Home » Misc » Best companion plant for peppers

Best companion plant for peppers


Companion Plants for Peppers: 12 Science-Backed Choices

While old-fashioned companion planting techniques relied more on folklore than science, modern methods of companion planting are now gaining traction, thanks to hundreds of recent and on-going studies evaluating the effectiveness of various plant partnerships. In previous articles, I’ve outlined the best companion plants for tomatoes, as well as plant partnerships to benefit zucchini. Today, I’d like to introduce a dozen of the best companion plants for peppers.

There are many different types of peppers, all of which can benefit from the right kind of companion plants.

12 companion plants for peppers

In my award-winning book, Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden (Storey Publishing, 2021), I take a deep dive into the topic and introduce dozens of companion planting strategies that are proven to improve plant health and yields by deterring pests, building soil health, limiting weeds, enhancing biological control, and more. By employing these plant partnerships in your garden, you’ll create not just a more diverse growing environment, but a more resilient one, resulting in healthier, more productive plants. Let’s take a close look at twelve of the best companion plants for peppers in terms of the benefits they provide to your pepper crop.

Our online course Organic Pest Control for the Vegetable Garden, provides even more information about managing pests using companion planting and other natural techniques in a series of videos that total 2 hours and 30 minutes of learning time.

Pepper companion plants to deter pests

The following companion plants for peppers act to mask the presence of your pepper plants, limiting a pest’s ability to find them in your garden. Most pests find their host plant through a series of cues, including both visual and olfactory (scent) cues. These two plant partnerships work by masking the volatile chemicals (odors) released by pepper plants that allow pests to discover them and feed or lay eggs.

Thrips are one of several common pepper pests that can be reduced by employing companion planting strategies. Notice their silvery, net-like damage?

Onions, scallions, and garlic for green peach aphids

Green peach aphids are among the most common pests of peppers. They feed spring through fall by sucking out plant juices, causing distorted growth, leaf yellowing, and leaf curl. Green peach aphids also transmit several plant viruses to pepper plants. Interplanting peppers with members of the allium family, including chives, onions, garlic, and scallions, has been shown to deter these small insects from settling on pepper plants to feed. Plant the allium crops around and in between your pepper plants. Or plant your peppers smack in the middle of your onion crop.

Plant your pepper transplants right in the middle of your onion crop to help deter green peach aphids. Photo credit: Derek Trimble for Plant Partners

Basil for thrips

Tiny, slender thrips can cause big trouble on pepper plants. Their damage causes a silver, net-like appearance on the leaves, flower buds, or fruits (shown in image above). They also spread various plant diseases. They’re so small that identifying them is a challenge. Look for dead terminal shoots, tiny specks of black excrement, early fruit drop, or the net-like distortion. To deter thrips, interplant your pepper plants with basil, which has been shown to help mask pepper (and tomato) plants from thrips. The volatile chemicals released by basil plants mask those emitted from the pepper plants, making it difficult for the thrips to discover their pepper host.

Here, both Thai basil and holy basil are planted near two types of pepper plants to deter thrips.

Companion plants for peppers that increase biological control

Beneficial pest-eating insects play a very valuable role in the vegetable garden. Using “good bugs” to help manage “bad bugs” is known as biological control. You don’t have to purchase beneficial insects and release them into the garden (in fact, doing so is not really a useful practice for home gardeners). Instead, it’s much better to create a garden where a healthy natural population of good bugs is encouraged. Enhancing the numbers of these good bugs is one of the easiest ways to keep pest outbreaks from occurring in the first place. Using companion plants that attract and support beneficial insects is essentially putting out the welcome mat for them. When it comes to companion plants for peppers that enhance biological control, here are a handful of great options.

Dill, fennel, cilantro, and other members of the carrot family

Flowering herbs in the carrot family are exceptional companion plants for peppers. Their umbrella-shaped clusters of tiny flowers are ideal for supporting a broad array of predators of aphids, hornworms, bud worms, and other pepper pests. Tiny, non-stinging parasitic wasps feed on the nectar of these flowers and then go on to parasitize hornworms and other pest caterpillars. Other species of parasitic wasps parasitize aphids. Predatory insects like ladybugs and lacewings also drink nectar from members of the carrot family. In addition to feasting on aphids, some species also feed on whiteflies and other pepper pests. Plant dill, fennel, and cilantro in between and around your pepper plants. Since many of these good bugs fly, you can even plant these plants around the edge of your garden and still see positive results.

