Companion Planting: 10 Garden Pairs That Are Meant For Each Other

Written By: Melissa Guzowski

What is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is essential knowledge for gardeners, growers and farmers. Companion planting is the strategic way we design and plant in our garden to work with nature. Just like us, our plants have friends, and they thrive when they are buddied up in the garden. This can be for multiple reasons, as different plants bring different strengths to the garden. Companion planting can aid in repelling pests, can increase plant health and disease resistance and can promote productive growth, increasing your garden harvest! There are so many benefits, yet the most important may be knowing which plants don’t like each other. Certain plants may stunt the growth of others when planted next to each other. Certain plants are susceptible to the same pests, which can leave you with an infestation on your hands, and lots of bug-ridden and sad veggies to pick through. This post shares some of my favorite Garden Buddies and why they should be planted together in your garden! It also mentions who else in the garden these plants belong with, and who in the garden to avoid planting them near.

10 Garden Pairs That Are Meant For Each Other

1. Cucumbers & Radishes

Cucumbers and radishes are one of my all time favorite garden pairs. Radishes repel cucumber beetles and cucumbers improve radish growth, making for a mutually beneficial relationship. I like to plant my cucumbers along a trellis to vine up and I plant rows of french breakfast radishes underneath.

Keep this pair away from your potatoes and sage, as cucumbers and potatoes compete for nutrients and radishes are not fond of potatoes either.

Do plant this pair with nasturtium, as they improve the flavor and growth of your cucumbers. Radishes may also be planted with squash and spinach, as they enhance squash’s growth and blooms and repel squash & spinach pests.

2. Carrots & Leeks

First thing to know is: carrots have a lot of friends in the garden! I like to plant my leeks alongside my carrots, as leeks repel carrot flies. In fact most Alliums do, so you may swap the leeks out for onions or chives if that suits your garden needs better! Chives not only repel carrot flies but they also improve the flavor of your carrots. Wormwood and marigolds are a few more plants to keep close to your carrots. Wormwood repels carrot flies and marigolds repel root nematodes. Carrots also love to be planted among tomatoes! Tomatoes deter pests and provide shade for your carrots as carrots create space for water and air to your tomato roots. They are a mutually beneficial garden pair, and both love to be planted with Alliums (leeks, onions, chives and garlic) as well! Keep your carrots away from dill, parsnips and potatoes.

If you drink coffee, save your used grounds and add them to your carrots soil for magnesium & phosphorus. I have heard of people not wanting to put their coffee grounds into their compost pile because of the acidity, but carrots are fond them.

I recommend planting carrots, leeks, tomatoes, nasturtium, chives, basil, peppers, borage, cabbage and onions all together- they are all great friends! I like to stick asparagus in a corner bordered by tomatoes as they like to be planted together but asparagus prefers to be away from the Alliums.

3. Strawberries & Chives

Planting chives among your strawberries keeps your strawberries disease free. Strawberries also enjoy being planted with onions, garlic, borage, thyme, lettuce and spinach. Chives are a beneficial companion for many of your garden veggies so I recommend planting them throughout your garden where they are needed most!

Keep your strawberries away from Brassicas (cabbage, brussels, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, etc.) and fennel and keep your chives away from beans and peas. Chives are fond of Brassicas even though strawberries are not- so make sure you buy enough chive seeds to go around, then they will come back every year!

4. Cabbage & Catnip

Brassicas can tend to attract a lot of pests, but there are a lot of companion plants to try and combat infestations naturally. Catnip repels cabbage moths and aphids (and if you’ve ever grown cabbage you know how bothersome aphids can be!). Cabbage also likes to be planted with tomatoes and celery as they both repel cabbage worms and Borage to repel cabbage moth caterpillars. Plant onions around your cabbage (and other Brassicas) to keep rabbits away and you have yourself a great defense system for happy and healthy cabbage leaves and growth!

