Potato Companion Plants: Full List of Pairings

Potato Companion Plants: Full List of Pairings

Potatoes are an excellent root vegetable to grow for a late harvest. They’re fairly low maintenance, and once harvested, they can be stored in a cool, dry area, such as a basement or root cellar, for many months. However, they do take up quite a bit of space in the vegetable garden. They also have a few unique pests and diseases, like potato beetles and potato blight, that can cause trouble during the growing season.

Luckily, there are a few potato companion plants that will pair well with your tubers. Using the right potato companion plants can help increase your potato harvest (and even flavor!), prevent disease, help with pest control, and more. I’ve included a list of vegetables, flowers, and herbs that pair well with potatoes. At the end, there’s an additional list of some that won’t get along with your potatoes, for reference.

Full List of Potato Companion Plants

If you’re new to companion plants, check out this post on the potential benefits of companion planting with a guide to get started. Otherwise, the following plants can help aid in the growth, health, and/or yield of potatoes. Most require interplanting, which means a row of one in between rows of potatoes, or a mixed row of both potatoes and the companion plants.

Vegetables to Plant with Potatoes

• Beans, Peas, and Other Legumes: Some research suggests that pairing potatoes with garden beans, such as green beans, pole beans, and wax beans, can cause the potato tubers to grow larger than they normally would. The legumes add nitrogen to the soil that can help make a good harvest. To make the most of the partnership, grow beans and potatoes in alternate rows or intersperse them within a row.

• Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, and Cauliflower: These are all from the brassicas family, with shallow roots that won’t interfere with potato tuber growth. Brussels sprouts and cabbage in particular may improve potato flavor as well, making them some of the best companion plants.

• Corn: Planting potatoes around the bases and rows of your corn can help maximize your garden space. The corn takes up a lot of space and sunlight above-ground, but very little space in the roots, while potatoes need more root space than space above-ground.

• Lettuce & Spinach: Lettuce and spinach can grow well in between potato rows and won’t compete with your potatoes for soil nutrients. They’re great companions for small gardens.

• Radishes: If you notice a lot of flea beetles in your garden, interplanting radishes in your potato bed can help keep them away. Just make sure you plant the radishes several weeks before your potatoes.

Flowers to Plant Near Potatoes

• Alyssum: Sweet alyssum is a pretty ground cover that can retain soil moisture and prevent weeds without taking away the potatoes’ nutrients and growing space.

• Marigolds: Planting marigolds near your potatoes can prevent harmful insect pests like cucumber beetles and may protect the plants from disease.

• Nasturtiums: Bright and beautiful nasturtiums can deter aphids and potato beetles when planted a short distance away from your potato crops. Make sure you give them plenty of space—I’ve had them take over the garden when planted too close to other plants!

• Petunias: Petunias can attract beneficial insects, such as predatory insects and parasitic wasps, to your potatoes when planted nearby.

Herbs to Plant Near Potatoes

• Basil, Chamomile, Parsley, Thyme, and Yarrow: All of these aromatic herbs are good companion plants that can attract beneficial insects and improve the flavor of your potato crop.

• Coriander, Tansy, and Catmint: If you also struggle with those pesky Colorado Potato Beetles and Japanese beetles, planting strong-smelling coriander, tansy, or catmint in with potatoes can help keep the bad bugs from finding your potato crop. Interplant any of these herbs close to the potatoes, not on the outside of your garden or some other far-away area. Each of these is a perennial herb, so you can dig it up and transplant it to a new potato patch as you rotate each year, making any of them great companion plants for your potatoes.

• Sage: Planting sage near a potato crop can keep flea beetles at bay and improve the health of your potato plants.

What NOT to Plant Next to Potatoes

Some trees and plants should be placed far away from potatoes. Common reasons are because they’re in the same family and can share diseases, will compete for root area with the potatoes, or will otherwise stunt your potatoes’ growth.

Vegetables to Avoid with Potatoes

• Asparagus: Asparagus is a perennial with a delicate root system. All the digging involved with potato harvesting can severely damage your asparagus crop for the following spring.

• Cucumbers, Pumpkins, and Squashes: Cucumbers, pumpkins, and other varieties of winter and summer squash all share blight with potatoes. They also require a lot of water and nutrients, which will damage potatoes in the long run.

• Deep Root Vegetables (Turnips, Parsnips, Carrots, etc.): Deep root vegetables, like carrots, can interfere with a potato’s growing space underground, and they may stunt the size and yield of your potato crop.

• Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants: Since they’re all members of the nightshade family, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants can all share a common disease known as blight. Blight will come back and kill them if they’re planted too closely (or if they’re in the same areas for successive years). Nightshade plants also compete for the same set of soil nutrients.

Fruits to Keep Away from Potatoes

• Apple and Cherry Trees: Apples and cherries, as well as other fruit trees, can attract blight.

• Raspberries: Raspberries and potatoes are both susceptible to blight and can easily spread to each other if planted too closely.

Other Plants to Avoid

• Fennel & Sunflowers: Both fennel and sunflowers can stunt potato tuber growth.

Happy Potato Companion Planting!

You now have plenty of good potato companion plants to add to your garden bed this spring. 

If you’re looking for plants to help with the growth of sweet potatoes, here’s a full guide on sweet potato companion plants.