Pro Tips

Companion Planting: What to Plant in Your Garden

It helps to know which vegetables to plant together to have a healthy and abundant vegetable garden with few diseases and pests. Follow our guide to learn about the best combinations and get our tips on achieving your dream garden.

The Right Vegetables Make Good Neighbours

Companion planting is a technique for designing a balanced and abundant garden where plants support each other. This principle is widely used in permaculture as it helps improve biodiversity and limits the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides.

Read the chart below or download our printable chart to make planning your vegetable garden easier. Almost all plants have companion plants that increase their yields—find out all about them!

DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE CHART

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruit or Vegetable	Good Companion Plants	Bad Companion Plants
Garlic	Carrot, zucchini, spinach, strawberry, lettuce, potato, tomato	Cabbage, beans, turnip
Asparagus	Basil, parsley, tomato	Onion
Eggplant	Spinach, tarragon, thyme
Beet	Celery, cabbage, cauliflower, cilantro, zucchini, beans, lettuce, onion	Leek
Broccoli	Dill, celery, cucumber, mint, onion, oregano, potato, rosemary, sage, thyme	Strawberry, lettuce, leek, tomato
Carrot	Garlic, chives, cilantro, beans, onion, hot pepper, leek, bell pepper, radish, rosemary, sage, tomato	Dill
Celery	Beet, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, onion, leek, spinach, tomato	Lettuce, parsley
Cabbage	Dill, beet, celery, cilantro, beans, lettuce, mint, onion, oregano, potato, radish, rosemary, sage, thyme	Garlic, strawberry, leek, tomato
Brussels sprouts	Dill, celery, mint, potato, rosemary, sage, thyme	Strawberry
Cauliflower	Dill, beet, celery, beans, mint, onion, oregano, potato, radish, rosemary, sage, thyme	Garlic, tomato
Pumpkin	Corn, mint, radish	Potato
Cucumber	Broccoli, celery, cilantro, lettuce, radish	Zucchini, sage, tomato
Squash	Chives, beans, corn, mint, radish	Potato
Zucchini	Garlic, beet, chives, beans, corn, marjoram, mint, onion, oregano, radish	Cucumber, potato, tomato
Spinach	Garlic, eggplant, celery, cabbage, strawberry, turnip, onion
Strawberry	Garlic, chives, spinach, beans, lettuce, turnip, onion, thyme	Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower
Beans	Basil, beet, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, squash, strawberry, corn, turnip, potato, radish, rosemary, sage, tomato	Garlic, chives, onion, leek
Lettuce	Cabbage, dill, beet, cucumber, garlic, onion, potato, radish, strawberry	Broccoli, celery, parsley
Corn	Pumpkin, squash, zucchini, beans, potato
Turnip	Dill, spinach, beans, lettuce, mint, rosemary, tomato	Garlic, onion, radish
Onion	Dill, beet, broccoli, carrot, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, bell pepper, potato, spinach, strawberry, tomato	Asparagus, beans, turnip, parsley
Hot pepper	Basil, carrot, marjoram, onion, oregano
Leek	Carrot, celery, tomato	Beet, broccoli, cabbage, beans, parsley
Bell pepper	Basil, carrot, marjoram, onion, oregano
Potato	Garlic, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cilantro, beans, lettuce, onion, radish, thyme	Pumpkin, squash, zucchini, tomato
Radish	Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, squash, beans, lettuce, potato, pumpkin, tomato	Turnip
Tomato	Garlic, asparagus, basil, carrot, celery, chives, beans, mint, turnip, onion, parsley, leek, radish, sage, thyme	Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, zucchini, potato

Fruit or Vegetable	Good Companion Plants	Bad Companion Plants
Garlic	Carrot, zucchini, spinach, strawberry, lettuce, potato, tomato	Cabbage, beans, turnip
Asparagus	Basil, parsley, tomato	Onion
Eggplant	Spinach, tarragon, thyme
Beet	Celery, cabbage, cauliflower, cilantro, zucchini, beans, lettuce, onion	Leek
Broccoli	Dill, celery, cucumber, mint, onion, oregano, potato, rosemary, sage, thyme	Strawberry, lettuce, leek, tomato
Carrot	Garlic, chives, cilantro, beans, onion, hot pepper, leek, bell pepper, radish, rosemary, sage, tomato	Dill
Celery	Beet, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, onion, leek, spinach, tomato	Lettuce, parsley
Cabbage	Dill, beet, celery, cilantro, beans, lettuce, mint, onion, oregano, potato, radish, rosemary, sage, thyme	Garlic, strawberry, leek, tomato
Brussels sprouts	Dill, celery, mint, potato, rosemary, sage, thyme	Strawberry
Cauliflower	Dill, beet, celery, beans, mint, onion, oregano, potato, radish, rosemary, sage, thyme	Garlic, tomato
Pumpkin	Corn, mint, radish	Potato
Cucumber	Broccoli, celery, cilantro, lettuce, radish	Zucchini, sage, tomato
Squash	Chives, beans, corn, mint, radish	Potato
Zucchini	Garlic, beet, chives, beans, corn, marjoram, mint, onion, oregano, radish	Cucumber, potato, tomato
Spinach	Garlic, eggplant, celery, cabbage, strawberry, turnip, onion
Strawberry	Garlic, chives, spinach, beans, lettuce, turnip, onion, thyme	Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower
Beans	Basil, beet, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, squash, strawberry, corn, turnip, potato, radish, rosemary, sage, tomato	Garlic, chives, onion, leek
Lettuce	Cabbage, dill, beet, cucumber, garlic, onion, potato, radish, strawberry	Broccoli, celery, parsley
Corn	Pumpkin, squash, zucchini, beans, potato
Turnip	Dill, spinach, beans, lettuce, mint, rosemary, tomato	Garlic, onion, radish
Onion	Dill, beet, broccoli, carrot, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, bell pepper, potato, spinach, strawberry, tomato	Asparagus, beans, turnip, parsley
Hot pepper	Basil, carrot, marjoram, onion, oregano
Leek	Carrot, celery, tomato	Beet, broccoli, cabbage, beans, parsley
Bell pepper	Basil, carrot, marjoram, onion, oregano
Potato	Garlic, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cilantro, beans, lettuce, onion, radish, thyme	Pumpkin, squash, zucchini, tomato
Radish	Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, squash, beans, lettuce, potato, pumpkin, tomato	Turnip
Tomato	Garlic, asparagus, basil, carrot, celery, chives, beans, mint, turnip, onion, parsley, leek, radish, sage, thyme	Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, zucchini, potato

