Quick reference for popular vegetables
Square foot spacing and the companions most charts agree on, for the crops most home gardeners grow. Open the companion planting chart for 30 plants and the reasons behind each pairing, and the square foot garden planner for 36 crops.
| Crop | Plants per square foot | Grow with | Keep apart from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 1 per square | Asparagus, Basil, Carrot, Garlic, Lettuce, Marigold, Nasturtium, Onion | Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Corn, Fennel, Kale, Potato, Strawberry |
| Pepper | 1 per square | Basil, Carrot, Marigold, Onion | Fennel, Strawberry |
| Potato | 1 per square | Bean, Corn, Marigold, Pea | Asparagus, Cucumber, Fennel, Pumpkin, Squash, Strawberry, Sunflower, Tomato, Zucchini |
| Bush bean | 9 per square | Carrot, Corn, Cucumber, Nasturtium, Potato, Pumpkin, Squash, Strawberry, Zucchini | Fennel, Garlic, Leek, Onion |
| Pea | 8 per square | Carrot, Cucumber, Lettuce, Potato, Radish, Spinach | Fennel, Garlic, Leek, Onion |
| Cucumber | 2 per square | Bean, Corn, Dill, Lettuce, Marigold, Nasturtium, Pea, Radish, Sunflower | Potato |
| Zucchini | 1 per 9 squares | Bean, Corn, Marigold, Nasturtium, Radish | Potato |
| Corn | 4 per square | Bean, Cucumber, Potato, Pumpkin, Squash, Sunflower, Zucchini | Tomato |
| Lettuce | 4 per square | Beet, Carrot, Cucumber, Garlic, Onion, Pea, Radish, Strawberry, Tomato | — |
| Spinach | 9 per square | Pea, Radish, Strawberry | — |
| Carrot | 16 per square | Bean, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Pea, Pepper, Radish, Tomato | Dill, Fennel |
| Beet | 9 per square | Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Garlic, Kale, Lettuce, Onion | — |
| Radish | 16 per square | Carrot, Cucumber, Lettuce, Pea, Pumpkin, Spinach, Squash, Zucchini | — |
| Onion | 9 per square | Beet, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Pepper, Strawberry, Tomato | Asparagus, Bean, Pea |
| Garlic | 9 per square | Beet, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Tomato | Asparagus, Bean, Pea |
| Strawberry | 4 per square | Bean, Lettuce, Onion, Spinach | Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Pepper, Potato, Tomato |
| Basil | 2 per square | Asparagus, Pepper, Tomato | — |
Companion planting is part tested, part tradition. Keeping tomatoes and potatoes apart and using dill to draw beneficial insects have real reasons behind them. The idea that onions stunt beans has little testing behind it, though nearly every chart repeats it.
Which calculator do you need?
Building a new bed? Start with the raised bed soil calculator to find how many bags or cubic yards fill it. Then plan the planting with the square foot garden planner, which counts the plants for each crop and flags neighbors that are usually kept apart. Use the companion planting chart to check what grows well together before you sow.