The 10 Best Tomato Companion Plants - Garden Design (2024)

FAQs

Can I plant tomatoes and peppers together? ›

Tomatoes. Although it's usually recommended to not plant tomatoes and peppers right after each other in the same bed every year, they can be grown together in the same garden bed (and then rotated to another bed next season).

Many pre-made soilless potting mixes are available at garden centers, but you can also make your own by combining one bushel each of vermiculite and peat moss, 1 ¼ cups of dolomitic lime, ½ cup of 20 percent superphosphate and 1 cup of 5-10-5 fertilizer. Incorporating some quality compost will add additional nutrients.

Tomatoes are also fantastic with fruit such as apricot, lychee, nectarines and peach, or berries like raspberry and strawberry. If you'd like to try an unusual herb pairing, lemon balm is a good choice. You could also look further afield for drinks. Cointreau a flavour match for tomatoes, as is a light, floral gin.

Tomatoes, which are considered acidic, do not mix well with starchy carbs such as pasta. This already-cumbersome combo turns into a recipe for digestive problems when you add dairy to it.

As a general rule, put tall veggies toward the back of the bed, mid-sized ones in the middle, and smaller plants in the front or as a border. Consider adding pollinator plants to attract beneficial insects that can not only help you get a better harvest, but will also prey on garden pests.

Marigolds help attract bees and other beneficial insects to tomato plants. Although tomato plants are self-pollinating plants, they do benefit from insect pollination to increase the fruit production of each plant. Marigolds also attract beneficial insects that will eat pests that would otherwise harm tomato plants.

Zucchini and tomatoes can be grown as close neighbors and will make satisfactory companion plants. Both vegetables thrive in the same environmental conditions, so a garden plot that is ideal for one plant is therefore ideal for the other. They both need a location with full sun and benefit from nutrient-rich soil.

Brassicas: Almanacs and home gardeners recommend avoiding planting brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, cauliflower) near peppers because they require different soil acidity levels and can deter pepper plant growth.

In a compost pile, coffee grounds decompose and break down, mingling with other organic matter like vegetable scraps, leaves, and grass clippings. This process creates a nutrient-rich compost that is much safer and more beneficial for tomato plants.

Tomatoes and cucumbers can be grown together successfully, and there are actually some benefits to planting them together. Both plants have similar growing needs when it comes to sunlight, soil conditions, and watering. And if space is at a premium, interplanting the two will allow you to get more out of your garden.

What is the secret to growing good tomatoes? ›

Like many vegetables, tomatoes prefer a goldilocks soil that is moisture retentive yet well drained and, of course, rich in nutrients. The very best way to achieve that is simply to add plenty of well-rotted organic matter to the surface of your soil in the weeks or months before planting.

Compost and composted manure are great additions to the soil for tomatoes and lots of other plants. Compost adds basic nutrients and improves soil structure. Composted manure provides nutrients all season long. Composted manure: This provides a slow release of nutrients over the growing season.

Cucumbers and tomatoes can be planted by each other as they share similar growing habits and therefore you can grow tomatoes by cucumbers. Greg Volente from Greenhouse Today explains that: 'Cucumbers and tomatoes are two vigorous growers in a spring garden. They're both vining plants and share similar basic needs.