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The Best Companion Plants For Every Garden

So, you’ve been in the gardening game for a bit, and you are looking to level up, so to speak. That might mean looking for new plants to try or new techniques. One valuable technique that can help diversify and improve your crops is something called companion planting. Essentially, companion planting is an age-old gardening technique that pairs plants with complementary characteristics as a way to help improve growth, deter pests, and promote a healthier ecosystem. 

By understanding which plants work best together, gardeners can not only create better-growing gardens, but they can also reduce their reliance on things like synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Overall, it is a real win-win for your garden. These companion plants will help you achieve the goal of a more productive and sustainable garden.

Basil and Tomatoes

Basil and tomatoes
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When it comes to companion planting, there is pretty much no partnership quite as well known as basil and tomatoes. Not only do these two go well together on your plate, but they also improve one another in your garden. According to Today’s Homeowner, the two share the same needs for space, soil, and watering, so planting them with one another is almost the same as putting in a single plant! The aromatic herb helps repel and keep away nasty pests, meaning your tomatoes are more likely to be untouched by the time you get to them.

Marigolds and Vegetables

Marigolds and Vegetables
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Marigolds are a popular companion plant to plenty of different vegetables, mainly thanks to their ability to help keep away nematodes and other soil-born pests. Their bold, bright flowers also attract pretty pollinators and beneficial insects like ladybugs, which help control pests naturally. Better Homes & Gardens recommends planting these bold, bright yellow flowers next to veggies like potatoes, squash, pumpkins, and more. 

Carrots and Onions

Carrots and Onions
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Carrots and onions, besides being great together in all sorts of dishes, also make an excellent duo in the garden since their growth habits nearly perfectly complement one another. While carrots dig down deep into the soil, onions occupy more of the surface area so planting the two together means you can maximize your garden growing space. As a bonus, the strong smell of growing onions helps confuse and keep away carrot flies, shares Epic Gardening, keeping them from damaging your crop. 

Cucumbers and Nasturtiums

Cucumbers and Nasturtiums
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Nasturtiums are pretty much any gardener’s secret weapon, especially when you combo them with cucumbers. One of their best benefits is that these bright and cheerful flowers help repel damaging insects such as aphids, cucumber beetles, and whiteflies. Even better, nasturtiums act as a sort of “trap plant” to attract all sorts of pests away from your cucumbers and nearby crops!

Beans and Corn

Beans, Corn and Squash
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Pretty much the original pairing, beans and corn being planted together go all the way back to Indigenous farming practices like the “Three Sisters” method. The Farmer’s Almanac shares that beans can fix the nitrogen in the soil, enriching it for plants that need a lot of the mineral – aka, corn. Meanwhile, corn provides climbing support for pole beans, so you get a mutually beneficial combo. Add squash to the mix for the full effect.

Strawberries and Lettuce

Strawberry and lettuce
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Strawberries and lettuce share a super productive relationship in your garden. Lettuce acts as a sort of natural ground cover that shades the soil and helps keep it both cool and moist for strawberries. The pairing also maximizes space since the two occupy different height levels in a garden bed. 

Peppers and Parsley

Peppers and parsley
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The next time you get to planting, try partnering up peppers and parsley for a near-perfect combo. According to Treehugger, parsley helps attract beneficial insects that usually prey on common pepper pests. Plus, parsley provides a bit of shade and cover for the bare soil around the peppers, meaning you get two crops in the same space as one!

Spinach and Radishes

Spinach and radish
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Spinach and radishes are perfect for early-season gardening. Radishes grow quickly and act as a “trap crop” to draw away nasty pests like leaf miners away from spinach. Spinach also seriously benefits from how the roots of the radishes break up the soil, making it easier for tender spinach plants to push up and through.

Cabbage and Dill

cabbage, dill, and peas in a garden
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Our next set of companion plants that go well together are cabbage and dill, which have a sort of symbolic relationship in the garden. The team over at Epic Gardening recommends the two as dill helps repel pests like cabbage harms and loopers, which can cause carnage to cabbage leaves. Meanwhile, the cabbage plant provides shade for the more delicate dill, which prefers a bit more cover from intense sunlight. 

Garlic and Roses

Pink rose plant near the garlic plants
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This pairing might seem a little out of the blue, but when you combine the strong-smelling garlic with sweet-smelling roses, you get an excellent combo. The pungent aroma of the garlic will help keep off aphids, spider mites, and Japanese beetles – all critters that commonly target rose bushes. Plant a bit of garlic around the base of your rose plants to help keep them going and growing strong.

Zucchini and Borage

Zucchini and Borage
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If you’re looking to plant some zucchini in your garden, try pairing it with borage – a lesser-known herb that has some gorgeous star-shaped flowers. Borage is great at attracting pollinators to help make sure that the zucchini yields are larger while also keeping away common pests like aphids and beetles. Plus, borage helps improve soil quality by adding trace minerals back into it.

Potatoes and Horseradish 

Young farmer woman harvesting potatoes in the field.working at a farm.
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If you’re looking to protect your potatoes, the Spruce recommends planting it along with horseradish for some extra defense. Horseradish, when planted around the edges of a potato patch, can help make sure that potato beetles and other pests steer clear. It’s also thought that horseradish can improve and enhance the flavor of the tubers!

Sunflowers and Pole Beans

Sunflowers in a field of agriculture at sunset. Sunflower landscape flower concept. Field of sunflowers and flowers. Aerial view of fields of sunflowers and flowers in agriculture lifestyle at sunset.
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Last but not least, sunflowers and pole beans pair together near-perfectly. The sunflowers, with their long, sturdy stalks, provide natural trellises for the pole beans to grow on while also attracting bees and other pollinators. Beans, in return, help enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen, which promotes sunflower health for bigger, better sunflowers.

Author

  • Bonnie's interests include hiking, a passion she nurtured while living in Upstate New York, and cooking, gardening, and home decorating. These hobbies allow her to express her creativity and connect with nature, providing a well-rounded balance to her busy life. Through her professional achievements, community involvement, and personal pursuits, she embodies a holistic approach to life, dedicated to service, growth, and well-being.

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