Companion Planting Chart: The Best Plant Neighbours for Your Bed

Companion Planting Chart: The Best Plant Neighbours for Your Bed

Anyone who combines the right plants in the bed harvests up to 30 % more on the same area, has fewer pests and needs less fertiliser. Companion planting is perhaps the most effective tool of ecological gardening practice - and it costs not a single cent extra.

Why Companion Planting Works

Plants do not live in isolation. They communicate via root exudates, scents and soil fungi (mycorrhiza). Good neighbours support one another:

• Deep rooters + shallow rooters = optimal soil use
• Heavy feeders + light feeders = nutrient balance
• Aromatic plants = confuse pests
• Nitrogen fixers (legumes) = naturally fertilise neighbours
• Ground cover = suppress weeds, retain moisture

The Big Companion Planting Chart

Main crop	✅ Good neighbours	❌ Bad neighbours
Tomato	Basil, parsley, carrot, garlic, celery, marigold (Tagetes)	Potato, fennel, cabbage, pea
Potato	Bean, cabbage, spinach, marigold (Tagetes), horseradish	Tomato, celery, sunflower, squash
Carrot	Onion, leek, lettuce, tomato, pea, dill	Parsley, beetroot, celery
Onion	Carrot, lettuce, strawberry, tomato, cucumber	Bean, pea, cabbage
Cabbage (all types)	Celery, bush bean, spinach, dill, tomato, lettuce	Onion, garlic, strawberry
Cucumber	Bean, cabbage, leek, lettuce, dill, marigold (Tagetes)	Tomato (ok in pots), radish
Bean (bush/pole)	Summer savory, carrot, cabbage, lettuce, celery, strawberry	Onion, garlic, leek, pea, fennel
Pea	Carrot, cucumber, lettuce, radish, spinach	Bean, garlic, onion, tomato
Lettuce	Strawberry, carrot, radish, onion, bean, cucumber	Celery, parsley
Strawberry	Garlic, onion, spinach, lettuce, parsley	Cabbage, tomato
Courgette / Squash	Bean, corn, nasturtium, pot marigold (Calendula)	Potato, cucumber (disease pressure)
Pepper	Basil, carrot, marigold (Tagetes), tomato (separately)	Bean, fennel, pea
Leek	Carrot, strawberry, celery, tomato	Bean, pea, beetroot
Spinach	Strawberry, cabbage, radish, tomato	Beetroot
Beetroot	Bush bean, dill, cabbage, lettuce, onion	Leek, spinach, corn

The 7 Strongest Plant Combinations

1. Tomato + Basil + Marigold (Tagetes)

A classic in the Mediterranean bed: basil keeps the whitefly away, Tagetes drives nematodes from the soil, the tomato provides shade.

2. Carrot + Onion

The onion confuses the carrot fly, the carrot keeps the onion fly away. Planting distance: alternating rows every 25 cm.

3. Corn + Bean + Squash (Milpa)

The 3 sisters of the Incas: corn as a support, bean as a nitrogen supplier, squash as a ground cover. Classic polyculture with the highest area yield.

4. Potato + Bush Bean

The bean fixes nitrogen, the potato benefits. Beans also suppress the Colorado potato beetle pressure.

5. Lettuce + Radish + Carrot

Three ripening times staggered: radish (4 weeks) → lettuce (8 weeks) → carrot (16 weeks). Optimal area use.

6. Cabbage + Celery + Tomato

Celery keeps the cabbage white butterfly away, the tomato additionally. This combination saves almost every spraying application.

7. Strawberry + Garlic + Spinach

Garlic acts against grey mould, spinach keeps the soil moist and covered, the strawberry delivers the harvest.

Pest Control through Aromatic Plants

Aromatic plant	repels	good with
Marigold (Tagetes)	Nematodes, whitefly	Tomato, strawberry, potato
Nasturtium	Aphids	Fruit trees, cabbage
Pot marigold (Calendula)	Soil fatigue	everywhere, companion planting border
Lavender	Ants, moth species	Roses, strawberry
Summer savory	Black bean aphid	Beans, in general
Dill	Leek moth	Carrots, onion, cabbage
Garlic	Fungi in general	Strawberries, roses, tomatoes

Practical Plan: 4-Field Companion Planting (4 m²)

🟦 Field 1 (heavy feeders)     🟩 Field 2 (medium feeders)
   Tomato + Basil                 Carrot + Onion
   + Marigold (Tagetes)           + Lettuce

🟧 Field 3 (light feeders)     🟪 Field 4 (soil rest)
   Pea + Lettuce + Spinach        Green manure
                                   (Phacelia/clover)

In the following year the fields rotate by one position - this way the crop rotation is automatically maintained.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Consequence	Solution
Tomato + Potato	both prone to late blight	separate, min. 5 m distance
Bean + Onion	both struggle	separate the beds
only one variety (monoculture)	pest pressure rises	min. 3 plant species per bed
without flowering plants	few pollinators	scatter in pot marigold (Calendula), phacelia

Conclusion

A well-planned companion planting is the most effective form of ecological gardening - it saves pesticides, fertiliser and paths. Keep the chart handy and plan your bed in PermaNatura directly with the planting partners.

💡 Practical tip PermaNatura: In the bed planner you immediately get a harmony score (0-100) when placing a plant, which colour-codes good and bad neighbours - including suggestions for the optimal complement.

Frequently Asked Questions About Companion Planting

What is companion planting? Companion planting means deliberately placing different plant species next to each other so they support one another – through nutrient balance, pest defence and better use of the soil instead of competition.

Which plants grow well together? Proven partners are tomato & basil, carrot & onion or the trio corn, bean & squash. You'll find the full overview in the chart above.

Which plants should not be next to each other? Bad neighbours include tomato & potato (both prone to late blight), bean & onion, or pea & bean. Keep at least a few rows between them.

How do I combine companion planting with crop rotation? If the bed fields rotate by one position each year, the crop rotation is maintained automatically. More on this in Planning crop rotation digitally.

Does companion planting also work in a raised bed? Yes – on the intensively used area of a raised bed companion planting is especially effective. Just make sure there is enough space between heavy feeders.

Which app helps me plan good and bad neighbours in the bed? With the free bed planner from PermaNatura you arrange your plants by drag & drop and instantly see which neighbours help and which clash – the companion planting from this chart is shown live in the bed grid, including a harmony score per bed.

Sources: Marie Luise Kreuter "Der Biogarten", Gertrud Franck "Gesunder Garten durch Mischkultur", practical experiences of biodynamic nurseries.