5. Tomatoes & Asparagus

Tomatoes repel asparagus beetle and asparagus repels nematodes from tomato plants. Both also love to be planted alongside basil, which improves the flavor and promotes growth of tomato plants. Chives improve the flavor of tomatoes as well (refer to carrots & leeks for planting bundle recommendations!) but asparagus isn’t preferable to the Allium family so be sure to plant on opposite sides! Borage is also a great plant to include alongside your tomatoes as it deters tomato horn worm. All Allium family members do well with tomatoes but not asparagus (chives, garlic, onions, garlic chives, leeks, etc.) but there are perks to having Alliums alongside your tomatoes: garlic repels spider mites, so that’s another good one to add to the group! Carrots, as mentioned above, create space for water and air among tomato roots so they are great buds as well. Other plants that do well among tomatoes are nasturtium, parsley, celery, collards and mint. Plants to keep away from tomatoes are corn, potatoes, Brassicas outside of exceptions mentioned and dill.

6. Potatoes & Purple Dead Nettle

Purple dead nettle planted among your potatoes not only improves the flavor but enhances their growth. Potatoes also LOVE to be planted with broccoli, as that improves the flavor of them as well. Sage is an important garden buddy to keep close by your potatoes as well as it deters flea beetles. Green beans close to your potatoes will repel Colorado potato beetle and cabbage, beans and corn will all improve your potatoes flavor and enhance its growth! Potatoes have a lot of friends but they are susceptible to the same pests as some of our other garden vegetables and it is important to keep them separate. Plants to keep away from your potatoes include carrots, cucumbers, squash, asparagus, tomatoes, melons and spinach.

7. Chamomile & Onions

Planting chamomile among your onions (and also garlic, this rule applies to all Alliums! ) improves their flavor. Planting summer savory among your onions will also improve their flavor. Onions are friends with much of the garden- it is only meant to be kept away from all of your peas, beans & asparagus as onions inhibit the growth of these plants. Onions also enjoy being neighbors with carrots, beets, Brassicas (broccoli, sprouts, kale, cabbage, etc.), strawberries, tomatoes, kohlrabi & leeks!

8. Eggplant & Basil

Basil promotes the growth of your eggplants, so it’s an important friend to keep close. Eggplant also is fond of bush beans as they repel Colorado potato beetle and generally likes to be planted among your peas and beans as they fix the nitrogen in the soil. Eggplant also thrives among broccoli because of the nutrients broccoli provides to the soil. They may also be planted among peppers, spinach, thyme, borage and marigolds. Avoid planting fennel near your eggplant as fennel can inhibit the growth of most plants in your garden and should be planted somewhere in its own space.

9. Garlic & Brussel Sprouts

Speaking from experience, brussel sprouts can bring on massive pest issues, so companion planting your brussels is very important. Brussels have three essential friends in the garden: nasturtium, basil and garlic. All act as powerful pest repellents and garlic improves brussels growth and flavor. Chamomile will improve the flavor of your brussels if you plant it near and beets are also a great friend of brussels as they add much needed magnesium to the soil! Keep your brussels away from other Brassicas to avoid competition over nutrients and possible pest infestation, and keep away from strawberries as brussels will stunt their growth.

10. Nasturtium & Squash

Nasturtium is a great companion plant for a lot of vegetables in your garden. It is one of my favorite plants to grow as the leaves and flowers are both edible and they are a bushy and easy to grow salad green. I love to infuse nasturtium flowers into vinegar, it is my very favorite salad dressing essential and the flowers make the vinegar the most beautiful radiant red in color. Nasturtium repels squash beetles so I make it a priority to keep them close. Nasturtium acts as a great pest repellent against whiteflies, cucumber beetles, squash beetles, Colorado potato beetle, Mexican bean beetle AND it attracts pollinators to the garden (I know, does it get any better!?). I usually plant my nasturtium around my tomatoes, cucumbers and squash as a rule, but nasturtium also likes to be planted near all Brassicas, melons and radishes as well. Squash also likes to be planted next to melons, radishes and nasturtium but they are not as fond of potatoes and Brassicas as their companion is. I like to make a garden section (or bed, I like to call them ‘garden communities’) of melons, radishes, cucumbers (mentioned above), nasturtium, squash, borage and marigold as they all work well together and benefit each others growth and protection.