Companion Planting Chart: 12 Pairings Gardeners Plant Together

ByMarija
Companion Planting Chart: 12 Pairings

A companion planting chart is a list of crops that gardeners traditionally grow side by side, and it is a starting point, not a promise.

These 12 pairings all appear in university extension sources.

The chart itself comes after the list, with the pairs those sources say to keep apart.

1. Tomatoes + Basil

Companion planting chart pairing, caged tomato plants with basil growing beside them in one raised bed in a sunny backyard
PlantTomatoes
Grow withBasil
Bed noteFull sun, regular water

This is the pairing with the most behind it. The University of Minnesota Extension notes that a few studies found basil reduced thrips on tomatoes, and that basil may even help tomato growth.

Both want full sun and regular water, so they share a bed easily.

Design tipPlant the basil on the sunny side of the cages.

2. Tomatoes + Parsley

Companion planting vegetables, a row of curly parsley edging a raised bed of staked tomato plants beside a house wall
PlantTomatoes
Grow withParsley
Bed noteFull sun, parsley as the front row

Parsley gets less attention than basil and sits on the same line of the chart. West Virginia University Extension lists herbs such as parsley, dill and basil as tomato companions.

Parsley stays low, so it edges the bed without crowding the cages.

Design tipMake it the front row, where you can reach it without stepping in.

3. Peppers + Lettuce

Companion planting layout, young pepper plants set into gaps between leaf lettuce in one raised bed
PlantPeppers
Grow withLettuce
Bed noteLettuce early, peppers set in as it matures

Here the benefit is plain arithmetic: two crops from one patch of soil. The University of Minnesota Extension describes planting lettuce early, then setting peppers into the same bed as the lettuce matures.

Lettuce is a cool-season crop, so it is finishing as the peppers fill in.

Design tipLeave pepper-sized gaps when you sow the lettuce.

4. Eggplant + Marigolds

Companion planting guide pairing, eggplant with a row of orange marigolds along the front of a raised bed
PlantEggplant
Grow withMarigolds
Bed noteFull sun, marigolds along the edge

Marigolds get credited with more than they have earned. The University of Minnesota Extension says they work against insects sometimes and not others.

Still, West Virginia University Extension lists marigolds as an eggplant companion, and a row of them takes little room.

Design tipBoth want full sun, so keep them clear of taller crops.

5. Corn + Pole Beans + Squash

Three Sisters companion planting, young corn stalks with pole beans starting to climb them and squash plants spreading at their feet in a backyard plot
PlantCorn
Grow withPole beans and squash
Bed noteFull sun, open ground

The Three Sisters is the oldest pairing here, grown by Indigenous communities for hundreds of years. Corn gives the pole beans a stalk to climb, and the beans provide nitrogen.

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension adds that squash leaves shade the soil like a living mulch.

Design tipGive it open ground in full sun.

6. Zucchini + Nasturtiums

Companion planting vegetables, one zucchini plant in the middle of a raised bed with nasturtiums trailing over the edges
PlantZucchini
Grow withNasturtiums
Bed noteFull sun, room for the zucchini to spread

Plenty of chart pairings are folklore. This one has studies behind it: the University of Minnesota Extension notes research showing nasturtiums can help reduce squash bug numbers.

Nasturtiums trail, so they cover the soil around the plant.

Design tipGive the zucchini the middle of the bed and let the nasturtiums take the edges.

7. Cucumbers + Bush Beans

Companion planting chart raised beds example, cucumbers climbing a trellis at the back of a raised bed with a row of bush beans in front
PlantCucumbers
Grow withBush beans
Bed noteFull sun, trellis on the north side

No big claim here, only a long tradition. West Virginia University Extension lists beans among the companions for cucumbers, and both want full sun and regular water.

Send the cucumbers up a trellis and the beans get the ground in front.

Design tipPut the trellis on the north side, so the beans stay in the sun.

8. Carrots + Radishes

Companion planting layout, neighboring rows of feathery carrot tops and radishes in a raised bed in spring
PlantCarrots
Grow withRadishes
Bed noteNeighboring rows, spring or fall

I like this one because nobody has to believe anything. The University of Minnesota Extension calls radishes and carrots side by side a great example of saving space.

Radishes are a cool-season crop, sown in spring and again toward fall.

Design tipSow them in neighboring rows, close enough to weed both in one pass.

9. Strawberries + Lettuce

Companion planting guide pairing, a strawberry bed with a border of leaf lettuce along the edge in a backyard
PlantStrawberries
Grow withLettuce
Bed noteLettuce as a border, cabbage kept away

I’d use lettuce as the edging here. West Virginia University Extension lists lettuce as a border for strawberries, with spinach and bush beans as other companions.

