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7 Excellent Companion Plants for Mint

7 Excellent Companion Plants for Mint

Easy to grow and easy to love, mint is among the most common perennial herbs. Whether you grow peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, or common garden mint (or one of the many other varieties!), knowing the best companion plants for mint can help you grow healthy, happy plants.

mint and marigolds in a raised bed.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

First, it’s helpful to know the growing requirements and other qualities of mint before deciding how and where to plant it. Mint appreciates moist, well-drained soil in part shade to full sun, though it tolerates a wide range of conditions. It also spreads quickly via rhizomes and can be nearly impossible to completely remove, so take care when selecting a location for it. Choose a well-contained bed for mint, such as one surrounded by sidewalks and walls, or plant it in a container or raised bed.

For companion planting, place pots of mint at the ends of beds (or directly in the beds) containing the desired companion plant to receive the benefits without risking mint taking over the whole garden! These pots can be moved as desired or left in place long-term. Mint will overwinter in these containers and come back the following spring. Alternatively, you can plant companion plants in or around an in-ground or raised-bed mint patch.

Companion Plants For Mint

An excellent companion plant, mint deters many insect pests, such as cabbageworms, aphids, ants, and flea beetles. It can even improve the health and flavor of some vegetables! Always let some of your mint flower, as the spikes of tiny flowers attract pollinators.

1. Cabbage

a row of cabbage growing in the garden.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

All members of the cabbage, or brassica, family enjoy benefits from growing near mint. This includes broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, turnips, and kohlrabi, among others. Mint actually improves the health of brassica plants and the flavor of the resulting vegetables when they’re planted together. It also repels the white cabbageworm, a devastating brassica pest.

2. Carrots

a bunch of colorful carrots.
Image credit: Depositphotos.

Mint’s strong aroma helps deter the carrot root fly. Carrot root flies lay their eggs around the base of carrot plants, then the larvae that hatch feed on the carrot roots, weakening the plant and making the vegetable unsightly or even unusable.

Position mint near your carrots to prevent this! Mint is also said to improve the flavor of carrots, though you’ll likely have to plant them together for this benefit — remember to plant carrots with mint, and not the other way around!

These plants are great carrot companions.

3. Marigold

marigolds
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

While mint deters many pests, it can still benefit from other pest-deterring plants itself. Plant mint and marigolds together (or position them near each other) to protect each other and other plants in the garden from insect pests. In addition to repelling pests, marigolds also attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps.

Here are tips for growing marigolds.

4. Onion

onions growing in the garden
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Like the carrot fly, onion flies lay their eggs at the base of onions so their larvae can burrow into and feed on the bulb. The good news is that the strong fragrance of mint helps mask the scent of onions, making them difficult to find and protecting your crop from this destructive pest. If you struggle with onion flies in your garden, try placing a couple of pots of mint around your onion patch.

Tips for growing onions.

5. Radish

freshly picked radishes.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Though flea beetles don’t often cause devastating harm to radishes, they do frequently cause cosmetic damage by chewing numerous little holes in the leaves. Whether you have a particularly bad infestation of flea beetles or simply want your radish greens to remain whole, some strategically placed mint can help deter the tiny beetles.

See what other plants are beneficial to radishes.

6. Stinging nettle

Basket of freshly picked stinging nettles
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

It may seem counterintuitive to plant stinging nettle in the garden, but this painful plant has some enormously beneficial qualities (not to mention it’s quite nutritious). Stinging nettle strengthens mint plants and can even enhance their aromatic oils, though you’ll have to plant them together. It also makes nearby plants more resistant to insect pests and can help them withstand slugs and snails, which seem to enjoy munching on just about everything in the garden.

Learn more about growing stinging nettle.

7. Tomatoes

orange colored cherry tomatoes on the vine, ready to harvest.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Mint helps protect tomatoes from spider mites and even larger pests like voles. Try planting tomatoes directly in the mint patch; some say that mint enhances the health of tomato plants and the flavor of their fruits. Both mint and tomatoes benefit from the presence of stinging nettle, too, making them an unlikely but beneficial trio.

Check out these tips for growing tomatoes:

Though mint may seem like a poor companion plant given its tendency to take over, it can positively impact many different plants and even benefit from a few in return. Just plant it in containers to position around the garden, or try planting desired companions directly in or at the edges of a mint patch. The results may pleasantly surprise you!

Companion Planting Guide (Including 7 Benefits Of Polyculture)

marigolds
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Companion planting offers numerous benefits to the home gardener, whether practiced in the vegetable garden, herb garden, or even flower beds. If you are just starting this practice, the numerous possible plant combinations can seem overwhelming.

This companion planting guide breaks down the essential details about companion planting and includes a list of individual companion plant guides so you can absorb the information one bite at a time.

Author

  • Serena Manickam is a freelance editor and writer and sustainable market gardener in rural Virginia. She holds a BA in environmental science and runs Fairydiddle Farm, a small market garden in which she grows no-spray produce and herbs to sell at a local farmer’s market.

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