Companion Planting Chart: Which Vegetables to Grow Together (and Apart)
This guide contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Simple Garden Hub earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Companion planting means growing certain plants side by side because they help each other: one might attract pollinators, confuse pests, shade the soil, or simply use space the other does not need. The chart below covers the most common backyard vegetables.
Reliable pairings include tomatoes with basil and marigolds, corn with pole beans and squash, carrots with onions, and cabbage-family crops with nasturtiums and dill. Keep beans away from onions and garlic, and do not plant tomatoes next to potatoes.
Companion planting chart
| Vegetable | Good companions | Keep apart from |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | Basil, marigolds, carrots, onions, lettuce, parsley | Potatoes, fennel, cabbage family, corn |
| Peppers | Basil, onions, carrots, marigolds | Fennel, beans |
| Beans | Corn, squash, cucumbers, carrots, radishes | Onions, garlic, chives, fennel |
| Peas | Carrots, radishes, lettuce, cucumbers | Onions, garlic |
| Cucumbers | Beans, peas, dill, nasturtiums, radishes, sunflowers | Potatoes, sage |
| Squash and zucchini | Corn, beans, nasturtiums, marigolds | Potatoes |
| Carrots | Onions, leeks, chives, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes | Dill, fennel |
| Lettuce | Carrots, radishes, onions, tall crops that give shade | Few problems; avoid crowding by cabbage family |
| Cabbage, broccoli, kale | Dill, onions, nasturtiums, thyme, beets | Tomatoes, strawberries, pole beans |
| Onions and garlic | Carrots, lettuce, beets, tomatoes, cabbage family | Beans, peas |
| Potatoes | Beans, cabbage family, marigolds | Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash |
| Corn | Pole beans, squash, cucumbers, peas | Tomatoes |
How to use this chart: treat it as a guide for planning neighbors, not a rulebook. A “keep apart” plant a few feet away in the next bed is fine.
Does companion planting really work?
Partly. Some pairings have solid evidence behind them, and others are garden tradition that has never been properly tested. It helps to know which is which:
Flowers bring helpers
Flowering plants such as dill, alyssum and marigolds attract pollinators and the insects that eat aphids and caterpillars.
Trap crops
Nasturtiums lure aphids, and some pests prefer them over your vegetables. Check the trap plants and remove badly infested ones.
Marigolds and nematodes
French marigolds suppress root-knot nematodes in the soil, mainly when grown densely for a full season before the crop.
Flavor claims
The idea that basil makes tomatoes taste better is popular but unproven. They still grow happily together.
The most dependable benefits are practical ones: mixing plant families makes it harder for pests to find their favorite crop, and combining tall, short and sprawling plants gets more food from the same space.
Five pairings worth trying first
1. Tomatoes, basil and marigolds
Basil fits neatly in the gaps under tomato plants and likes the same sun and water. Marigolds at the bed edges add flowers that draw in beneficial insects. All three are planted at the same time, after your last frost.
2. Corn, pole beans and squash (the “Three Sisters”)
This is the best-known companion planting of all, developed by Indigenous peoples of North America. Each plant does a job for the other two.
Plant the corn first. When it is about 6 inches tall, sow pole beans around each stalk, then add squash a week later at the edges.
3. Carrots and onions
Carrots and onions use different depths of soil and take up little room. Gardeners have long alternated rows of the two in the belief that the smell of onions masks carrots from the carrot fly. The evidence is mixed, but the pairing costs nothing and uses space well.
4. Cabbage family and nasturtiums
Broccoli, cabbage and kale attract aphids and caterpillars. A border of nasturtiums serves as a trap crop, and dill or alyssum nearby attracts the tiny wasps and hoverflies that feed on those pests.
5. Lettuce under taller plants
Lettuce turns bitter and goes to seed in summer heat. Planted on the shady side of tomatoes, peas or trellised cucumbers, it stays cooler and lasts weeks longer.
Both are cheap, sprout easily and bloom all summer. Sow them along bed edges.
Plants to keep apart, and why
- Tomatoes and potatoes. They are close relatives and share diseases, especially blight, which spreads easily between them.
- Beans or peas with onions and garlic. Gardeners have long reported that onion-family plants stunt beans and peas. It is easy to avoid, so most people do.
- Fennel with almost everything. Fennel can hold back the growth of nearby plants. Give it its own pot or corner.
- Too many plants from one family together. A whole bed of cabbage, broccoli and kale is an open invitation to the pests that love them.
How to plan a companion-planted bed
- Start with your main crops. Choose the two or three vegetables you most want to eat.
- Put tall plants on the north side so they do not shade the rest, unless you want shade for lettuce.
- Fill gaps with quick, small crops. Radishes, lettuce and green onions are ready before large plants need the room.
- Add herbs and flowers at the edges. Basil, dill, marigolds and nasturtiums take little space.
- Check the “keep apart” column and move anything that clashes.
If you have not built your bed yet, start with raised bed gardening for beginners. Not sure what to grow? See the 10 easiest vegetables for beginners.
Sketch your beds and note what worked. Next year’s plan gets much easier.
Frequently asked questions
How close do companion plants need to be?
Close enough to share the same bed, usually within 1 to 3 feet. Still give each plant the spacing listed on its seed packet. Crowding causes more problems than any companion can fix.
What should not be planted with tomatoes?
Potatoes (shared blight), fennel (slows growth), and cabbage-family crops and corn, which compete heavily or share pests.
Can I use companion planting in containers?
Yes. A large pot with one tomato, a basil plant and a marigold is a classic combination.
