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Zucchini is the easy to grow home garden crop that provides us with yummy zoodles throughout the summer. And if you want to make sure you have plenty of zucchini to harvest then it is best to use companion planting for zucchini. Using companion plants with a zucchini crop can help keep pests that could destroy your zucchini plants and can help increase your zucchini harvest yield.
Companion planting is used by gardeners for many many years in order to repel insects and increase soil quality. By planting complementary crops next to each other you can decrease the number of pesticides and other chemicals you might find yourself needing when faced with an invasion of pesky bugs. You can even use some of these companion plants when growing zucchini in a container garden. But what is a good companion plant or crop for zucchini in the garden?
Good Companion Plants for Zucchini
- Beans
- Borage
- Celery
- Corn
- Garlic
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
- Peas
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Catnip
- Dill
- Lemon Balm
- Marjoram
- Mint
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Rosemary
Beans will help pull nitrogen into the soil which in turn will benefit your zucchini crop as they are a plant that uses a lot of nitrogen. Zucchini helps green beans as a companion plant because of the large leaves on a zucchini plant, these help shade the soil keeping bean roots cool and keeping the soil from drying out from direct sunlight.
Different Types Of Green Beans You Can Grow
Borage will attract bees to help pollinate your crops.
Celery can help keep whiteflies away from your growing zucchini.
Companion Crops for Celery
Corn helps repel beetles and vine borers away from zucchini. It also attracts pollinators to the garden.
Garlic helps repel aphids.
Marigolds make great companion plants for many crops including zucchini. Marigolds will attract pests like flea beetles and aphids instead of these pests moving onto your zucchini crop. They will also attract beneficial pollinators.
Nasturtiums like marigolds will help keep pests like flea beetles and aphids off your zucchini plants. An additional bonus of nasturtiums is that they repel squash vine borers, anything to help keep vine borers away is a absolute must when growing any type of squash.
Peas, like beans, these will add nitrogen to the soil.
Oregano can help keep squash bugs away from your zucchini plants. It is best when using oregano for a companion plant to grow the oregano in a container and sit it near the companion crop. Oregano can grow fast and quickly overtake an area like mint can.
Radishes are another companion plant for zucchinis that will keep vine borers away from the zucchini plant.
Spinach can benefit from the shade provided by the zucchini leaves.
Companion Plants for Spinach
Herbs like Catnip, Dill, Mint, Lemon Balm, or Oregano can help repel various insects, and when they flower they can help attract pollinators.
Companion Plants for Catnip
What Not To Plant With Zucchini
By making sure that you don’t plant crops together that could harm each other you ensure that all your hard work in your garden isn’t going to go to waste due to stunted growth or the attraction of the wrong insect. These are bad companion plants for zucchini.
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
- Yellow Squash
- Butternut Squash
- Acorn Squash
Cucumbers and zucchini will both compete for the same nutrients therefore not making these two good crops to plant next to each other.
Eggplant, like zucchini, is a heavy feeder. Having heavy feeders next to each other will cause issues with growth in both crops.
Companion Plants for Eggplant
Potatoes are a crop that uses a lot of nutrients in the soil, so avoid planting them with zucchini which also are heavy feeders of nutrients. Another issue with potatoes is that they are prone to blight, which can transfer to zucchini. You can find companion plants for potatoes here.
Pumpkins, Yellow Squash, and winter squashes like Butternut Squash and Acorn Squash can cause issues with cross-pollination. Another issue planting these next to zucchini is that they also attract harmful pests like vine borers. Keeping these crops apart will help spare the other if this pest gets into one.
Frequently Asked Questions About Zucchini Companion Planting
No, zucchini and cucumbers should not be planted together in the garden. They should be planted in separate areas of your garden due to the fact that they are both heavy feeders and will compete for nutrients in the soil. Both crops also can attract the same pests making an uncontrollable infestation more likely.
Related Reading:
Companion Plants for Pumpkins
Companion Plants for Peas
Companion Plants for Yellow Squash
Cucumber Companion Plants
