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Cucumbers are one of those very popular garden crops that home gardeners like to grow. If you are starting to grow cucumbers in your home garden you might be wondering what is good to plant near your cucumber crop.
Companion planting is used for many crops in the garden and on farms to help control unwanted insects, keep pests out of your crops, provide nutrients, and more. In this article, we go over companion plants for cucumbers and what not to plant with cucumbers.
Good Companion Plants for Cucumbers
- Beans
- Beets
- Bok Choy
- Carrots
- Catnip
- Celery
- Chamomile
- Chives
- Corn
- Dill
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
- Okra
- Onions
- Oregano
- Peas
- Radishes
- Sunflowers
- Tomatoes
Beans will help add nitrogen to the soil which will benefit cucumbers when used as a companion plant.
Companion Plants for Green Beans
Corn benefits from being a companion plant for cucumbers due to the vines of the cucumber plant helping keep raccoons away. Cucumbers will benefit from the shade provided by the corn stalks, and corn can help provide protection against wilt in the cucumber plant. Find out what else to plant with corn here.
Chamomile can help bring in beneficial ladybugs and hoverflies. By using chamomile as a companion crop for cucumbers these beneficial insects can help control the population of harmful insects like aphids.
Chives can be a good companion crop because they can help repel cucumber beetles.
Dill is a good companion plant because it will help attract beneficial insects that are predators to harmful insects.
Lettuce can benefit from shade provided by the cucumber plant vines.
Companion Plans for Lettuce
Marigolds and Nasturtiums will help repel and deter unwanted insects from your growing crops. When using these as a companion plant, it’s best to plant them as a border around the crop. These flowers keep the unwanted pests off your crops by attracting them to themselves. So these would be a trap instead of something to keep right beside your cucumbers.
Companion Plants for Marigolds
Peas, like beans, will help the nitrogen levels in the soil.
Radishes repel cucumber beetles, so they can provide natural insect control when used as a companion plant for cucumbers. Find out what else to use as a companion plant for radishes here.
Sunflowers can help provide shade to cucumber plants, which will help during those very hot summer days. Find other good companion plants for sunflowers here.
Tomatoes can be a companion plant for cucumbers, however it’s important to remember that these two crops can be susceptible to the same diseases.
Companion Plants for Tomatoes
What Not To Plant With Cucumbers
- Basil
- Garlic
- Horseradish
- Melons
- Mint
- Potatoes
- Pumpkin
- Rhubarb
- Sage
- Squash
- Zucchini
Garlic is not a good companion crop for cucumbers. Cucumbers do not do well with pungent herbs and plants.
Melons and cucumbers both attract the same harmful pests.
Mint can easily overtake a garden and is best kept a good distance away from cucumbers.
Potatoes can compete for nutrients with potatoes. This will hurt the growth of both your potatoes and your cucumbers, so keep these two crops in separate areas of your garden.
Rhubarb will compete with cucumbers for the same nutrients in the soil.
Sage can stunt cucumber growth when planted nearby. Sage also can have a bad effect on the taste of cucumbers if growing nearby.
Squash and Zucchini can attract some of the same pests that cucumbers are susceptible to. Also, squash and cucumbers would be competing for the same nutrients in the soil, this could cause growth problems in both crops if planted together.
Find Other Companion Plants for these Crops:
- Companion Plants for Garlic
- Companion Plants for Mint
- Companion Plants for Potatoes
- Companion Plants for Rhubarb
- Companion Plants for Yellow Squash
- Companion Plants for Zucchini
Frequently Asked Questions About Companion Plants for Cucumbers
Tomatoes and cucumbers can be planted next to each other. One important thing to keep in mind when doing this is that these two plants can be susceptible to the same diseases. So if you can plant them in separate areas of the garden that can be a good idea to avoid having issues with both crops due to the same disease.
Both cucumbers and zucchini are heavy feeders. If planted together they would be competing for the same nutrients. Also both of these crops attract some of the same pests. So it is best to keep cucumbers and zucchini in separate areas of a garden.
There is no known benefit for planting strawberries and cucumbers next to each other. Strawberries tend to be heavy feeders so this could lead to competition for nutrients in the soil if they are planted together.