Lettuce is a cool-season crop, at its best in spring and fall.

Design tipKeep cabbage in another bed. The same chart says not to plant it next to strawberries.

10. Cabbage + Onions

Vegetable companion planting chart pairing, young cabbages with onions growing between them in a raised bed
PlantCabbage
Grow withOnions
Bed noteOnions between the cabbages

West Virginia University Extension lists the onion family among the companions for cabbage. The University of Minnesota Extension points to an Iowa study in which onion, marigold and nasturtium helped reduce two kinds of cabbage worm on cabbage.

Design tipSet the onions between the cabbages. Their upright leaves take little room.

11. Broccoli + Nasturtiums

Companion planting vegetables, broccoli plants with nasturtiums trailing along the front edge of a raised bed
PlantBroccoli
Grow withNasturtiums
Bed noteNasturtiums along the front edge

Broccoli sits in the cabbage family row of the chart, and nasturtiums are on its list of companions.

The University of Minnesota Extension cites an Iowa study in which thyme, onion and nasturtium helped reduce cabbage looper and imported cabbageworm damage on broccoli.

Design tipLet the nasturtiums trail along the front edge of the bed.

12. Potatoes + Bush Beans

Companion planting chart pairing, potato plants with a row of bush beans along the sunny edge of one garden bed
PlantPotatoes
Grow withBush beans
Bed noteA bed away from tomatoes, squash and cucumbers

Potatoes have more names in the keep-apart column than almost anything else. West Virginia University Extension lists beans as a companion and says not to plant potatoes next to tomatoes, squash or cucumbers.

So potatoes get a bed away from the tomatoes, with bush beans alongside.

Design tipPlant the beans along the sunny edge.

Five Ways to Misread a Companion Planting Chart

Treating the chart as a guarantee

Do thisWest Virginia University Extension calls companion planting not an exact science, with results that vary by area. Use a chart as a starting point and keep notes on what happens in your own beds.

Pairing plants with different thirst

Do thisPlants that share a bed should share sun and water needs. Check that before anything a chart says, since a bed gets watered as one thing.

Squeezing two crops into one crop’s space

Do thisA companion still needs its own room. Follow the spacing on each seed packet or plant tag, and give up a plant before you crowd a bed.

A tall companion shading a short one

Do thisPut tall crops and trellises on the north side of the bed. Corn, trellised cucumbers and caged tomatoes all cast shade that a low crop behind them has to live in.

Trusting one chart when sources disagree

Do thisCharts contradict each other. One extension chart lists sunflowers beside cucumbers, while a University of Arizona Cooperative Extension article reports other plants doing poorly within a couple of feet of a sunflower.

The Companion Planting Chart: 12 Crops, What to Grow With Them and What to Keep Apart

Read the chart from the left. The first column is the crop you are planting, the green column lists what gardeners traditionally grow beside it, and the red column lists what the sources say to keep in another bed.

Every row comes from the University of Minnesota Extension, West Virginia University Extension or the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.

Where a row says “No well-documented conflict”, those sources name nothing to keep away from that crop.

These pairings are mostly traditional practice. The Minnesota page points out that long lists of companion plants are not always backed by research.

I’d treat the green column as things worth trying and the red column as the cheaper advice to follow.

Start with one pairing this year, and make it tomatoes and basil if you grow tomatoes at all.

Plant it in a bed where both get full sun and the same water, then write down what you see.

West Virginia University Extension suggests recording your results from year to year, and that notebook will soon know your yard better than any chart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does companion planting really work?

Some pairings have research behind them, and many are tradition. The University of Minnesota Extension notes that long lists of companion plants online are not always accurate or backed by research.

What should not be planted next to tomatoes?

West Virginia University Extension lists Irish potatoes, fennel and the cabbage family as plants not to put next to tomatoes.

How close do companion plants need to be?

West Virginia University Extension suggests planting companions within two or three rows of each other. Plants on the keep-apart list go at least two to three rows away.

Can I follow a companion planting chart in raised beds?

Yes. Pair plants that share sun and water needs, and keep any bed you reach from both sides to 4 feet wide at most. A raised bed dries out faster than open ground, so two crops in one bed means watering more often.

What is the Three Sisters in companion planting?

Corn, pole beans and squash grown together, a method Indigenous communities have used for hundreds of years. The corn gives the beans a stalk to climb and the beans provide nitrogen.

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