Companion Planting Chart | Epic Guide to Interplanting

Last Updated 10/31/21

I remember listening to my grandfather when I was growing up talking about how you have to grow basil plants next to tomato plants in your garden for good growth.  

I never quite understood what he meant by that except that maybe they taste good together so grow lots of each plants in the garden.

Of course, there was no companion planting chart back then.

It wasn't until I planted my first tomato plants in my garden and experienced the pain and frustration that comes along with all those pests gobbling up those majestic globes of juiciness.

There had to be a way to prevent this without spraying the plants with chemicals (before there was really an organic movement). 

There wasn't much guidance readily available in the Internet's infancy for the garden.

Fast forward to much later in my garden​ hobby where there is an abundance of gardening information about maximizing plants growth. 

My curiosity later returned after reading about the Three sister's plant​s and how they ​built a garden back then.

It wasn't until I planted my first tomato plants in my garden and experienced the pain and frustration that comes along with all those pests gobbling up those majestic globes of juiciness.

There had to be a way to prevent this without spraying the plants with chemicals (before there was really an organic movement). 

There wasn't much guidance readily available in the Internet's infancy for the garden.

Fast forward to much later in my garden​ hobby where there is an abundance of gardening information about maximizing plants growth. 

My curiosity later returned after reading about the Three sister's plant​s and how they ​built a garden back then.

Three Sister's Planting | Companion Planting Roots

Native Americans naturally inter-planted their crops to help sustain them both physically and spiritually. 

What is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is the act of inter-planting plants that can mutually benefit each other.  This could mean that they help each other by soil nutrition, physical, or other pest reduction means.

Pest management has become a bigger issue in today's commercial farming practices.  However, companion planting on a smaller scale has been met with much success.

Here are a few methods of companion planting:

• Trap Cropping: involves planting another plant to attract pests away from your desired crop.  Radishes are one example that attracts flea beetles and root flies away from cabbages or broccoli.
• Repellent Inter-crops: Inter-planting certain plants in between and around your other crops.  My favorite repellent is onions.  We use it as a border around our gardens.  My neighbor always wondered why his garden got snacked on and mine didn't.
• Row Cropping: Planting alternate rows of crops that benefit each other.  Tomatoes and basil always seem to end up as neighbors in our garden.

Reasons for Companion Planting

In today's world, we are constantly bombarded with pollutants and chemicals.

The air we breathe, the food we consume, and increasing UV radiation from the sun.

Its no wonder why it is important to reduce this over the course of a lifetime if we can.

I'll give just about any safe method a try if it helps me and the environment in any way.  

Chemical reduction is just one of the many reasons.

Books about Companion Planting

Sometimes you need a good reference to hold in your hand.  There is so much more to learn on this topic that it is difficult to summarize in a 1500 word blog post.

You need some good references to help shine more knowledge on the subject.  There are 2 fantastic reference books that really shine a light on the subject.

Both of these authors are experts & champions of companion planting.

The first book is Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.  You can find it here at Amazon.

She definitely gets credit with solidifying the knowledge that I have picked up with these methods.  Her book highlights each plant and the best choices for inter-planting.

Vegetables are not the only plants she discusses.  She goes into depths with some trees, bushes and other gardening tips.

The second book is Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening that you can find here at Amazon.

This is a well-versed guide that does go over quite a bit of inter-planting and companion planting guidelines for vegetables and flowers.

My copy has a vast amount of dirt all over it because I bring it into the garden with me as a reference sometimes.

Companion Planting Chart | Friend or Foe

These companion plants are made up of a collection of sources, personal experience, and books that I have read throughout the years.

Please feel free to share this chart with all your gardening friends to help guide what to inter-plant with each other.

You can find the companion planting chart guide printable pdf here

Here is a companion planting chart spreadsheet that you can copy here.

Companion Planting Chart

A couple crops in this chart need their own timing notes — check when to fertilize asparagus and when to fertilize garlic to keep them happy alongside their companions.