Herbs

Herb	Good Companion Plants	Bad Companion Plants
Dill	Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, turnip, onion	Carrot
Basil	Asparagus, beans, bell pepper, tomato
Chives	Carrot, squash, zucchini, strawberry, parsley, tomato	Beans
Cilantro	Beet, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, potato
Tarragon	Eggplant, thyme
Marjoram	Zucchini, hot pepper, bell pepper	Thyme
Mint	Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, turnip, tomato
Oregano	Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, bell pepper	Thyme
Parsley	Asparagus, chives, tomato	Celery, lettuce, onion, leek
Rosemary	Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beans, turnip, sage
Sage	Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beans, rosemary, tomato	Cucumber
Thyme	Eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, tarragon, strawberry, potato, tomato	Marjoram, oregano

Herb	Good Companion Plants	Bad Companion Plants
Dill	Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, turnip, onion	Carrot
Basil	Asparagus, beans, bell pepper, tomato
Chives	Carrot, squash, zucchini, strawberry, parsley, tomato	Beans
Cilantro	Beet, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, potato
Tarragon	Eggplant, thyme
Marjoram	Zucchini, hot pepper, bell pepper	Thyme
Mint	Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, turnip, tomato
Oregano	Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, bell pepper	Thyme
Parsley	Asparagus, chives, tomato	Celery, lettuce, onion, leek
Rosemary	Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beans, turnip, sage
Sage	Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beans, rosemary, tomato	Cucumber
Thyme	Eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, tarragon, strawberry, potato, tomato	Marjoram, oregano

Small tomato plants surrounded by a row of orange flowers

Woman holding a basket full of garden vegetables

A Few Basic Notions

Here are a few reasons why it’s beneficial to pair companion plants in a vegetable garden:

Pollination

Attracting pollinators to the garden boosts fruit and vegetable growth. Click here to learn about 10 Plants and Flowers to Attract Birds and Pollinators.

Layout

Combining tall and low varieties maximizes your growing space.

Improved Soil Quality

Certain plants improve the soil:

Legumes, for example, enrich the soil with nitrogen, which is crucial for growing vegetation.
Deep-root plants help loosen compacted soil while drawing their nutrients deep in the ground.

Soil Moisture Maintenance and Weed Management

Some plants with dense and low foliage (like squash and potatoes) create a natural plant mulch that will maintain soil moisture, limiting weed growth and the need to water.

Pest Control

A lot of vegetation, especially fragrant plants like flowers and herbs, acts as natural repellents by deterring insect pests and small animals from coming into the garden.

Limit Disease Spread

Adding companion plants between plants from the same family can limit the spread of diseases by creating a kind of barrier.

Shade and Wind Protection

Tall and wide plants (like tomatoes) provide shade for smaller, more fragile plants (like lettuce and basil) or protect them from the wind.

Similar Needs

It may be beneficial to group plants that need sunlight into the sunniest part of the garden or put water-hungry plants together to make watering easier.

Natural Stakes

Plants with tall and sturdy stems (like corn and sunflowers) could be stakes for climbing plants (like beans and cucumbers).

Pro Tip

If you find that vegetable combinations make things too tricky when planning your garden, simply avoid mismatches. If you don’t take it into account, your plants could compete in the soil, make it easier for diseases and insect pests to spread, and affect overall yield.

The Ultimate Combination: The Three Sisters

The “three sisters” refers to a companion plant cultivation technique that played a crucial role in many Indigenous communities’ agricultural and culinary heritage. It involves planting corn, beans, and squash. These three plants help each other when they’re grown together:

The corn’s tall and robust stalks act as stakes for the beans.
The beans’ roots enrich the soil.
The squash’s leaves cover the soil, preventing weeds from growing and creating natural plant mulch to maintain moisture.

Combinations Foodies Will Love

If you like experimenting and want to grow a variety of herbs and vegetables to spice up your meals, here are two winning combos your vegetable garden needs:

Pizzas: tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, onions, herbs (such as basil and oregano), arugula.

Dill pickles: Kirby cucumbers, garlic, dill, mustard (optional), hot peppers (optional).

Pro Tip

If you like Asian/Indian food, feel free to add herbs like ginger and lemongrass to your garden! Thanks to its lemony scent, the latter will keep flies and aphids away.