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Good companion plants for cucumbers


13 Best Cucumber Companion Plants

Cucumbers are exuberant plants with vines that can sprawl over a lot of space—the healthier the plant, the more room they seem to take up. But, if you do not want your cucumbers to overgrow in a spot or choke out the competition, give the cucumber vines a trellis to grow up, giving you more space for other nearby plants.

Several garden plants fare well alongside these vigorous vines and make great companion plants for cucumbers. You'll find it's usually easiest to grow plants with similar care instructions, such as light, soil, water, and sun requirements. Some similar growing companions may include plants like tomatoes, zucchini, or squash. However, one thing to be careful of with similar-growing plants like cucumbers and tomatoes is they can sometimes fall prone to the same diseases, like mosaic virus or blight, which can spread easily if they're near each other.

The best companion plants help deter pests and do not compete with cucumbers for water or nutrients. The worst neighbors do just the opposite.

Best Cucumber Companion Plants

Special note about tomatoes and other cucurbits: Tomatoes and other cucurbits (cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin) grow in the same conditions, complementing each other. They also attract similar pollinators to increase your plant's harvest. The reason these plants are not on the list as "best" companions is they are susceptible to some of the same diseases as cucumbers. If one plant gets infected, it's possible to wipe out your entire crop.

Learn more details about the garden plants that make the best cucumber companions and discover why you should not grow potatoes, sage, mint, and melon with cucumbers.

How to Grow Cucumbers

What Is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is the practice of planting different species together based on their ability to enhance one another's growth, offer some form of pest protection, or other advantages.

Sometimes this is a matter of choosing plants with different growth habits that do not compete with one another for space, or it can mean choosing companions that have different nutrient needs in order to make efficient use of soil. Ideally, companion plants help ward off destructive insects, making garden pest management easier.

Some companion planting simply involves common sense—making sure that taller plants don't provide too much shade to low-growing plants, for instance. Strategic companion planting is especially important in small gardens or wherever careful space planning is needed. 

Companion Planting to Control the Insects in Your Garden

Benefits of Companion Planting

Seasoned gardeners swear by companion planting because it increases the health and productivity of crops like cucumbers. Benefits of companion planting for cucumbers and other plants include:

The Spruce / K. Dave

Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers

Various vegetables, flowers, and herbs make excellent companions for cucumbers.

How to Grow and Care for Oregano

The Spruce / K. Dave  

Worst Companion Plants for Cucumbers

What plants should you not plant near cucumbers and why?

The Spruce / K. Dave 

The Best and Worst Cucumber Companion Plants

When certain plants produce huge yields, grow fast, and take a lot of nutrients and water, it’s only natural they would become the stars of the garden.

Cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, definitely play that role. But if you’re wise, you can make them healthier, happier, and more productive by choosing proper companions as supporting players.

This idea of companion planting is part science, part shared lessons handed down from home gardener to home gardener.

The basic idea is to intently plan your garden spaces so plants that benefit each other end up growing close together – and those that aren’t able to get along don’t have to.

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The end game is to increase the whole garden’s ability to repel pests and attract beneficial insects, improve your soil health, and sometimes to create an appealing garden design.

While this is a great idea in any growing space, I think you’ll find it really makes sense when you’re trying to grow a bumper crop of cukes.

Just a little support from another plant can increase yields and pollination levels. Sometimes, the other plant is the main beneficiary, which is okay, too.

I will mention that many of these ideas are centered on garden wisdom, not hard research conducted in a lab. But I’d encourage you to give them a try yourself and see what works for you.

Some companion plants old timers swear by might solve a big issue for you. And the worst case scenario is that you plant a few things you wouldn’t otherwise. No harm done!

Let’s get to exploring this concept, and take a look at all the best options. Here’s what to expect:

What You’ll Learn

What Cucumbers Need from Companions

Before I get into specific types of plants, I’m going to take a minute and share the general guidelines for beneficial companions for cukes.

In general, the plants should grow well in the same type of soil, and prefer the same pH. To get along with cucumbers, that would mean well-draining soil that’s been amended with plenty of aged organic matter, and a pH of 6.0 to 6.8.

As for light requirements, the best neighbors will either share the need for full sun, or benefit from the shade provided by vining vegetables.

Since these vegetables are annuals, it’s key that any flowers or herbs grown in the same garden plot be annuals as well. Otherwise, it’s a pain to relocate or work around perennials so you can cultivate your veggie garden in preparation for the following season.

