What to Plant with Peppers (and What to Avoid)
Improve the taste of your produce and lessen pests by choosing the right pepper companion plants. Our guide shares some of our best tips!
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Stepping out to your garden beds to harvest bell peppers for salsa, or padrón peppers to grill, will make all the garden labor worth it! Packed with antioxidants and other health benefits, this favorite summer plant adds color and spice to homemade meals. Finding the perfect companion plants will maximize garden space and help you grow and harvest beautiful pepper crops.
When planted alongside the proper companions, peppers have a much better chance of success. The right companion plant will lure in beneficial insects, fight against disease and pests, suppress weeds, draw in pollinators like bees for healthy growth, and contribute to the overall success of your entire garden.
Let’s talk a little bit more about the idea of companion planting and how it can contribute to your success in growing pepper plants.
What Is Companion Planting?
The idea of companion planting has been around for a long time and is a fan favorite amongst gardeners. Now, more scientific research is also showing the success of paying attention to companion plants for a thriving, biodiverse garden.
When you plant the right companions near each other, you keep pests away, increase the yield of your growing season, and bring in more bees and pollinators to create a healthy ecosystem in your vegetable garden.
With thoughtful companion planting, you can collaborate with nature to create a harmonious garden for flowers, vegetables, herbs, insects, and wildlife.
Many plants make great companions for a variety of vegetables. For instance, the marigold is one of the most popular species for deterring unwanted garden guests with the chemicals it releases into the soil. Basil and garlic are other popular companions, and onions can keep slugs, mites, and maggots away from their neighbors.
Another great use for companion planting in the garden is using one plant to help increase the health of the soil for another. For instance, beans and other legumes can fix nitrogen in the soil for other nitrogen-hungry plants.
Plants like corn can act as a trellis for vines, or taller plants can help provide shade, while groundcovers can suppress weeds by acting as a living mulch.
Now, let’s get into some specifics about how this method can help you grow healthy pepper plants in your garden space.
Good Pepper Companion Plants
Increasing the plant variety in your garden and considering the role of each plant will help you attract beneficial insects, pollinators, and, in turn, nurture a healthy crop of peppers.
Vegetables
Even though pepper plants require full sun, their roots like to stay a bit cooler. Incorporating ground covers for companions, such as oregano, rosemary, or parsley, can create a living mulch while maximizing space.
When companion planting for peppers, consider growing leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, and chard, which will enjoy the shaded location when planted under the pepper plants. This will also help keep weeds away. Both squash and cucumber make great companion plants for peppers because they grow low to the ground and help shade the ground and shallow roots of the peppers.
Planting low-growing plants can also help reduce weeds around the pepper plants in your garden. Consider adding root crops like radish or beet underneath your peppers to control weeds. They will also be shaded by the peppers, creating a great environment for these shade-loving companion plants.
Parsnips and carrots are other options for pepper companion plants that will thrive in the shade of the peppers. If carrots are left to flower, they will draw in lacewings.
Flowers
Flowers can bring in bees and other pollinators, as well as beneficial insects, increasing your pepper yield and the quality of your fruit.
Flowering basil has been shown to improve both the quality and quantity of pepper production. Another benefit of planting basil near your peppers is its ability to confuse some pests by masking the peppers’ scent. Planting basil in your garden can help keep thrips away from your peppers because it emits a chemical that makes it hard for pests to locate the peppers. A basil plant will also deter spider mites and mosquitoes from the garden.
Other flowers that will benefit your peppers include yarrow, petunias, and alyssum, which deter aphids and lure in beneficial insects. Yarrow is easy to grow and attracts ladybugs, which help deter aphids. Alyssum makes a lovely underplanting and also attracts ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps. Chamomile is another underplanting that makes a great pepper companion and acts as a living mulch by staying low to the ground. Sunflowers, of course, bring bees to the garden.
French marigolds and geraniums are said to help repel nematodes, which can be a huge problem for peppers. Marigolds are also reputed to stimulate growth and production in peppers, in addition to repelling many pests in their second season, including nematodes, potato bugs, and squash bugs.
Alliums
Plants in the allium family are also good companion plants for peppers. Try pairing chives, garlic, onions, shallots, scallions, or leeks with your peppers, which will repel aphids. Garlic will also help repel Japanese beetles that attack peppers in some climates.
Other plants that can help keep your peppers healthy include umbel-shaped flowers like dill and cilantro, which attract lacewings to take care of the green peach aphid known to attack peppers.
Trap Crop
When it comes to creating a trap crop, also consider radish or pak choi, which will lure flea beetles away from peppers and prevent damage to your pepper plants. Nasturtium can also be used as a trap crop for aphids tempted by the peppers, luring them away from your plants and into the nasturtium.
Legumes
Legumes like fava beans, pole beans, bush beans, and peas can act as nitrogen fixers, adding more nitrogen to the soil for the peppers. Lentils also fix nitrogen by capturing it from the air and delivering it to the soil.
What Not To Plant With Peppers
Leave out any plants from the nightshade family like tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. Space them farther away or put them in a different garden area to deter pests from attacking these plants, as they all attract similar pests. All of these plants are susceptible to mosaic virus, blight, and different forms of leaf spot, which can spread quickly among similar plants.
Consider planting different varieties of peppers away from each other. It is not wrong to plant them near one another, but cross-pollination can occur if they share the same space.
Fennel is not one of the best companion plants for peppers. It tends to inhibit the growth of surrounding plants.
Plants in the brassica family do not make good companion plants for peppers. These include cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Napa cabbage, broccoli, and kale. They are heavy feeders, leaching nutrients from the soil that your peppers will need. Kohlrabi is another plant in this family that should not be planted near peppers.
This one is a bit obvious, but don’t place your pepper plant in a vegetable garden with plants that require different conditions. Pepper loves slightly acidic soil that drains well and prefers full sun.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you plant tomatoes and peppers together?
Yes, you can plant tomatoes and peppers together, but be aware of a few things. Peppers can be planted closer together than tomatoes, which prefer a bit more circulation and air. Tomatoes and peppers also share many of the same pests, as they are both in the nightshade family, so be careful and watch for pests that might be attracted to both plants. Basil is a great option to plant alongside tomatoes and peppers.
Can you plant peppers and marigolds together?
Yes! Marigolds are incredibly easy to grow and make great pepper companions. Their roots can repel nematodes. French marigolds, in particular, have been reputed to increase the flavor of peppers, and because they draw in pollinators, they can boost the yield of your pepper plants.
