawberry
Cabbage	Beet, bush beans, carrot, celery, cucumber, dill, kale, lettuce, mint, onion, potato, rosemary, sage, spinach, thyme, tomato	Pole beans, strawberry
Cantaloupe	Corn	Potato
Carrot	Beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chive, lettuce, leek, onion, peas, peppers, radish, rosemary, sage, tomato	Celery, dill, parsnip
Cauliflower	Beet, bush beans, carrots, celery, cucumber, dill, kale, lettuce, mint, onion, potato, rosemary, sage, spinach, tomato	Pole beans, strawberry
Celery	Bush beans, cabbage, cauliflower, leek, pea, spinach, tomato	Carrot, parsley, parsnip
Chives	Carrots	Beans, peas
Cilantro	Beans, peas	None
Corn	Beet, Bush beans, cabbage, cantaloupe, cucumber, dill, melons, parsley, peas, pumpkin, squash, sunflower	Tomato
Cucumber	Bush beans, cabbage, carrots, corn, dill, eggplant, lettuce, marigold, peas, radish, sunflower, tomato	Potato, sage
Eggplant	Bush beans, garlic, marigold, peas, pepper, potato, spinach, tarragon, thyme	None
Fennel	Dill	This plant should be kept separate from most others
Garlic	Roses, raspberries	None
Ginger	n/a	None
Goji Berries
Grapes	Chives, clover, hyssop, mustards	None
Hops	None (hops tend to crowd out other plants)
Kale Plant	Bush beans, beet, cabbage, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onion, potato, spinach, tomato	Pole beans
Kiwi Fruit	Grapefruit, blueberry, grapes, raspberries, marjoram, catnip, lemon balm, geranium, currants, lavendar, geranium	None
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Kohlrabi	Bush beans, beet, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onion, potato, tomato	Pole beans, peppers
Lavender	n/a	None
Leeks	Bush beans, beet, carrot, celery, garlic, onion, parsley, tomato	Legumes
Lemon Balm	n/a	None
Lettuce	Grows well with just about anything. Particularly fond of beans, carrots, cucumbers, garlic, onions and radishes.	None
Lima beans	Beet, radish	None
Milk Thistle	n/a	None
Mint	Cabbage, tomatoes	None
Okra	Basil, cucumbers, melons, black-eyed peas	None
Onions	Beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chamomile, cucumber, dill, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, parsnip, peppers, potato, spinach, squash, strawberry, tomato, turnip	Asparagus, beans, peas, sage
Oregano	n/a	None
Parsley	Asparagus, corn, tomato	None
Parsnips	Bush beans, garlic, onion, peas, peppers, potato, radish	Carrot, celery
Peaches	Garlic	Apples
Peas	Beans, carrots, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, parsley, radish, spinach, strawberry, peppers, turnip	Onions, potato
Peppers	Carrot, eggplant, onion, parsnip, peas, tomato	Fennel, kohlrabi
Potato	Bush beans, cabbage, corn, eggplant, horseradish, parsnip, peas	Cucumber, fennel, kohlrabi, pumpkin, raspberry, rutabaga, squash, sunflower, tomato, turnip
Pumpkin	Celery, corn, dill, eggplant, melons, onions, peas, radish, strawberry	Potato
Radish	Beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, corn, cucumber, lettuce, melons, parsnip, peas, spinach, squash, sweet potato, tomato	None
Raspberries	Rue	Wild raspberries, blackberries
Rice	Azolla (a.k.a. mosquito fern)	Wheat
Rosemary	Beans, cabbage, carrots, sage	None
Rutabaga	Onions, peas	Potato
Saffron	n/a	None
Sage	Cabbage, carrots, rosemary, tomatoes	Cucumbers
Soybeans	Potatoes, cucumbers, corn, strawberries, celery, summer savory	Onion, garlic
Spinach	Cabbage, celery, corn, legumes, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, strawberry	Potato
Squash	Celery, corn, dill, eggplant, melons, onions, peas, radish, strawberry	Potato
Strawberry	Beans, lettuce, onions, peas, spinach	Cabbage
Swiss Chard	Beans, cabbage, onions	Corn, cucumbers, melons, potatoes, and all herbs
Tarragon	n/a	None
Thyme	Cabbage	None
Tomato	Asparagus, basil, bush beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, chive, cucumber, garlic, lettuce, marigold, mint, onion, parsley, pepper	Corn, pole beans, dill, fennel, potato
Turnips	Onions, peas	Potato
Wheat	n/a	Barberry, lettuce
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*Effectivenss of companion planting charts may vary

What crops do YOU plant together or keep separate?

Let us know what's worked in your garden, including...

- What crops do you keep together?
- Which do you separate?
- What is your reasoning?

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