Vegetables
Did you know that beans repel wireworms from infesting your garden? Or that they also host nitrogen-fixing bacteria that fertilize plants? It’s important to keep these things in mind when planning your garden. To help you out, the Garden Tower Project has assembled a guide that explores various vegetables and their roles within a garden.
| Common name | Scientific name | Helps | Helped by | Attracts | Repels | Avoid | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliums | Allium | fruit trees, nightshades(tomatoes, capsicum peppers, potatoes), brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc.) carrots | carrots | slugs, aphids, carrot fly, cabbage worms[1] | beans, peas, parsley | Alliums include onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, and others | |
| Asparagus | Asparagus officinalis | Tomatoes[2] | Aster Family flowers, Dill, Coriander, Tomatoes, Parsley, Basil, Comfrey, Marigolds | coupled with Basil seems to encourage lady bugs | Onion, Garlic, Potatoes | ||
| Brassicas | Brassica | potatoes, cereals (e.g. corn, wheat) | geraniums, dill, alliums (onions, shallots, garlic, etc.), rosemary, nasturtium, borage | wireworms | mustards, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) | Brassicas are a family of species which include broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, and cauliflower. | |
| Beans | Phaseolus | Corn (see Three Sisters), Spinach, lettuce, rosemary, summer savory, dill, carrots, brassicas, beets, radish, strawberry and cucumbers | Eggplant, Summer savoury | California beetles | Tomatoes, chili peppers, alliums (onions, garlic, etc.), brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) | Hosts nitrogen-fixing bacteria, a good fertiliser for some plants, too much for others | |
| Beets | Beta Vulgaris | lettuce, kohlrabi, onions and brassicas | Catnip, Garlic, Mint | Runner or pole beans[2] | Good for adding minerals to the soil through composting leaves which have up to 25% magnesium. Runner or pole beans and beets stunt each other's growth. | ||
| Broccoli | Brassica oleracea | geraniums, dill, alliums, rosemary, nasturtium, borage | mustards, Tomatoes, peppers | Rosemary repels cabbage fly, geraniums trap cabbage worms, same general companion profile as all brassica (cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.) | |||
| Cabbage | Brassica oleracea | geraniums, dill, alliums, rosemary | mustards, Tomatoes, peppers strawberries, and pole/runner beans | Rosemary repels cabbage flies, geraniums trap cabbage worms, same general companion profile as all brassica (cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.) | |||
| Carrots | Daucus carota | Tomatoes, Alliums (onions, chives, etc.), lettuce | alliums (leeks, shallots, etc.), rosemary, wormwood, sage, beans, flax | assassin bug, lacewing, parasitic wasp, yellow jacket and other predatory wasps | Dill, parsnip, radish | Tomatoes grow better with carrots, but may stunt the carrots' growth. Beans (which are bad for tomatoes) provide the nitrogen carrots need more than some other vegetables. Aromatic companion plants repel carrot fly. Alliums inter-planted with carrots confuse onion and carrot flies. | |
| Celery | Apium graveolens | Cosmos, Daisies, Snapdragons | corn, Aster flowers, these can transmit the aster yellows disease | ||||
| Corn / Maize | Zea mays | beans | Sunflowers, legumes (beans, peas, etc.), peanuts, cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, melons, etc.), amaranth, white geranium, lamb's quarters, morning glory, parsley, and potato[2] | Tomato, Celery | Provides beans with a trellis, is protected from predators and dryness by cucurbits, in the three sisters technique | ||
| Cucumber | Cucumis Sativus | Nasturtiums, radishes, marigolds, sunflowers, peas, beets, carrots, and Dill | Beneficial for ground beetles | Tomato, Sage | |||
| Eggplant or Aubergine | Solanum melongena | Beans, Peppers | Marigolds, tarragon, mints | Marigolds will deter nematodes. | |||
| Leek | Allium ampeloprasum v. porrum | Celery, apple trees | carrots | cabbage worms, aphids, carrot fly, others | Legumes (beans, peas, etc.), Swiss chard | Same companion traits as all alliums (onions, garlic, shallots, chives, etc.) | |
| Lettuce | Lactuca sativa | Radish, Kohlrabi, beans, carrots | celery, cabbage, cress, parsley | Mints (including hyssop, sage, and various "balms") repel slugs, a bane of lettuce and cabbages | |||
| Mustard | Brassicaceae, Sinapis alba | Cabbage, cauliflower, radish, Brussels sprouts, turnips | various pests | Same general companion profile as all brassica (cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.) | |||
| Nightshades | Solanaceae | carrots, alliums, mints (basil, oregano, etc.) | beans, black walnuts, corn, fennel, dill, brassica (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.) | Nightshade plants include tomatoes, tobacco, chili peppers (including bell peppers), potatoes, eggplant, and others | |||
| Onion | Allium cepa | Tomatoes, brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, etc.) | Carrots | aphids, carrot fly, other pests | Beans, lentils, peas, parsley | Same companion traits as all other alliums (chives, garlic, shallots, leeks, etc.) | |
| Peppers | Solanaceae, Capsicum | themselves, marjoram | tomatoes, geraniums, petunias | Tomato Hornworm | beans, kale (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc.) | Pepper plants like high humidity, which can be helped along by planting with some kind of dense-leaf companion, like marjoram and basil; they also need direct sunlight, but their fruit can be harmed by it...pepper plants grown together, or with tomatoes, can shelter the fruit from sunlight, and raises the humidity level. | |
| Potato | Solanum tuberosum | Horseradish | Atriplex, carrot, cucumber, onion, raspberries, squash, sunflower, tomato | Horseradish increases the disease resistance of potatoes | |||
| Parsnip | Pastinaca Sativa | fruit trees | a variety of predatory insects | The flowers of the parsnip plant left to seed will attract a variety of predatory insects to the garden, they are particularly helpful when left under fruit trees, the predators attacking codling moth and light brown apple moth. The root also contains Myristricin, which is toxic to fruit flies, house flies, red spider mite, pea aphids. | |||
| Pumpkin and other Squash | Curcurbita spp | corn, beans | Buckwheat, catnip, tansy, radishes | Spiders, Ground Beetles | Radishes can be used as a trap crop against flea beetles, Curcurbita can be used in the three sisters technique | ||
| Radish | Rafanus Sativus | squash, eggplant, cucumber,[2]lettuce | flea beetles, cucumber beetles | Radishes can be used as a trap crop against flea beetles | |||
| Spinach | Spinacia oleracea | Peas, Beans | The peas and beans provide natural shade for the spinach | ||||
| Tomatoes | Solanum lycopersicum | roses, peppers, asparagus | basil,[3] oregano, parsley, carrots, marigold, Alliums, celery, Geraniums, Petunias, Nasturtium, Borage, any type of onion or chives | Tomato Hornworm | asparagus beetle | Black walnut, corn, fennel, peas, dill, potatoes, beetroot, brassicas (kohlrabi, cabbage, etc.), rosemary |
Dill attracts tomato hornworm. Growing basil 10 inches apart from tomatoes can increase the yield of tomatoes by about 20%.[3] |