Free Companion Planting Chart

When you are preparing to plant your gardens this year, take the time to consider how you can naturally boost their performance by companion planting. What is companion planting (sometimes called companion gardening)?

It is the method of placing plants that respond positively to each other by being nearby. By understanding which plants benefit from each other and which suffer from each other, you can have the most lush garden ever. Companion plants help contribute more minerals to the soil or help by keeping plant-specific pests away.

Last year, we planted our garden haphazardly, and our results were only mediocre (of course, the dogs jumping into our boxes and eating our tomatoes and cucumbers didn’t help). We planted cucumbers on a trellis, hothouse tomatoes, jalapeños, bush beans, carrots, and zucchini.

We only have two raised garden boxes, so our selection is limited. We always line our garden boxes with marigold plants. Marigolds are beneficial to everything, and they help keep bad bugs out and good bugs in!

At the end of one box, we grew our cucumbers up a trellis, planted a line of marigolds across the middle of the box, and then one hothouse tomato plant. Cucumbers and tomatoes aren’t necessarily complimentary, but they aren’t antagonists either. Our second box housed two zucchini plants at one end. Next to those was a row of bush beans, and next to those one jalapeño plant flanked by two rows of carrots.

As I mentioned, we didn’t have much rhyme or reason for the way we planted the garden last year, but I’m happy to say that we didn’t have any negative reactions! If you read the attached companion planting chart, you can actually boost the production of your garden just by planting cucumbers next to corn, for example.

This year, I will not be so lazy about where I plant what. There will be plenty of planning involved, and I can’t wait to share the results with you all. You’ll be with me every step of the way. I can’t wait for spring!

Companion Planting Chart Benefits

One of the most important aspects of the companion planting theory is attracting beneficial insects, birds, and reptiles to your garden and, more importantly, keeping them there. All living beings need food, water, and shelter. Aside from the obvious meal (garden pests), benficials love to indulge in pollen and nectar, which will be abundant in your diverse array of veggies, herbs, and flowers.

Strategically planted shrubs can act as windbreakers, protecting the AC compressor or outdoor components of your AC system. By breaking strong winds and preventing debris from getting too close to the HVAC unit, you can avoid potential damage and ensure the system’s efficiency isn’t compromised.

Adding rocks and pebbles to your bird bath will offer a way for insects to reach the water as well as the birds, or creating “bug-baths” on the ground using pie plates or something of the like. Shelters can be created using hedges, perennials, living mulches, and even rock piles.

There is lots of advice out there for organic gardeners about natural pest control, building organic matter in your soil, attracting pollinators, etc., but companion gardening wraps it all up in a single package. It will allow you to create a symbiotic relationship between your crops, insects, wildlife, and, ultimately, your dinner plate.

I’ve made a free companion planting chart based on one I found on the Permaculture Research Institute’s website. The reason I made this one is I couldn’t find one that I could edit.

PlantCompanion(s) and Effects
AsparagusTomatoes, parsley, basil
BasilTomatoes (improves growth & flavor); said to dislike rue; repels flies & mosquitoes
BeanPotatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, summer savory, most other veggies & herbs
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
Bee BalmTomatoes (improves growth & flavor).
BeetOnions, kohlrabi
BorageTomatoes (attracts bees, deters tomato worm, improves growth & flavor), squash, strawberries
Cabbage Family (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi)Potatoes, celery, dill, chamomile, sage, thyme, mint, pennyroyal, rosemary, lavender, beets, onions; aromatic plants deter cabbage worms
CarawayLoosens soil; plant here and there
CarrotPeas, lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes
CatnipPlant in borders; protects against flea beetles
CeleryLeeks, tomatoes, bush beans, cauliflower, cabbage
ChamomileCabbage, onions
ChervilRadishes (improves growth & flavor).
ChiveCarrots; plant around base of fruit trees to discourage insects from climbing trunk
CornPotatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash
CucumberBeans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflowers
Dead NettlePotatoes (deters potato bugs)
DillCabbage (improves growth & health), carrots
EggplantBeans
FennelMost plants are supposed to dislike it.
FlaxCarrots, potatoes
GarlicRoses & raspberries (deters Japanese beetle); with herbs to enhance their production of essential oils; plant liberally throughout garden to deter pests
HorseradishPotatoes (deters potato beetle); around plum trees to discourage curculios
HyssopCabbage (deters cabbage moths), grapes; keep away from radishes
Lamb’s QuartersNutritious edible weeds; allow to grow in modest amounts in the corn
LeekOnions, celery, carrots
Lemon BalmHere and there in the garden
MarigoldThe workhorse of pest deterrents; keeps soil free of nematodes; discourages many insects; plant freely throughout the garden.
MarjoramHere and there in the garden
MintCabbage family; tomatoes; deters cabbage moth
NasturtiumTomatoes, radish, cabbage, cucumbers; plant under fruit trees; deters aphids & pests of curcurbits
OnionBeets, strawberries, tomato, lettuce (protects against slugs), beans (protects against ants), summer savory
ParsleyTomato, asparagus
PeaSquash (when squash follows peas up trellis), plus grows well with almost any vegetable; adds nitrogen to the soil
PetuniaProtects beans; beneficial throughout garden
PotatoHorseradish, beans, corn, cabbage, marigold, limas, eggplant (as a trap crop for potato beetle)
Pot MarigoldHelps tomato, but plant throughout garden as deterrent to asparagus beetle, tomato worm & many other garden pests
PumpkinCorn
RadishPeas, nasturtium, lettuce, cucumbers; a general aid in repelling insects
RosemaryCarrots, beans, cabbage, sage; deters cabbage moth, bean beetles & carrot fly
RueRoses & raspberries; deters Japanese beetle; keep away from basil
SageRosemary, carrots, cabbage, peas, beans; deters some insects
SoybeanGrows with anything; helps everything
SpinachStrawberries
SquashNasturtium, corn
StrawberryBush beans, spinach, borage, lettuce (as a border)
Summer SavoryBeans, onions; deters bean beetles
SunflowerCucumber
TansyPlant under fruit trees; deters pests of roses & raspberries; deters flying insects, also Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs; deters ants
TarragonGood throughout garden
ThymeHere and there in garden; deters cabbage worm
TomatoChives, onion, parsley, asparagus, marigold, nasturtium, carrot, limas
ValerianGood anywhere in garden
WormwoodAs a border, keeps animals from the garden
YarrowPlant along borders, near paths, near aromatic herbs; enhances essential oil production of herbs

Please take this free companion planting chart and edit it with your own observations and share it back. I would love to see your comments and changes.