You can, of course, opt for perennials, even with the sunflowers I’ll suggest, but plant them nearby or in containers so they don’t mess up your soil prep next year.

Keep in mind, too, that there are many different types of C. sativus plant, and the ones you select will impact your choice of companion.

Bush varieties, for example, don’t grow so tall they’ll shade other plants. So you can plant them closer to fellow sun lovers, like bush beans, but you can’t rely on them to shade plants like calendula.

The bush types spread more than trellised vining varieties, too, so they require more square footage on the ground or in a raised bed.

That leaves you fewer opportunities to tuck a few companions like carrots into the nooks and crannies at the base of the plants, the way you can when you’re growing vines on supports.

Whether a variety requires pollination to bear fruit also impacts this selection process. You may want to emphasize annual and perennial flowers that attract pollinators, for example, but if you have a parthenocarpic cucumber variety in mind, they won’t need bees to produce.

For more information about the different types of cucumber plant, including pickling and slicing, hybrid and heirloom, and distinctions made on whether they require pollination, see our guide.

Also, make sure to note how many days it takes each plant to mature or fruit.

So I can clear the whole garden in one fell swoop for next season’s planting, I make sure to select varieties that wrap up their harvest window around the same time.

I don’t like when one variety lags behind the others once I’m ready to uproot, compost, and sow a new crop or prepare the garden bed for winter.

The Best Companion Plants

Now that we’ve established a basic framework, let’s get a look at some specific companions that are most beneficial as you pursue that bumper crop:

1. Beans

All types of bean plant (Phaseolus vulgaris) “fix” nitrogen into the soil, which is appreciated by this heavy-feeding garden vegetable.

I recommend only bush beans as buddies for cukes, though. If you’re growing vining varieties, pole beans will compete for sunlight and space on the trellis.

And when you’re growing bush cucumbers, the vining types of bean will shade them – not a good thing.

I plan this pairing extra carefully, making sure the cucumber seedlings are at least a couple of inches tall before sowing the beans, so they don’t grow right over the top of them.

Try the heirloom bush bean ‘Dragon Tongue,’ which produces shell, snap, or dried beans.

‘Dragon Tongue’ Beans

It is available from Territorial Seeds via Arbico Organics. And it matures in 60 days, roughly the same as a vining cucumber like ‘Marketmore,’ available from the same seller.

Learn how to grow bush beans in our guide.

2. Borage

Borage (Borago officinalis) is a friend indeed. It draws pollinators with its edible blooms that, ironically, taste like cucumbers.

If it matures ahead of your summer vegetables, you may also want to nosh on the leaves and stalks, which can be steamed as you would spinach or beet greens.

I plant the seeds next to my zucchini and tomatoes, too. When the garden starts blooming, I delight in watching the bees start off at the borage, and stop by to pollinate my veggie plants on their journeys to and fro.

This beautiful plant, which is considered a self-seeding annual herb, also adds nutrients to the soil and repels pests like hornworms.

And it needs the same full sun and well-draining soil as its new BFF, so you can plant them together in containers, too.

Just remember to give each plant enough space; they both really appreciate ample circulation.

Borage

Find borage seeds at Botanical Interests.

Learn how to plant and grow borage in our guide.

3. Calendula

The bright orange blooms on calendula (Calendula officinalis) are attractive, and not just to the human eye.

This annual flowering herb appeals to a number of beneficial and pest insects, which makes it a helpful neighbor for cucumbers.

Plant them as a “trap” to draw aphids away from the vines or bushes.

Also known as pot marigold, calendula attracts a number of beneficial prey insects, too. It brings in hoverflies to dine on aphids, for example, and parasitic wasps that consume cucumber beetles.

On the more appealing side of this circle of life, calendula flowers are pollinator magnets, which is much appreciated if you’re growing heirloom, open-pollinated vegetables.

And the compact plants prefer filtered sun or part shade, so they’re a great choice to grow at the foot of a vining variety, or next to a bush plant that will shade them.

‘Ball’s Improved Orange’ Calendula

This sunny plant is easily grown from seed. Try ‘Ball’s Improved Orange,’ available from Eden Brothers.

Check out our guide to learn more about growing calendula.

4. Carrots

Except for a big taproot that makes them so resistant to transplanting, cucumbers don’t need much space below the soil to grow.

That opens up an opportunity to plant a root vegetable like carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) nearby, and use every square inch of available earth.

