Jane Powell
May 17, 2025
Everywhere I look, there are tomato plants for sale. They are gorgeous. Strong stems, full leaves, and even a few blooms on some early producers. I encourage you to grab a pot and put a tomato plant on your deck, back stoop, or patio. There is pride in nurturing and harvesting a juicy red tomato.
If you have more room, maybe even a raised bed or garden plot, buy a few more. You can always share with a neighbor if you have an abundant harvest.
Better yet, buy the tomatoes and grab a basil plant while shopping. Not only do they taste great together, they are friendly neighbors in the garden.
Companion planting is placing plants that like the same growing conditions, such as full sun and consistent water. Tomato and basil are just one example of best friends in the garden.
Let’s stick with tomatoes and their friends and foes when planting. Tomatoes will be happy planted with marigolds. I do this at the little house on a big hill. I add several rows of marigolds to the front of my raised beds. They are pretty, the deer don’t like them, and they help repel insects from the tomato plants. Planting them in the front is not all about beauty; it guarantees they will get the sun they love, even as the tomatoes grow tall and produce shade in other parts of the garden.
Plant carrots, celery, lettuce, parsley, and spinach near your tomatoes. They are all friendly and will be happy sharing the same garden space. Go ahead and add onions, too. As a matter of fact, any of the allium family – including shallots, leeks, and garlic – will grow nicely with tomatoes.
But to keep your tomatoes happy, use another spot to plant cabbage, beets, peas, fennel, dill, or rosemary. Many of these plants can share a blight or attract the same nasty insects. Entire crops, even if just a plant or two, could easily become infected and ruined.
By finding the plant’s friend, you encourage healthy soil and healthy insects. Planting nasturtiums will draw caterpillars away from cabbage and broccoli. Mint is a fragrance that deters aphids and fleas. And dill attracts ladybugs. You can never have enough ladybugs! Not only are they the cute bugs, they eat aphids all day long.
I read that if you cook them together, you plant them together. It is a good rule to keep in mind.
Grow peppers near basil, onions, spinach, and tomatoes. Keep them away from beans, broccoli, carrots, corn, and cucumbers.
My mom planted beans and corn together. The beans would climb the corn stalks like a trellis. The beans also added nitrogen to the soil, making it healthier for the corn. Although she rarely grew squash, if planted with beans and corn, the trio, often called the three sisters, would shade the soil, keeping the roots cool and helping to retain moisture.
Companion planting works in a field or raised bed garden. Although the soil won’t be amended, applying companion planting ideas will benefit container gardening, deterring and attracting insects to the plants.
Have some fun with your plants. Don’t be afraid to plant herbs with your veggies and flowers with your herbs. Pollinators will be attracted to the garden, and that is a win for all.
Keep in mind the growing seasons, conditions, and mature size of your plants when mixing them with new friends. Take notes or photos of which plants like each and what space makes them happy. Finding plant companions is a lot like making new friends – it may all look good on paper, but nothing beats chemistry when spending time together.