Companion planting can also take place in containers. Here, a small cilantro plant is just starting to come into flower on the right side of this pot of peppers.

Sunflowers as pepper companion plants

Good ol’ sunflowers have so much to offer the garden. They’re a must-have on the list of great companion plants for peppers. Yes, they lure in pollinators, but sunflowers also enhance biological control in two ways. First, they provide nectar and pollen to beneficial pest-eating insects. Second, even when they’re not in bloom, they produce extra floral nectar (EFN) from glands on their leaf undersides. This EFN is a sweet reward for beneficial insects in exchange for managing pests. Sunflowers start producing EFN when they’re only a few inches tall. Plant lots of sunflowers in and around your pepper patch, and you’ll have plenty of good bugs around to help keep pest numbers in check.

Including sunflowers in your garden not only provides flower nectar for beneficial insects, but it also provides EFN even when the plant is not in bloom.

Sweet alyssum and its benefits to peppers

The small blooms of this low-growing annual plant feed a whole host of good bugs that help a gardener manage pepper pests. Parasitic wasps, syrphid flies, tachinid flies, ladybugs, and lacewings are all found sipping from the blooms. And when they’re not drinking nectar, some of these beneficial insects are eating pests like aphids, whiteflies, and thrips, while others are laying their eggs in pests like hornworms, bud worms, and fruit worms. Underplant your pepper plants with a carpet of sweet alyssum. In addition to enhancing biological control, it’s also beautiful.

A carpet of sweet alyssum beneath pepper plants provides nectar for many species of pest-eating beneficial insects.

Companion plants for peppers that act as a trap crop for pests

Trap crops are plants chosen for their attractiveness to a targeted pest. The presence of a trap crop lures the pests away from the desired crop, protecting it from damage. A trap crop is essentially a sacrificial offering to the pest. There are several companion plants for peppers that serve as excellent trap crops.

Pak choi or radish for flea beetles

Flea beetles are one of the biggest pest challenges faced by gardeners. The small, ragged holes they leave behind can weaken plant growth and lead to reduced yields. Though a full-grown pepper plant tolerates flea beetle damage, a young seedling will be stunted, which can lead to delayed or reduced yields down the line. A simple trap crop of pak choi or radishes is all that’s needed to keep flea beetle damage to a minimum on your pepper plants. Flea beetles much prefer pak choi and radishes to the leaves of peppers (and eggplants and tomatoes, too). Interplant your peppers with these easy-to-grow companion plants for peppers for the best results. Sow the pak choi or radish seeds a few weeks in advance of planting the peppers into the garden.

This young pepper plant is protected from flea beetles by its partnership with pak choi plants that the flea beetles much prefer. See the tiny holes in the pak choi leaves?

Hot cherry peppers for pepper maggot flies

Pepper maggot flies lay eggs on developing peppers. The maggot tunnels into the fruit and eats the tissue inside. Most of the time gardeners don’t find pepper maggots until the fruit rots prematurely on the plant or you cut into the pepper and discover the wriggly beast inside. Research in Connecticut showed that farmers who planted a trap crop of hot cherry peppers around the outside of their bell pepper fields, had a 98 to 100 percent reduction in pepper maggot damage on the bell peppers. Pepper maggot flies much prefer hot cherry peppers to other varieties, so the damage was focused on this sacrificial variety, rather than on the bell peppers. In a home garden, plant hot cherry peppers around the periphery of your pepper patch, or plant a row on the outer edge of the garden.

Nasturtiums for aphids

If aphids plague your pepper plants, consider planting a nearby companion planting of nasturtiums. A favorite of aphids, the lovely round leaves of nasturtiums are much preferred by this pest. The aphids opt to feed on the nasturtiums and leave your peppers alone. Since aphids are tiny and can’t travel very far, you’ll want these two plant partners located within a foot or two of each other. As an added bonus, having lots of aphids on your nasturtiums also means you’ll be providing a consistent food source for the many beneficial insects that feed on aphids, including ladybugs, lacewings, syrphid flies, parasitic wasps, and many others. Because the population of beneficials will be high in your garden, they will also be able to help manage any aphid outbreaks elsewhere in your veggie patch, too.

