Vegetable Garden Layout - Companion Plants

By Nova Person

If you're planning for a vegetable garden layout, one of the most important factors that you should consider is companion planting. Companion planting is an age-old practice that's proved to be beneficial to commercial farmers and home gardeners alike. The principle is easy: plant two or more plants together to create a balanced ecosystem where all plants can support and benefit from their neighbors. By companion planting, you are creating biodiversity in your garden that promotes an overall healthy environment for your plants to grow and thrive.

Some of the known benefits of companion planting are:

One: Higher crop yields. In most cases, vegetables will grow faster and produce twice as much when they are surrounded with companion plants. Some believe that even the taste and flavors are enhanced due to companion planting.

Two: Pest Control. Plants release natural substances that repel certain pests. If your vegetable is frequently infested by a particular pest, planting companion plants that repel this pest aids greatly in organic pest control.

Three: Attract Beneficial Insects. If plants release substances that are pest-repellant in nature, they can also emit natural chemicals that attract beneficial insects. These beneficial insects are also great help in pest management and promote pollination in some plants.

Four: Improve Garden Landscape. Nature is beautiful because plants grow not in large patches but are scattered and diversified in a single area. The same applies to gardens as well. If you plan it well, different textures, colors, shapes and sizes give it a more natural and balanced look.

Five: Maximize Space. To a garden enthusiast, it always feels that there is too many plants to choose from, and too little space to plant them in. With companion planting, you can save precious garden space by planting small plants with taller ones.

Six: Protect Tender Plants. Some plants are weaker, leaner and more susceptible to damages than the others. Taller, sturdier companion plants can act as barriers and shields to protect them from the natural elements such as wind, heavy rains and soil erosion.

However, the trick in companion planting is knowing which plants go well with which plants, because like with people, plants must be compatible with each other to create harmonious growing conditions. While it's true that plants help and support each other, some plant combinations are not as good and beneficial.

Here are the list of some vegetables and their good and bad companion plants:

Beets 
Good Companion: Bush Beans, Cabbage family, Lettuce, Lima Bean, Onion, Radish, Sage 
Bad Companion: Mustard, Pole Bean

Cabbage Family 
Good Companion: Bush Beans, Beets, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Dill, Lettuce, Mint, Nasturtium, Onions, Rosemary, Sage, Spinach, Thyme, All Strong Herbs, Marigold, Nasturtium 
Bad Companion: Pole Bean, Strawberry, Tomato

Carrots 
Good Companion: Beans, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Chives, Lettuce, Leek, Onion, Peas, Radish, Rosemary, Sage, Tomato 
Bad Companion: Celery, Dill, Parsnip

Celery 
Good Companion: Almost all vegetables 
Bad Companion: Carrot, Parsley, Parsnip

Cucumbers 
Good Companion: Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Cabbage family, Corn, Dill, Eggplant, Lettuce, Marigold, Nasturtium, Onions, Peas, Radish, Tomato, Savory, Sunflower 
Bad Companion: Strong herbs, Potato

Eggplant 
Good Companion: Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Peas, Peppers, Potato, Spinach 
Bad Companion: Fennel

Lettuce 
Good Companion: Carrots, Garlic, Onion and Radish 
Bad Companion: None

Onion 
Good Companion: Beets, Cabbage family, Carrots, Celery, Cucumber, Lettuce, Parsnip, Pepper, Spinach, Squash, Strawberries, Tomato, Turnip, Savory 
Bad Companion: Asparagus, Beans, Peas, Sage

Peas 
Good Companion: Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Celery, Chicory, Corn 
Bad Companion: Cucumber, Eggplant, Parsley, Early Potato, Radish, Spinach, Strawberry, Sweet pepper, Turnips Onion, Late Potato

Potato 
Good Companion: Bush bean, Cabbage family, Carrot, Corn, Horseradish, Marigold, Onion, Parsnip, Peas Cucumber, Kohlrabi, Parsnip, Pumpkin, Rutabaga, Squash family, Sunflower, Turnip, Fennel, Radish Beet, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Cucumber, Lettuce, Melons, Nasturtium, Parsnip, Peas, Spinach, Squash family 
Bad Companion: Hyssop

Spinach 
Good Companion: Celeriac, Celery, Corn, Eggplant, Cauliflower 
Bad Companion: None

Squash 
Good Companion: Corn, Onion, Radish 
Bad Companion: None

Tomato 
Good Companion: Asparagus, Basil, Bean, Cabbage family, Carrots, Celery, Chive, Cucumber, Garlic, Head lettuce, Marigold, Mint, Nasturtium, Onion, Parsley, Pepper, Marigold 
Bad Companion: Pole beans, Corn Dill, Fennel, Potato