Companion Plants for Lettuce

Lettuce is one of the easy crops to grow in a garden, also being one of the vegetables you can grow from scraps. Growing lettuce is a great addition to a home garden. You can use companion planting when growing lettuce to help give your growing lettuce needed benefits from other plants and provide benefits to other crops in your garden. In this article, we go over companion plants for lettuce and what not to grow with lettuce.

If you have a small garden and are trying to save space, lettuce makes a great companion plant for many other crops and can be planted in a way to conserve space in the garden. With lettuce being a shade-loving crop, it can be planted between rows of other growing vegetables in the garden.

Good Companion Plants for Lettuce

• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Basil
• Beans
• Beets
• Bok Choy
• Borage
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Catnip
• Celery
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Dill
• Garlic
• Hyssop
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Lavender
• Leeks
• Marjoram
• Mint
• Melons
• Marigolds
• Nasturtium
• Okra
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Peas
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Radishes
• Sage
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Sunflowers
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes
• Turnips
• Winter Squash
• Zucchini

Asparagus is a good companion plant for lettuce, especially if it’s a crop leftover from the previous year, which can give a good amount of shade to lettuce plants.

Basil is a great companion crop because it helps improve the flavor of lettuce when used as a companion plant.

Beans add nitrogen to the soil. This helps out many crops when beans are used as a companion plant, including lettuce. Also with pole beans, they can provide a good amount of shade for lettuce growing near. Find out different types of green beans you can grow.

Broccoli can provide much-needed shade to growing lettuce in a garden. You also get the great benefit of saving space when using broccoli as a companion plant.

Beets, Carrots, and Radishes, being root crops, can be planted in close proximity to lettuce plants. This is a great space saver in smaller gardens.

Carrots benefit from lettuce growing between them to keep weeds at bay.

Catnip will help repel slugs and beetles when used as a companion plant.

Growing Catnip Indoors and Outdoors

Chives will help keep unwanted insects like aphids away. These act as a great barrier if planted as a border around your lettuce plants.

Cilantro is a fast-growing crop like lettuce, which makes good a good companion plant for lettuce.

Cucumber plant vines can provide shade to growing lettuce.

Dill used as a companion plant will help repel unwanted pests that can feed on your lettuce.

Garlic is another companion plant for lettuce that can be used as a barrier to help repel aphids.

Marigolds will help attract ladybugs who in turn will eat aphids. Find out what other companion plants are good to plant with marigolds here.

Mint when planted as a border is another herb that will help keep slugs off your lettuce leaves. One thing with mint in the garden is it is best to grow mint in containers instead of in the ground, as they can easily take over like a weed.

Nasturtiums will attract aphids. By planting these companion plants a little bit further away from lettuce, you can lure aphids away from your growing lettuce.

Okra when used as a companion crop can provide shade to lettuce growing on the ground.

Onions repel harmful insects that like to feed on leafy crops like lettuce. Onions can also benefit from having lettuce grow between rows of onions, doing this will help reduce weeds growing and overtaking onions.

Radishes are said to benefit from lettuce by having a flavor enhancement.

Sage is another herb that will help repel insects away from nearby lettuce.

Spinach is another cool weather crop that loves the shade as lettuce plants do. They make a great companion plant for lettuce. Find different types of spinach you can grow.

Strawberries can act as a living mulch around the lettuce, helping keep moisture in the soil. This is also one of the crops that can really benefit from space-saving by planting lettuce and strawberries together.

Sunflowers can provide a good amount of shade for lettuce. Find out what other plants to plant with sunflowers here.

Tomato plants can provide a good amount of shade to lettuce being grown as a companion plant nearby. Lettuce also acts as a mulch for tomato plants, which is important to keep moisture in the soil for growing tomatoes. Find other companion crops for tomatoes here.

Turnips, not only work great to help save space when used as a companion plant for lettuce, but they also repel aphids.

What Not to Plant With Lettuce

• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Foxglove
• Horseradish
• Kale
• Parsley

Cabbage is best to plant away from your lettuce crops, as it will impair the growth of your lettuce and also affect the quality.

Foxglove will attract foxglove aphids, and these attack lettuce.

Parsley grows into a bushy plant that can easily crowd lettuce growing near it, so it is best to keep parsley away from growing lettuce in the garden.

Frequently Asked Questions About Companion Planting With Lettuce

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