Nasturtiums act as an “aphid nursery” in the garden. This helps boost the numbers of the beneficial insects who feed on them, keeping aphid numbers down in the rest of the garden.

Companion plants for peppers for weed control

If your garden is large and you grow a lot of peppers, you may find yourself over-run with weeds. While mulching with straw, untreated grass clippings, or shredded leaves certainly helps limit weeds, there are also some companion plants for peppers that also serve to limit weed growth. Known as a “living mulch”, these plant partners are planted in between pepper rows or on walkways, where their presence serves to displace and outcompete weeds. Be careful, though, because if you don’t mow them down regularly as specified below, they can themselves become weedy.

White clover as a living mulch

When used as a permanent living mulch, white clover (Trifoleum repens) reduces weeds, provides nitrogen to nearby plants, and if left to bloom, helps feed beneficial bugs and pollinators, too. Plant it between rows or veggies or in pathways since it’s a perennial and will not die back in the winter. Choose a shorter variety and mow the plants down with a mower or string trimmer several times a year. One study found that when white clover was used as a living mulch between crop rows, the weed control it provided was comparable to commercial herbicide application. It would work in much the same manner if grown between raised beds. Be sure to mow it down before the flowers turn into seed heads to keep it from becoming weedy itself.

Subterranean clover is an excellent living mulch that can be used between rows of corn, tomato, pepper, eggplants, okra, and other tall veggies. Photo credit: Derek Trimble for Plant Partners.

Subterranean clover as a living mulch for peppers

Subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) is a winter annual cover crop that can also be used as a living mulch. It grows much like peanuts do in that pegs are formed from above-ground flowers. The pegs grow downward and into the soil where the seeds are formed. If temperatures where you live regularly dip below 15 degrees F (-9 degrees C) in the winter, subterranean clover is winter killed which keeps it from becoming weedy, as long as you mow it before the pegs are formed. In a Maryland study, a subclover living mulch controlled weeds better than conventional herbicide treatments. Mow subclover regularly throughout the growing season. This keeps it from competing with crops and prevents the pegs from developing. After the plants are winter killed, plant transplants of a new crop right through the detritus. Or, till it into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients.

Companion plants for peppers to improve the soil

Plant partnerships can also be used to help improve the soil. In some cases, the companion plants are legumes (members of the pea and bean family). These plants convert nitrogen from the air into a form that other plants can use to fuel their growth. In other cases, the companion plants are cover crops that are tilled into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients.

Cowpeas as a source of nitrogen

One of the more surprising plant partners on this list of companion plants for peppers is probably cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). This warm-season companion plant is often used as a cover crop. But, it can also be used as a nitrogen provider to nearby plants. When grown in partnership with peppers, a California study showed that the cowpeas improved pepper production by both reducing weeds and providing nitrogen. Cowpeas are best planted in spring. Interplant them with transplants of peppers, tomatoes, or summer squash. Because they produce compounds that can inhibit the germination of seeds, don’t plant any of the partner crops from seed. Only use transplants.

Grow cowpeas side by side with peppers to reap the benefits of their nitrogen fixation. Photo credit: Derek Trimble for Plant Partners.

Companion plants for peppers to improve pollination

Annual or perennial plants with big, wide blooms or hooded flowers are great companion plants for peppers. Though pepper flowers are self-fertile (meaning they can pollinate themselves), they need to be shaken or jostled. This releases the pollen from the anthers. The wind or even you bumping into the plant can be enough to cause pollen release. However, the presence of bumble bees further improves pollination rates. Bumble bees are especially valuable pollinators to peppers and other members of the nightshade family like tomatoes and eggplants. This is because they vibrate their flight muscles very fast in a process called buzz pollination. It’s the most effective tool for knocking that pollen loose and fertilizing pepper flowers.

Bumble bees are important pollinators of peppers, eggplants (shown here), and tomatoes.

