Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable (or fruit) in home gardens. They are delicious, juicy and perfect for eating fresh and storing. If you plan to grow tomatoes, consider companion planting. Certain plants can help produce beautifully juicy tomatoes, maximizing your harvest and promoting healthier growth.
This growing system pairs plants to form a mutually beneficial relationship that reduces annoying pests and improves plant health. By using some of the best companion plants for tomatoes, you’ll harvest better than ever. Here are the 15 best companion plants for your tomato garden.
1. Basil
An interesting aspect of companion planting is that many crops that go well together in the kitchen also thrive together in the garden. For example, basil is one of the best companion plants for tomatoes, and they’re delicious together too!
Basil is a leafy herb that thrives in the shade beneath taller tomato plants. In exchange for this hue, basil repels aphids and squash bugs and attracts pollinating insects. Basil also enhances the flavor of home-grown tomatoes.
2. Lettuce
Lettuce grows well in shade under tomato plants, providing a dense ground cover that suppresses weeds and prevents moisture from evaporating.
This pairing works well for “cut and boil” lettuce varieties, which can be harvested with tomatoes all summer long. Lettuce has low nutrient requirements, so it won’t compete with tomato plants for essential nutrients.
3. Chives
Chives are a delicious herb with a slight onion smell that repels aphids and mites. Planting small clumps of chives among tomatoes is a good way to keep pests away. They also make a great addition to a tomato salad. The large pompom flowers of chives plants will also attract pollinating bees to your tomato plants.
4. Worries
It is very common to see rows of colorful marigolds planted next to tomatoes. This companion is a favorite among gardeners and homesteaders.
Marigolds have vibrant red, orange and yellow flowers that attract a host of beneficial insects to the garden, from pollinating bees to pest-killing wasps and butterflies. It is also one of the few companion plants that deters whiteflies, a destructive sap-sucking insect that targets tomato plants.
5. Sage
Sage is a low-maintenance herbaceous perennial that deters the cabbage moth, a bothersome insect that targets many vegetable crops. Its flowers also attract many beneficial insects that stimulate pollination and control aphids.
Sage can be easily rooted from cuttings, so add this flavorful herb to all your vegetable beds to maximize the benefits.
How to Start an Herb Garden from Scratch
6. Black-eyed peas
Black-eyed peas work slightly differently to increase tomato harvests by acting as a sacrificial trap crop. Southern green stink bugs, which spread bacterial wilt of tomato plants, cannot resist black-eyed peas and will leave your tomato plants alone. Plant a clump of black-eyed peas a few feet from the main tomato bed for best results.
7. Parsley
Parsley is a low-growing herbaceous plant that forms a ground cover under tomato plants. When used as a summer companion plant, it produces an abundance of small flowers that attract ladybugs, a major predator of aphids and hornworms. Parsley is also delicious with freshly harvested tomatoes.
8. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are fast-growing annual flowering plants that attract parasitoid wasps, tiny flying insects that feed on aphids and hornworms. They can also be grown as trap crops to keep aphids away from your vegetable crops. The colorful flowers have a delicious peppery flavor that makes a great addition to tomato salads.
9. Radish
A great way to maximize space in the vegetable garden is to grow radishes among tomato plants. These fast-growing root vegetables shade the soil, creating a ground cover that suppresses weeds. Radishes grow quickly and can be harvested in just a few weeks, so sow regularly to ensure a continued harvest.
How to Harvest, Store and Use Radishes
10. Coriander
Cilantro is a fast-growing annual herb that attracts parasitoid wasps, tiny insects that feed on tomato hornworms. Its distinctive aroma may also help repel Colorado potato beetles, which eat potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. Cilantro will flower quickly and go to seed during the warmer summer months and is best sown every few weeks for maximum benefit.
11. Thyme
Thyme, a low-growing perennial herbaceous plant, is an essential part of any vegetable garden. The small, delicate flowers of thyme are irresistible to insects which stimulate pollination and control pests. Thyme also contains compounds that can repel ants, aphids, and wireworms.
12. Sweet Alyssum
If you often have aphid problems in your vegetable garden, sweet alyssum could be the solution. This low-growing annual flower is very effective at attracting parasitoid wasps and is one of the best insects for controlling pests. Sweet alyssum self-seeds easily without becoming too invasive.
13. Borage
Borage is a low-maintenance annual plant that is teeming with insects feeding on its delicate purple flowers. These insects then pollinate the tomato plants and feed on pests such as aphids and hornworms. Borage plants self-seed easily but can become quite prolific, so remove unwanted seedlings in early spring.
14. Calendula
Calendula has a distinctive musky scent that will repel hornworms, aphids and flea beetles from your vegetable garden. They are easy to grow and will form a carpet of colorful flowers under your tomato plants all summer long.
15. Carrots
Carrots grow deep in the soil, helping to aerate the soil and improve the health of tomato plants. These two plants work well as companions because they have different nutritional needs, thus avoiding competition. Carrots will benefit from the shade provided by tomato plants, creating a ground cover that keeps weeds away.
