Companion Planting: with chart of compatible companion plants & their effects

Garden Companions

In nature, where plants grow without cultivation, there is always a mixture of plant types growing in an area. The selection of the plants living in an area depends on the soil type, local climactic conditions, and horticultural history.

With few exceptions, the plants that grow together in the wild are mutually beneficial in that they allow for maximum utilization of light, moisture and soil. Plants needing less light live in the shade of those which must have full light, while the roots of some plants live close to the surface and others send their roots far down into the ground. This is known as companion planting. Companion planting enables gardeners to make maximum use of sun, soil and moisture to grow mixed crops in one area.

Some plants have a beneficial effect upon the garden because of some peculiar characteristic of their growth, scent, or root formation and soil demands. Odoriferous plants (the smelly ones), including those with aromatic oils, play an important part in determining just which insects visit the garden. Hemp, for instance, is said to repel the cabbage butterfly. But while some plants can repel insects, they can also hinder the growth rate of other plants or otherwise adversely affect them.

Below are combinations of vegetables, herbs, flowers and weeds that are mutually beneficial, according to reports of organic gardeners and companion planting guides.

            Plant                                                 Companion(s) and Effects                                                   

1. Asparagus                                Tomatoes, parsley, basil
   
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2. Basil                                         Tomatoes (improves growth & flavor); said to dislike rue; repels flies                                                        & mosquitoes
   
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3. Bean                                         Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, summer
                                                          savory,  and most other veggies & herbs
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4. Bean (bush)                              Sunflowers (beans like partial shade, unless you live up north,                                                                    sunflowers attract birds & bees for pollination), cucumbers                                                                  (combination of heavy and light feeders), potatoes, corn,
                                                             celery, summer savory
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5. Bee Balm                                 Tomatoes (improves growth & flavor)
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6. Beet                                         Onions, kohlrabi
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7. Borage                                     Tomatoes (attracts bees, deters tomato worm, imrpoves growth &                                                             flavor), squash, strawberries
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8. Cabbage Family                       Potatoes, celery, dill, chamomile, sage, thyme, mint, pennyroyal,
                                                          rosemary, lavender, beets, onions; aromatic plants deter
                                                          cabbage worms
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9. Caraway                                  Loosens soil; plant here and there
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10. Carrot                                      Peas, lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes
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11. Catnip                                      Plant in borders; protects against flea beetles
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12. Celery                                      Leeks, tomatoes, bush beans, cauliflower, cabbage
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13. Chamomile                               Cabbage, onions
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14. Chervil                                     Radishes (improves growth & flavor).
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15. Chive                                       Carrots; plant around base of fruit trees to discourage insects from                                                              climbing trunk.
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16. Corn                                        Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash
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17. Cucumber                                Beans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflower
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18. Dead nettle                               Potatoes (deters potato bugs)
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19. Dill                                           Cabbage (improves growth & health), carrots
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20. Eggplant                                   Beans
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21. Fennel                                      Most plants are supposed to dislike it
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22. Flax                                         Carrots, potatoes.
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23. Garlic                                       Roses & raspberries (deters Japanese beetle); with herbs to
                                                           enhance their production of essential oils; plant liberally
                                                           throughout the garden to deter pests.
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24. Horseradish                             Potatoes (deters potato bettle); around plum trees to discourage                                                                curculios.
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25. Hyssop                                    Cabbage (deters cabbage moths), grapes; keep away from
                                                           radishes.
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26. Lamb's-quarters                       Nutritious edible weeds; allow to grow in modest amounts in
                                                           the corn.
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27. Leek                                        Onions, celery, carrots
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28. Lemon Balm                             Here and there in the garden
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29. Marigold                                  The workhorse of pest deterrents; keeps soil free of nematodes;                                                                discourages many insects; plant freely throughout the garden.
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30. Marjoram                                 Here & there in the garden.
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31. Mint                                         Cabbage family; tomatoes; deters cabbage moth.
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32. Nasturtium                               Tomatoes, radish, cabbage, cucumbers; plant under fruit trees; deters                                                        aphids & pests of curcurbits.
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33. Onion                                       Beets, strawberries, tomato, lettuce (protects against slugs), beans                                                            (protects against ants), summer savory
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34. Parsley                                     Tomato, asparagus
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35. Pea                                          Squash (when squash follows peas up trellis), plus grows well with                                                              almost any vegetable; adds nitrogen to the soil.
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36. Petunia                                     Protects beans; beneficial throughout garden
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37. Potato                                      Horseradish, beans, corn, cabbage, marigold, limas, eggplant (as a                                                            trap crop for potato beetle)
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38. Pot marigold                            Helps tomato, but plant throughout garden as deterent to asparagus                                                            beetle, tomato worm & many other garden pests.
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39. Pumpkin                                  Corn
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40. Radish                                     Peas, nasturtium, lettuce, cucumbers; a general aid in
                                                          repelling insects.
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41. Rosemary                                Carrots, beans, cabbage, sage; deters cabbage moth, bean beetles
                                                          and carrot fly.
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42. Rue                                         Roses & raspberries; deters Japanese beetle; keep away from basil.
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43. Sage                                        Rosemary, carrots, cabbage, peas, beans; deters some insects.
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44. Soybean                                  Grows with anything; helps everything.
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45. Spinach                                   Strawberries
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46. Squash                                    Nasturtium, corn.
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47. Strawberry                              Bush beans, spinach, borage, lettuce (as a border).
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48. Summer Savory                       Beans, onions; deters bean beetles.
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49. Sunflower                                Cucumbers
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50. Tansy                                      Plant under fruit trees; deters pests of roses & raspberries; deters                                                              flying insects, also Japanese beetles, striped cucumber
                                                            beetles, squash bugs; deters ants.
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51. Tarragon                                 Good throughout garden
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52. Thyme                                     Here & there in garden; deters cabbage worm
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53. Tomato                                   Chives, onion, parsley, asparagus, marigold, nasturtium, carrot,
                                                           limas.
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54. Valerian                                  Good anywhere in garden
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55. Wormwood                            As a border, keeps animals from the garden.
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56. Yarrow                                   Plant along borders, near paths, near aromatic herbs; enhances                                                                    essential oil production of herbs
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Here are some additional books on the subject of Companion Planting that you may like:
(please click on book image for more details)