Companion planting is a sustainable method for cultivating healthy edibles. Plants are genetically programmed to naturally like or dislike other plants. Benefits of companion plants are repelling pests, attracting beneficial insects, and allowing plants to pull specific vitamins and minerals from the soil and to share that nutrition with neighboring plants.
Companion Planting for Nutrients
The following is a list of nutrients and the plants that deliver those specific nutrients to the soil, absorbed by the plants growing nearby.
ASCORBIC ACID
Chaya, tree spinach (Cnidoscolus chayamansa)
CALCIUM
Amaranth varieties
Anise seed (Pimpinella anisum)
Arugula, garden rocket, roquette (Eruca Vesicania sativa)
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Borage, bee bread (Borago officinalis)
Caraway seed (Carum carvi)
Chaya, tree spinach (Cnidoscolus chayamansa)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
Fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fig (Ficus carica)
Mustard seed, black (Brassica nigra)
Mustard seed, white (Sinapis alba)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Savory, summer (Satureja hortensis)
Savory, winter (Satureja montana)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
IRON
Amaranth varieties
Anise seed (Pimpinella anisum)
Arugula, garden rocket, roquette (Eruca Vesicania sativa)
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Chaya, tree spinach (Cnidoscolus chayamansa)
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)
Fig (Ficus carica)
Oregano, wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
MAGNESIUM
Anise seed (Pimpinella anisum)
Arugula, garden rocket, roquette (Eruca Vesicania sativa)
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Caraway seed (Carum carvi)
Cayenne (Capsicum annuum or Capsicum frutescens)
Coriander seed, cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)
Dill seed (Anethum graveolens)
Fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)
Fig (Ficus carica)
Mustard seed, black (Brassica nigra)
Mustard seed, white (Sinapis alba)
MANGANESE
Arugula, garden rocket, roquette (Eruca Vesicania sativa)
Fig (Ficus carica)
PHOSPHORUS
Arugula, garden rocket, roquette (Eruca Vesicania sativa)
POTASSIUM
Anise seed (Pimpinella anisum)
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Borage, bee bread (Borago officinalis)
Caraway seed (Carum carvi)
Cayenne (Capsicum annuum or Capsicum frutescens)
Chaya, tree spinach (Cnidoscolus chayamansa)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare)
Companion Planting for General Plant Health
Here are some common plants and their friendly companions, or their benefits to other plants:
Alfalfa: Adds nutrients to the soil; roots give off nitrogen; attracts parasitic wasps; natural mulch.
Anise: Deters pests by camouflaging their odor; improves the vigor of plants grown nearby; deters aphids, fleas and cabbage worms.
Basil: Attracts bees to pollinate tomatoes; can give lettuces and tomatoes delicious flavor.
Bergamot, bee balm: Improves both flavor and growth of tomato.
Borage: Cabbage, onions, strawberries, tomatoes, roses; accumulates silica and potassium.
Chervil: Likes to grow in the shade. Improves flavor and growth of radish.
Chilies: Reduce root rot.
Chives and Parsley: Good for potatoes and each other. Builds healthy asparagus, tomato, and protects rose from rose beetles.
Clover: Makes healthy soil; attracts predators that eat aphids.
Comfrey: Can prevent grass and weeds; excellent companion plant for all plants; has a long taproot that keeps soil rich and moist; accumulates calcium, phosphorus, silica, nitrogen, magnesium, potassium and iron; nitrogen-giving.
Coriander and Anise: Help each other germinate quicker.
Dill: Deters pests; attracts good bugs; good for sunflowers, onions, carrots, cucumbers, corn, Brussels sprouts, early potatoes, lettuce.
Garlic: Rose, tomatoes, fruit, cabbage; grow it everywhere in your garden, except do not grow with beans or peas.
Lemon Grass: Prevents grass and weeds. Helps reduce mosquitos.
Marjoram: Helps all plants; a physician plant.
Marigold: Kills harmful nematodes; grow it throughout the landscape; eggplant, pepper, potato and tomatoes.
Mustard: Fruit trees, beans, peas, alfalfa.
Nasturtium: Attracts bugs away from crops; cabbage, cucumber, tomato, squash, melon.
Onion: Plant throughout the garden; lettuces, cabbages, beets, chamomile, parsnips.
Oregano: Plant everywhere in the garden; a physician plant.
Parsley: Asparagus, tomato, corn, roses
Peppermint: Cabbage, Tomato, Broccoli: Best grown by itself.