Large or hooded flowers to bring in the bumble bees

To boost the number of bumble bees in your vegetable garden, plant flowers that support them. Bumble bees are big, and they need a secure landing pad. Plants with large, lobed lower petals are one good option. Hooded flowers like monkshood, lupines, snapdragons, and members of the pea and bean family, need bumble bees to pop open their flowers (most smaller bees aren’t heavy enough). Broad flowers with a heavy center, like zinnias, cone flowers, tithonia, and cosmos, are another great bet. Plant plenty of these blooms in and around your vegetable garden to enhance pepper pollination.

Broad, sturdy flowers like this tithonia are great choices to bring bumble bees to the vegetable garden.

As you can see, there are many companion plants for peppers that lead to improved plant health and yields. Don’t be afraid to experiment with various combinations and partnerships. Keep a garden journal to record your successes and failures. To learn more about science-based companion planting methods for the vegetable garden, pick up a copy of my book, Plant Partners.

For more on successful plant partnerships and growing techniques, please visit the following articles:

Learn About Plants That Like To Grow With Peppers

Home › Edible Gardens › Vegetables › Peppers

Peppers

By: Amy Grant

Image by phanasitti

Growing peppers? You’ll be glad to know that there are many pepper plant companions that can benefit your peppers. How can companions for peppers engender healthier plants with higher yields? Read on to find out about pepper companion planting and plants that like to grow with peppers.

Pepper Companion Planting

Companion plants for peppers or other veggies work together symbiotically, each giving and/or receiving something from the other. Companion planting simply means grouping different, but complimentary, plants together. This may accomplish several things.

Companion planting may provide shade or act as a wind barrier, it may succeed in retarding weeds or deterring harmful pests and disease, or it may act as a natural trellis or aid in moisture retention.

Plants That Like to Grow with Peppers

There a many plants suitable for growing alongside peppers.

Herbs

Herbs are wonderful pepper plant companions.

Vegetables

Tomatoes and bell peppers can be planted in the same garden, but be sure to rotate them to a different area the successive growing season so they don’t pass on overwintering pathogens. The tomatoes deter soil nematodes and beetles.

Carrots, cucumbers, radishes, squash, and members of the Allium family all do well when grown in close proximity to peppers.

Eggplant, a member of the nightshade family along with peppers, thrives alongside peppers.

Spinach, lettuce, and chard are suitable pepper companions. They help crowd out weeds and due to their short stature and rapid maturation, are a great way to maximize garden space and get in an additional crop. Beets and parsnips can also fill in space, retard weeds around the peppers, and keep the soil cool and moist.

Corn serves as a windbreak and sun barrier to peppers, while beans and peas fix nitrogen into the soil, a necessary nutrient for peppers, and also help block wind and sun. Buckwheat can be grown around pepper plants to attract pollinators and, once harvested, serves as green mulch for the garden.

Pepper plants comingled with asparagus is another great space saver. Once the asparagus has been harvested in the spring, the peppers can utilize the space.

Flowers

Many flowers also make terrific companion plants for peppers.

Plants to Avoid

As with everything, there is good with the bad. Peppers don’t like the company of every plant, although this is quite a lengthy list. Avoid planting peppers near members of the Brassica family or with fennel. If you have an apricot tree, don’t plant peppers near it since a common fungal disease of peppers may also spread to the apricot.

This article was last updated on

Read more about Peppers

Did you find this helpful? Share it with your friends!

You might also like…

What can and cannot be planted next to peppers? Combined landings. Photo - Botanichka

Supporters of joint planting of vegetables, as well as those who want to save space in the garden, will probably be interested in learning about the best companions for pepper. In this article I will tell you which vegetables, flowers and herbs will create a harmonious combination with sweet and hot peppers. At the same time, successful neighbors will protect pepper from diseases and increase its yield. And, of course, we will also consider those garden crops, the neighborhood with which pepper must be avoided.

What can and cannot be planted next to peppers?

Benefits of mixed plantings

Growing vegetable crops, in particular hot and sweet peppers, together with herbs, flowers and other vegetables is a method that is widely used by adherents of organic farming. This method of growing plants is called joint or combined planting.

Growing peppers with the right neighbors has numerous benefits. First of all, this is the attraction of beneficial insects and the repelling of pests from pepper by its companions. Secondly, the maximum use of garden space. And, according to some gardeners, a good neighborhood enhances the taste and aroma of pepper.