Vegetable	Best Companion Plants	​Antagonistic Plants	​Green thumb Notes
Asparagus	Carrot, Tomato, Basil, Coriander, Dill, Parsley, Marigold	​​Garlic, Potato, Onion	Tomatoes help to protect asparagus from beetles.
Beans (Bush & Pole Beans)	Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Celery, Chard, Corn, Eggplant, Kale, Peas, Radishes, Potatoes, Strawberries, marigolds	Beets, Chives, Fennel, Garlic, Leek, Onion, Shallots, Sunflowers	Marigolds planted with beans help to repel the Mexican bean beetle
Beets	Chives, Garlic, Leeks, Onions, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Radishes, Spinach	Pole ​Beans, Tomatoes	​The beans and beets don't do well near each other but get your lettuce next to them.
Broccoli	Beet, Bush Beans, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Garlic, Lettuce, Onion, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Basil, Chamomile, Dill, Mint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Marigold, Nasturtium	Asparagus, Beans, Mustard, Peppers, Pumpkin, Sweet Corn, Cantaloupe, Strawberry, Watermelon	​Most of the aromatics help to repel unwanted insects.
Brussels Sprouts	Beets, Carrots, Garlic, Onion, Basil, Dill, Thyme, Mint, Nasturtium, Marigold	​Strawberry, Tomato	​It is part of the brassica family, so the aromatics help deter pests.
Cabbage	​Beets, Bush Beans, Celery, Onion, Potato, Chamomile, Dill, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Spearmint, Nasturtium, Marigold	​Beans, Eggplant, Mustard, Pepper, Tomato, Strawberry	Rosemary helps to deter cabbage fly.
Carrots	​Beans, Chives, Garlic, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Tomato, Parsley, Rosemary	Parsnip, Coriander, Dill	Onion, leeks, and aromatics herbs like rosemary & sage deter the carrot flies.
Cauliflower	​Beans, Celery, Peas, Spinach, Tomato, Chamomile, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Sunflower	Tomatoes, Strawberries	Celery grown near can repel the cabbage butterfly.
Celery	​Bush Beans, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Leek, Spinach, Tomato, Dill, Marjoram, Cosmos, Daisies, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Snapdragons	Carrots, Corn, Potato	​Celery and leeks grown together in a trench seem to do well.
Chives	​Basil, Carrots, Marigold, kohlrabi Parsley, Parsnip, Strawberries, Tomato	Beans	Grapes also benefit from chives ability to repel aphids. Most alums also help keep away rabbits
Corn	Beans, potatoes, Cucumber, Peas, Pumpkin, Squash, Zucchini, Marjoram, Sunflower	Tomato	​One of the Three sister plants. Beans and peas supply nitrogen.
Cucumber	Beans, Celery, Corn, Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Dill, Marigold, Nasturtium	Potato, Tomato, Sage, Strong Aromatic Herbs (except dill)	​Cucumbers keep away raccoons, so they are good to plant with corn.
Dill	Cabbage, Corn, Cucumbers, Dill, Fennel, Lettuce, Onions	Cilantro, Tomato	Grows well with fennel.
Eggplant	Beans, Marjoram, Pepper, Potato	​N/A	​Eggplants grown with beans will help protect them from Colorado potato beetle
Kohlrabi	Beets, Cucumber, Lettuce, Onions, Thyme, Nasturtium	Pepper, Pole Beans, Tomato, Strawberries	​Helps protect the mustard family vegetables
Leek	Carrots, Celery, Lettuce, Onions	Beans, Peas	Leeks repel carrot flies
Lettuce	Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Corn, Onions, Peas, Radishes, Mint, Strawberries, Marigold	Parsley	Mints repel slugs. Onions repel rabbits.
Marigold	​Brassicas (broccoli, etc), Cucurbits (cucumber, etc), Peppers, Tomato, and most other plants	N/A	Marigolds are always a staple in our garden. We line the borders with them to help repel nematodes,
Onion	Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Lettuce, Parsnips, Tomato, Chamomile, Marjoram, Rosemary, Savory, Strawberry	Asparagus, Beans, Peas	Repels aphids, the carrot fly, and other pests. We also surround our gardens with onions such as scallions to deter many little creatures such as raccoons, rabbits, and deer.
Parsley	Asparagus, Beans, Radish, Rosemary, Tomato	​Lettuce	Adds vigor to both tomatoes and asparagus
Peas	Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Lettuce, Cauliflower, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Potatoes, Radishes, Squash, Sage	Alliums (Chives, Garlic, Onion, Shallots)	Adds nitrogen to the soil
Potato	Beans, Celery, Corn, Garlic, Horseradish, Lettuce, Onions, Spinach, Peas, Radishes, Basil, Marigolds	Asparagus, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Carrots, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Melons, Peppers, Squash, Tomatoes, Raspberries, Strawberries, Sunflower	Cucumber, tomato, and raspberry attract harmful pests to potatoes. Horseradish increases disease resistance.
Pumpkin	Beans, Corn, Squash, Marigold, Nasturtium	​Potato	​Grow well with corn.
RadishAllium family (Chives, Garlic, Leek, Onion), Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Cucumber, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, SquashHyssop (the Herb)Radishes make a great trap crop (attract pests away from another crop)SageBeans, Cabbage, Carrots, Peas, Rosemary, StrawberriesN/A​Repels cabbage fly, some bean parasites.
Spinach	Beans, Brassicas family (Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi), Celery, Eggplant, Leeks, Lettuce, Melons, Peas, Radishes, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Nasturtium, Strawberries	​N/A	One of the early spring vegetables so does not have many pests.
Squash	Beans, Corn, Peas, Radish (White Icicle), Borage, Dill, Marigolds, Nasturtium, Strawberries, Sunflower	​Potato	Plant lots of marigolds around it to help confuse the squash vine borer from laying eggs.
Strawberries	Bush Beans, Chives, Lettuce, Onions, Spinach, Squash, Borage, Caraway, Sage	Cabbage Family, and plants susceptible to Verticillium (ie. Eggplant, Potato, Tomato, Peppers)	Borage makes an excellent border for strawberry patches.
Tomatoes	Asparagus, Carrots, Celery, Chives, Garlic, Lettuce, Spinach, Onion, Basil, Borage, Parsley, Marigolds	Brassicas (Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi), Beets, Corn, Fennel, Peas, Potatoes, Dill, Rosemary, Walnut trees	​Basil growing near tomatoes has been reported to improve the yields of them.
Turnip	Peas	​Mustard, knotweed, avoid rotating after cabbage family	Hairy vetch and turnips make excellent companions.
Zucchini	Corn, Marjoram, Nasturtium	​N/A	Got to love zucchini!