Companion planting in your Heirloom / Open Pollinated vegetable garden can be a great asset when it comes to gardening. Whether the pairing has been confirmed by research studies or is simply part of companion planting tradition we’re not sure, but this list is some of what we could find. Here are some companion plantings you may want to try, with information on the type of interaction.
Companion Planting Options
| Combinations | Relationship | Tips/Comments |
| Tomatoes with cabbage | Tomatoes repel diamond back moths and flea beetles. Improved flavor and growth. | Tomatoes will shade transplants for fall crop from summer heat and sun. |
| Corn with snap beans or soybeans | Beans enhance growth of corn, possibly due to capability to fix nitrogen. | Alternate double rows of corn with double bean rows to ensure good corn pollination. |
| Peanuts with corn or squash | lntercropping increases yields of both crops. | Leave plenty of space at planting for heavy vegetative growth of peanuts. |
| Peas with spinach, lettuce, or Chinese cabbage | Peas provide shading and wind protection for young transplants. | Vining peas must be started early and trained on fence or trellis to provide good protection. |
| Radish, onions, or beets with lettuce, beans, cabbage, or tomatoes | Various beneficial interactions including: Lettuce makes radishes tender, onions help deter weeds and repel some insects. | Fast-growing crops can be grown around slower-growing crops. Harvest before competition between crops has detrimental effect. |
| Lettuce or spinach with winter squash at cucumbers | Makes better use of space and soil materials. | Lettuce and spinach are harvested before vine crops spread over bed. |
| Cabbage with garlic | Garlic reputedly repels many harmful insects and helps prevent disease. | Garlic has a cold requirement for bulging. Try as a fall planting; allow garlic to over winter. |
| Corn with beans, cucumbers, melons, or squash | Makes best use of light and bed space. | Border rows of corn with vine crops; plant beans and corn in alternating hills; 3-4 plants per hill. |
| Lettuce, cabbage, bush beans, basil, seed onions, tomatoes, beets in 1-ft-square blocks | Various beneficial interactions, good for seed-starting beds. | Block planting is best for compact, low-growing plants. |
| Radishes planted in a circle around a hill of squash or cucumbers | Radishes repel vine borers and cucumber beetles. | Circle planting is a way to surround crops with repellant plants. |
| Strips of clover or alfalfa between corn rows | Helps control weeds and conserve moisture. | Sod strips may require periodic mowing. Strip plantings the tall crops with tender low-growing plants can reduce wind damage. |