Planting the right companion plants along with peppers is also a good way to avoid the use of powerful chemicals and heavy doses of mineral fertilizers for insect control or plant nutrition.

We usually plant plants next to each other that require similar growing conditions. Namely: a similar temperature regime, air humidity, types and frequency of top dressing, as well as irrigation regime. Bulgarian and hot peppers, we usually have where he can get quite a lot of sun. This means that numerous vegetable and spice crops, which also require a large amount of light, can be successfully grown next to it.

To implement co-planting, one-row alternation of companion plants is usually used, or the companion crop is planted in row-spacings. Some plants are suitable companions simply because they do not harm their neighbors. Others can indeed exert some kind of positive influence on each other by establishing a symbiotic relationship. And still others will harm the main culture.

See also our article Mixed plantings - which crops are best to grow together?

Which plants can be grown next to sweet peppers?

The best vegetable neighbors for peppers

Bell peppers and tomatoes are very good companions: they belong to the same family and require the same growing conditions and the use of the same means to protect against diseases and pests. At the same time, tomatoes and peppers are often successfully combined in a greenhouse. True, tomatoes require an influx of fresh air to a greater extent and need more frequent ventilation than peppers. However, this does not have a special effect on the overall yield of these crops when planted together.

Eggplant also grows well with sweet peppers. In addition, peppers can be grown together with onions, carrots and cucumbers.

Sometimes in the literature you can find recommendations that bell pepper is also good to grow next to a pumpkin. But in such cases, one should take into account the scale of pumpkin bushes with long lashes and huge leaves. They are able to shield the pepper from the light. Therefore, it is important to maintain the desired distance between plants, as well as move the lashes away from the pepper bushes as they grow.

Bell peppers and tomatoes are very good companions for growing in the same bed. © iFartWhenILaughh

Herbs to grow next to peppers

Experienced gardeners have observed that basil, dill and coriander are the best companions for pepper in the garden. There are over 50 different varieties of basil that can be grown with peppers. Among them there are also sweet varieties (lemon, caramel, mint, cinnamon), and vegetable (classic, clove, large-leaved). And they will all grow equally well next to pepper. And varieties with bright purple foliage will also give the garden a decorative look.

Growing basil next to peppers is highly desirable. It is noticed that its presence makes the taste and aroma of hot or sweet pepper more intense. At the same time, it is believed that thrips, flies and mosquitoes do not like the smell of basil.

Dill and coriander planted next to peppers help deter aphids and attract beneficial insects to the garden, including ladybugs and lacewings.

Marjoram, oregano (oregano), chives and parsley are also good companions for pepper bushes and can be grown with bell peppers without any negative effects.

Flowers that can be planted next to sweet peppers

Some flowers are also valuable companions of peppers. Roman chamomile (navel) increases the resistance of pepper to various diseases, however, when planted at close range.

It is very good to plant marigolds next to peppers, as their roots secrete a substance that protects the soil from nematodes and kills fungi that harm peppers and other vegetable plants.

The popular bright nasturtium flower with edible flowers and seeds is also a good companion to grow with peppers, and its foliage will enrich the soil when it rots in autumn.

Due to belonging to the same family, petunias are successfully grown together with pepper. Geraniums (pelargoniums), planted together with peppers, repel Japanese beetles (beetles) with their essential oils. These are very dangerous pests that damage a huge number of horticultural and horticultural crops, including peppers.

Read also our article 12 of the most delicious varieties and hybrids of sweet peppers that I have grown.

Due to belonging to the same family, petunias are successfully grown along with pepper

What to plant next to hot peppers?

Hot peppers produce a chemical from their roots that prevents root rot and fungal diseases on nearby plants, such as eggplant. For the same purpose, you can sprinkle pumpkin, chard, tomatoes and cucumbers with ground hot pepper.

Spinach, lettuce, basil, dill, thyme and cilantro pair well with hot peppers. It is noticed that they have a positive effect on the taste of bitter pepper. The most important thing to consider is that companion plants do not cast too much shade on the peppers. And there should be many times more bushes of a burning vegetable than neighboring greens.

Shift crops

Growing crops with different harvest times on the same bed is another option for co-planting. To make the most of the space in a small garden, increasing the yield per square meter, you can grow early-ripening and late-ripening crops together.

