Herb / vegetable

Plant

Together with

Positive companion

Negative companion

Basil

Tomatoes, pumpkin

Green peppers,

Marigolds, squash, fennel, cucumbers, courgettes

To repel flies. Prevents mildew on cucumbers. 

Fruit flies improves quality of tomatoes

Rue

Bay leaf

Cayenne peppers, tansy, peppermint 

Leaves can be used as an insect repellent sprinkled around the garden

Beans

Most vegetables, potatoes, celery, tansy, marigolds, sweet peas

Enriches the soil with nitrogen. The roots exude a substance that kills wire worms which helps potato and root crops

Onions, garlic, gladiolus

Runner beans with

Sunflowers

Beets   

Bush beans, cabbage, onion, sage, lettuce

Adds minerals to the soil. Leaves contain 25% magnesium. Good on the compost heap.  

Plant after onions.   

Pole beans

Borage

Tomatoes, brassicas, squash, strawberries  

Tomato worm promotes fruiting. Adds trace elements to soil. Good for the compost heap. A good all round companion plant. Attracts bees and wasps 

Cabbage         

Celery, potatoes, onions. Dwarf beans, peas, dill, chamomile, sage, spinach, peppermint, rosemary 

Helps repel pests and cabbage butterfly          

Strawberries, runner beans, rue, lettuce, dill, tomato, pole beans

Calendula        

Cabbage, beans, tomatoes, peas, roses

Nematodes, repels white fly & beetles, attracts bees           

Carrots

Bush & pole beans, lettuce, onions, peas, radish, tomato, sage, chives, rosemary, wormwood,

Plant after onions controls nematodes

Do not store near apples as they can turn them bitter.

Dill, anise

Celery 

Bush beans

Cabbage, onions, leeks, spinach, tomato, nasturtium

Deters white butterfly. Treat celery rust with a tea of nettles and horsetail. Controls caterpillars & beetles in cabbage

Chamomile      

Cabbage, onion cucumbers

Most herbs

Accumulates calcium potassium and sulphur, which it later returns to the soil. Increases the oil production of herbs. A tonic companion plant. Improves the flavour of vegetables. Repels flying insects. Improves crop size of onions 

Potatoes

Chives 

Carrots, roses, tomatoes, cucumbers

Prevents black spot on roses. Repels carrot fly & scale on apples. Use chive tea on cucumbers & gooseberries. Prevents powdery mildew and checks fungal diseases. Deters aphids from attacking tomatoes, sunflowers, chrysanthemums        

Comfrey          

Tomato, peppers, cucumbers, potato

Accumulates calcium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium, vitamins a, c, & b12, potassium. Plant as a trap crop for slugs. Cleans stagnant or foul water. Excellent on the compost heap and as a source of potash

Cucumbers      

Dill, basil beans, corn, lettuce, onions, radish, peas, cabbage, marigolds, tansy, tomatoes, nettles, carrots, squash, nasturtiums, broccoli, oregano, sunflowers 

Plant under sweet corn or sunflowers and allow them to use this as a natural support. Nettles improve soil and nettle tea helps avoid powdery mildew

No strong herbs especially sage

Potatoes

Garlic  

Roses, raspberries, fruit trees

Aphid control.  Put cloves in grain to deter weevils. Accumulates sulphur (naturally occurring fungicide)Tea controls aphids & onion fly.  Helps against snails, root maggots, carrot fly, peach leaf curl. Plant around rose bushes

Beans, peas

Hyssop

Cabbage, grapes, potatoes, lemon balm

Cabbage moth control. Attracts bees.  Roots purify surrounding soil. Plant around vegetable patch to create protective barrier

Do not plant near radishes

Lemon balm

All vegetables

Dried - sprinkle throughout garden to deter bugs. Rub fresh leaf over your skin for mosquito control. Beneficial to surrounding plants 

Lettuce

Bush & pole beans, carrots, chervil, cucumbers, onions, radish, strawberries, beetroot, pumpkin, sweetcorn, capsicum, cabbage, marigolds

Chervil protects against aphids & slugs. Lettuce takes up natural antibiotics from the soil

Marigolds        

Tomatoes, strawberries

Pest deterrent. Plant throughout garden, especially effective against nematodes. Plant densely - roots exude toxin. Use for white fly. Grow between tomatoes 

Nasturtium       

Radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, fruit trees, tomatoes, apple trees, corn, broccoli 

Aphids, squash bugs, whiteflies, ants, beetles. Plant as a barrier around plants. Keeps green house free of white flies. Trap crop for aphids. Promotes a healthy garden

Nettles

Tomatoes, marjoram, fruit trees, any ailing plant, roses

Flowers attract bees. Improves disease resistance in plants. Rich in silica & calcium. Nettle tea can be used as a general tonic for the whole garden. Aphid control. Improves oil content of herbs

Onion  

Beets, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, squash, strawberries, tomatoes

Deters slugs and snails. General insect repellent. Good influence on other plants. Plant carrots and onions together to confuse each other’s flies

Bush & pole beans, peas

Parsley

Tomatoes, asparagus, roses, onions 

Deters asparagus beetles. Increases fragrance of roses when planted around the base

Do not plant near young lettuce

Peas   

Bush/pole beans, corn, carrots, cucumbers, radish, turnips, borage, beets, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, celery, straw-berries

Beneficial to brassicas - protects against aphids & root fly. The roots exudates increase the availability of nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus & potassium in the soil

Onion family -leeks, garlic, shallots gladiolus

Potatoes

Potatoes          

Beans, peas, sweetcorn, nasturtiums, marigold, celery, cannabis, summer savory, horse-radish, tansy

Green manure of mustard, barley or oats. Cannabis aids in the prevention of blight. Onion, nettle, horsetail  & sea-weed sprays can help  

Sunflowers, cucumbers, raspberries, pumpkin, melons, marrow, squash, courgettes, tomatoes

Tansy

Fruit trees, roses, raspberries, potatoes, peach trees  

Flying insects, squash bugs, ants, cucumber beetles, fruit fly, cabbage worm. Used for sugar type ants. Good addition to the compost heap (high potassium levels). Hang bunches to deter flies

Can be invasive cabbage (cabbage worms are attracted to tansy

Tomato           

Cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, mint, basil, marigold, nasturtium, asparagus, parsley, lettuce, gooseberries, rosemary, cucumber, roses, hyssop, sage 

Use cucumbers as a sacrifice crop - lures whitefly away. Protects roses from black spot.

Fennel, potatoes, wormwood, brassicas in general, apricot seedlings, cabbage, cauliflower