Rosemary: Tomatoes, carrots, squash, bean, carrot, cabbage, sage.
Rue: Fig, rose.
Sage: Basil, cabbage, carrot, rosemary.
Southernwort: Keeps pest population down; helps to make healthy roots.
Summer savory: Beans, garlic, onion.
Sunflowers: Good for cucumbers.
Tansy: Raspberry, rose, grape, onion, fruit trees. Repels bugs for fruit trees and berries. Good for the compost pile.
Thyme: Plant throughout the landscape; a physician plant; good for beans, melons, tomatoes.
Yarrow: Grow as a border or anywhere throughout the landscape; heats up compost; nitrogen-fixer; a physician plant.
A guild is a specialized community of companion plants which like to grow together for mutual aid and protection from pests. Some plants have long lists of friends; no need to include every plant.
When you are ready to plant a perennial vegetable, include its companion plants. Choose the location that best provides the type of soil and the amount of sun and water required. The following guilds are ones I have created from my personal research, or guilds that I have seen in other sustainable, organic gardens in Florida and Virginia. The different climates and regions across the country support many different native and companion plants.
Banana Guild: Bananas are not trees, as papayas are also not trees; they are in the same family as grass. Companion plants include sweet potatoes, cardamom and a green manure for mulch.
Basil Guild: Chamomile, anise.
Bush Beans Guild: Cucumber, savory, beet, catnip, carrot, strawberry, cabbage, potato, cauliflower, marigold.
Butterfly Guild: Native milkweed companion plants are rosemary, lavender.
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprout Guild: Chard, celery, sage, wormwood, chamomile, thyme, hyssop, rosemary, dill, carrots, nasturtium, marigold, buckwheat, calendula, beet, onion.
Carrots Guild: Wormwood, sage, lettuce, cabbage, pea, early potatoes, leek, rosemary, chive, onion, radish.
Corn Guild: Cucumber, squash, bean, soybean, pumpkin, melon, early potatoes, pea.
Cucumber Guild: Sunflower, bean, radish, early potatoes, corn, cabbage.
Eggplant Guild: Bean, potato, pepper, tomato.
Kale Guild: Basil, nasturtium, chamomile, thyme, cabbage, rosemary, marigold, buckwheat.
Lettuce Guild: Strawberry, carrot, beet, radish.
Onion Guild: Cabbage, carrot, beet, chamomile, lettuce.
Papaya Guild: Cardamom, aloe, black-eyed pea, yarrow, milk-weed, red sage, sweet potato, tea plant.
Parsley Guild: Cilantro, dill, chives, alfalfa.
Pepper Guild: Basil, parsley, eggplant, carrot, onion, tomato.
Pole Beans Guild: Marigold, potato, corn, radish.
Potato Guild: Corn, cabbage, flax, eggplant, squash, basil, bean, pea, marigold.
Rose Guild: Garlic, geraniums, spinach, borage.
Spinach Guild: Basil, cauliflower, celery, oregano, eggplant, parsley, strawberries.
Strawberry Guild: Lettuce, borage, bush beans, spinach.
Swiss Chard Guild: Bush bean, onion.
Tomato Guild: Basil, asparagus, rosemary, gooseberries, parsley, horehound, carrot, sage, borage, marigold, geraniums, nasturtium, stinging nettles, mustard, onion. Grow tomatoes in a water-smart garden bed, large enough for a wire cage to be placed in it. Plant tomato plants on the inside of the wire cage and stake the branches as they grow; on the outside, grow its community friends; place your lettuce guild nearby.
The following list of plants demonstrates that some plants are not liked by others.
Do Not Plant These Plants Together:
Basil: Rue
Cabbage: Strawberry, tomato, pole bean
Dill: Carrots
Fennel: Caraway, coriander, bush beans; fennel is the worst plant in the garden, seeming to inhibit growth of many plants.
Garlic: Bush beans, pole beans, peas
Kale: Pole beans, strawberries
Leeks: Bush beans, pole beans, peas
Lettuce: Any cabbage family plants
Onions: Bush beans, pole beans, peas
Peas: Alliums
Pepper: Fennel
Potatoes: Sunflowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, cherries
Rue: Sage or basil
Shallots: Bush beans, pole beans, peas
Sunflowers: Do not plant near potatoes
Tomatoes: Fennel, potatoes and cabbage