Pepper ripens quite late, and due to its thermophilicity, it is planted in open ground in late spring-early summer. Therefore, in his garden before planting seedlings, you can grow early ripening crops - green onions, radishes, peas or lettuce.

Growing crops with different harvest times in the same garden is another option for co-planting

Can hot and sweet peppers be planted side by side?

It would seem that sweet and hot peppers are similar in many respects, which means that they can successfully grow side by side. However, they cannot be grown together. The biological characteristics of pepper are such that it belongs to the so-called "facultative self-pollinators".

That is, in principle, peppers do not need to be pollinated by pollen from other plants in order for them to form fruits. And if you grew pepper in a single copy in a pot on the windowsill, you probably noticed that fruiting does not suffer from this.

However, at elevated air temperatures, peppers can often cross-pollinate. This usually takes place in the southern regions. And in the middle lane, this happens in very hot weather or when grown in a greenhouse.

Usually, when pollinating the “mother” sweet pepper with pollen from the hot “father”, nothing threatens the latter, but the fruits of sweet pepper often become bitter. And if the pollen of sweet pepper pollinates hot pepper bushes, then the latter may lose some of its sharpness. Sometimes the shape may also change - the wall thickness and size of the fetus.

Therefore, if you want peppers to taste and shape according to the cultivar, it is better not to plant sweet and hot peppers side by side.

Which plants should not be planted together with peppers?

Some horticultural and spice crops should not be grown next to bell peppers as they can harm each other. Often a negative impact is felt even if an unsuitable neighbor is in a neighboring garden.

Members of the cabbage (cruciferous) family, which includes cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard and other crops, should never be grown in the garden with sweet or hot peppers.

Beans, beans, including soybeans and lima beans, are also poor companions for bell peppers. A close relative of dill, fennel should not be planted next to any garden crops, including peppers, as it has a negative effect on all of its neighbors.

Do not plant bell peppers near apricots, as the fungal pathogen that affects peppers can also spread to the apricot tree.

Sometimes the pepper itself can harm the taste of other vegetables grown with it. In particular, peppers do not go well with potatoes and beets. And such a neighborhood can be called mutually harmful. For tubers and root vegetables, it is better to find a place away from other vegetables. In addition, potatoes are “gluttonous” and absorb all vitamins and minerals for their development and growth, depriving neighboring crops of them.

news, pepper, basil, cultivation, harvest, tips, gardening

News from Belarus / Gardening and gardening


Belnovosti

26.04.2022 10:34

[email protected]

Many gardeners struggle to find the right set of fertilizers for sweet peppers.

However, even ensuring that the soil cover receives all the nutrients the plant needs does not guarantee a good harvest.

Pepper needs not only certain compounds, but also the right growing conditions.

It is unlikely that the plant will form a large number of tasty fruits in conditions of insufficient shading and low air humidity.

Photo: © Belnovosti

However, in order for pepper to give a rich harvest, it is not at all necessary to look for a suitable place for the location of a garden crop.

You can plant a plant where it is convenient for the summer resident. You don't even need to fertilize. However, one cannot do without a “companion” culture.

The best neighbor for pepper

It is desirable to plant basil next to the pepper. The fact is that the shrub will provide shade to the pepper.

If the horticultural crop is kept in a shaded area, then the developing fruits will definitely not get sunburned.

In this regard, basil is very convenient to use as a "companion". As soon as the need for shade disappears, the plant can simply be cut off.

It is also worth remembering that the bush provides a fairly high humidity. For pepper, this condition is favorable.

Author: Kurchev Anton
contact the author

Latest news

Economy

But what happened to the euro November 29

Cooking

11/29/2022

Stew cabbage with this spice to reveal all the flavors: do this when you are tired of the monotony

Love and family

11/29/2022

4 rules of behavior with a pathological liar

Beauty and health

11/29/2022

Top stories

Cooking

11/29/2022

Why sour meat is obtained instead of crispy sauerkraut: every second person makes a mistake

Beauty and health

11/29/2022

Drink or not to drink: debunking 3 myths about soluble coffee

Society

29.11.2022

Folk signs on November 29: according to which they determine that winter will be fierce 9,0003

29.

Learn more