Garden Design - Companion Planting

What is a companion plant? Are they friends?

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A companion plant is a friendly neighbor that can potentially help bring good nutrients to your plants and repel unwanted visitors. Most importantly, if you want to go organic and stay away from pesticides, this is a good place to start. Some companion plants will attract pests to them, like nasturtium, while others with a stink will repel most deer and bugs, lavender, basil, rosemary and chives for some examples!

The most important one to mention, for people who live near wooded areas, would be marigolds. Why? They repel deer! Other benefits are the attraction of bees for pollination. What else? They bloom all season long, for garden appeal. See the chart below for a full list of what can be grown in our tri-state area (Maryland/West Virginia/Pennsylvania), Michigan you are in there too, since you are my hometown!

There are bloggers and writers who have created charts and extensive research within books, but this chart is really all you need to get your DIY garden designed and growing. The chart explains why you should and why you should NOT plant certain plants together.

Below is a handy list to help you plan the layout of your garden this year. Get out a piece of paper, or in my case I needed a poster board due to the size of my garden. I have included a freebie to be downloaded for excel if you wanted to go this route. The file for companion planting is too large to paste in here by itself. I have added the most common plants you will see in vegetable and fruit gardens.

For more information on a consultation for your own garden, please pop over to my services page for scheduling! Handy Lady | Services | DIY With Chelsea

Farm Garden Plan - 2022

Garden Plan 2024

Garden Plan 2025

Free Garden Plan(s) & Comapanion Plant List Below

Typical garden vegetables and their companions:

Plant	Companion(s)	Benefits	Non-Companion
Asparagus	Calendula, Tomato, Petunia	Deters asparagus beetles.
Beans	Cucumber, Corn, Marigolds, Peas, Nasturtium, Radish, Carrots	Corn helps act as a trellis for beans, Marigolds repel bugs, Nasturtium attracts bugs away from your beans, radish and carrots keep the soil aerated.
Beets	Lettuce, Beans, Cabbage, Radish, Broccoli, Onion, Chard, Cauliflower	Beets provide aeration to the soil while staying compact. Beets leaves drop and add nutrients to soil.
Bell Pepper	Basil, Onion, Dill, Oregano, Parsley, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Carrots, Chives, Tomatoes.	Marigolds deter pests.
Cauliflower	Celery, Legumes, Beans, Lentils, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Sage, Thyme, Marigolds.		Strawberry, Tomato, Corn, Cucumber, Pepper, Beans
Cabbage	Beans, Beets, Buckwheat, Celery, Onions, Peas
Corn	Cucumber, Melon, Pole Beans, Winter Squash, Borage, Dill, Horehound, Hyssop, Marigold, Nastrutium, Thyme		Tomato, Eggplant, Cabbage Family, Fennel
Cucumber	Beans, Beets, Celery, Corn, Dill, Lettuce, Nasturtiums, Peas, Radishes, Sunflowers
Hot Peppers	Basil, Carrots, Cilantro, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Onions, Spinach		Apricot, Brassicas, Beans, Fennel.
Lettuce Varieties	Carrots, Radishes, Tomatoes, Dill, Beets, Marigolds
Onions	Beets, Spinach, Brassicas
Potatoes	Beans, Chives, Cilantro, Garlic, Marigolds, Basil
Summer Squash	Corn, Sunflowers, Peas, Beans, Nasturtium, Marigolds, Peppermint, Dill, Oregano, Parsley, Radishes, Chives
Winter Squash	Peas, Beans, Marigolds, Corn, Catnip, Nasturtiums, Sunflower, Radish, Borage		Brassicas, Potato, Onion, Beets

Typical garden herbs and their companions:

**Note that most herbs don't play well together, so it is best to plant them throughout your garden with other vegetables, fruits and flowers that are better suited for them to thrive.

Plant	Companion(s)	Benefits	Non-Companion
Basil	Tomato, Pepper, Asparagus, Marigolds, Potatoes, Root Vegetables, Garlic, Nasturtiums
Cilantro	Asparagus, Brassicas, Beans, Sage, Anise, Alyssum, Dill, Leafy Greens, Potatoes, Tomatoes
Fennel	NONE	Chemicals inhibit growth of other plants.
Oregano	Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Chives, Lavender, Squash, Eggplant, Carrot, Celery
Dill	Cabbage, Cilantro, Cucumber, Broccoli, Asparagus	Dill helps keep asparagus beetle away. Repels cabbage worms and cabbage looper.
Thyme	Strawberry, Borage, Basil, Beans, Cabbage, Lettuce, Peppers, Tomatoes		Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Mint
Mint	NONE	Invasive.
Sage	Marigolds, Black-eyed Susan, Rosemary, Dill, Parsley, Garlic, Onion, Cilantro, Brassicas, Tomato, Carrot	Repels slugs and snails. Dill can repel spider mites.	Basil, Rue, Cucumbers
Parsley	Asparagus, Tomato, Pepper, Bean, Corn, Brassica, Roses, Apple, Pears		Mint, Carrots, Lettuce, Allium
Rosemary	Lavender, Marigolds, Alyssum, Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Strawberries, Chives, Brassicas	Rosemary keeps pests known to the Brassicas at bay.	Mint, Basil, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Cucumbers

Common Questions:

Three Sisters - Companion Planting:

What does this mean? This is a well known companion planting recommendation across countries. It originated it Central America and migrated into the North American practices.

What plants are involved? Squash, Corn, Beans.

What are the key takeaways from this?

You should be able to:

• Design your own garden

• Determine a companion for all of your plants

For additional companion information from The Farmer's Almanac: see link: Companion Planting Chart for Vegetable Garden: Tomatoes, Potatoes, and More! | Guide to Companion Planting | The Old Farmer's Almanac

For additional information on some garden layouts The Farmer's Almanac has some great examples for all types of gardens: 20 Vegetable Garden Layout Ideas | The Old Farmer's Almanac

Companion Planting for a 4'x4' Garden

Cherry Tomato	Oregano/ Chives	Zucchini	Bush Beans/ Nasturtium
Asparagus	Roma Tomato / Marigold	Snap Peas	Cucumber
Basil	Jalepeno Pepper	Lettuce/Dill	Winter Squash
Green Pepper	Eggplant	Carrots / Radishes	Broccoli