Carrots grow best when you plant them as soon as the soil can be worked in spring. So they’ll have plenty of time for their sloooowww germination before the soil warms and you add cucumbers to that same garden bed.

Both veggies appreciate deeply tilled soil, too, another reason they make good neighbors.

‘Little Finger’ Carrots

For this pairing, consider planting heirloom ‘Little Finger’ carrots.They’ll mature in 57 days and grow just three inches long.

Seeds are available from Botanical Interests.

Consult our guide to growing carrots to learn more.

5. Corn

Corn stalks can provide a natural stake for some vining varieties. But if you’re going to try this, make sure you give the corn a head start.

While corn can grow really quickly, to be sturdy enough to support vines, the stalks should be at least half-grown and an inch or two thick.

Also take care not to expect the trellising benefit if you’re growing varieties with heavy yields of eight or 10-inch fruits. Corn is far more reliable as a support for vines that produce smaller cucumbers, like gherkin varieties or ‘Lemon.’

If you’re committed to growing bush or heavy-fruited cucumbers, though, the corn will still appreciate them as a neighbor.

According to ag extension agents at the Chemung County University of Cornell Extension Service, “cukes seem to be offensive to raccoons, so it’s good to plant them near your corn.”

Also, short vine or bush cultivars can suppress weeds if you sow them at the base of corn plants. Just be sure they don’t grow so close together that the corn throws shade.

‘Peaches and Cream’ Corn

Try ‘Peaches and Cream,’ which grows six or seven feet tall, and produces eight-inch ears about 70 days after sowing.

The seeds are available from Eden Brothers.

You can learn more about how to cultivate corn in our guide.

6. Dill

Dill attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs, which eat the aphids and spider mites that tend to plague cucumbers.

The popular pickling herb also brings in the pollinators, a benefit to open-pollinated vegetables all over the garden.

‘Bouquet’ Dill

‘Bouquet’ dill is the standard choice here, with seeds available from Eden Brothers.

It matures in 40 to 60 days, so it will be ready for pickling enterprises right about the same time as your cucumber harvest.

Check out our guide to growing dill for more information.

7. Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum spp.) spell two-for-one trouble for common cucumber insect pests.

First, their bright, edible blooms attract aphids. Plant them close enough, and the aphids will bug the nasturtiums, not your veggies.

In addition, they’re a draw for the beneficial insects including ladybugs, which eat cucumber beetles and whiteflies.

And the ladybugs consume aphids, too, so you don’t have to fret that the nasturtiums will suffer under this arrangement.

This pairing has visual appeal in an edible container garden, too, with the vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds playing off the dark green cucurbit leaves and yellow blossoms.

If you’ve got a strong enough trellis, consider growing a climbing nasturtium alongside your vining cucumber to save space.

‘Mahogany Gleam’ Nasturtiums

For a trailing vine with red-petaled blooms, try ‘Mahogany Gleam’ nasturtiums. You can find seeds available from Eden Brothers.

Learn more about how to grow nasturtiums in our guide.

8. Radishes

If maximizing every inch of your garden is a priority for you, consider planting a few radishes (Raphanus sativus) near your cucumbers.

They’ll sprout quickly and the spring varieties mature within 21 to 35 days. By the time your cucurbit plants are sizable enough to need the space, the radishes will be but a fond memory.

The ag experts at Chemung County University of Cornell Extension Service recommend this pairing for a different reason, though.

They advise home gardeners to plant two or three radish seeds in each hill because those root vegetables repel cucumber beetles.They also say to let the radishes get so old they begin to flower, which renders them inedible but draws in pollinators.

I would add, though, that if you’re growing a lot of brassicas like kale, broccoli, or mustard greens, you might want to skip this idea.

Radishes are also brassicas, so if you plant even a few of them now, it’s not a good plan to grow other cole crops in that soil for a season or two.

Brassica crops grown two years in a row in a particular location increase the risk of certain pests and diseases making an appearance. As important as companion planting can be, I would rank the value of crop rotation ahead of it, and skip the radishes.

‘Sora’ Radish

If that’s not a concern, try ‘Sora,’ spring-planted radishes that mature in 26 days.

You can find seeds available from Territorial via Arbico Organics.

Learn how to grow radishes in our guide.

9. Sunflowers

Heirloom and other open-pollinated sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) draw bees and other pollinators to the vegetable garden.

Some sunflower cultivars are also sturdy and tall enough to provide support for climbing plants. Just make sure to pick an open-pollinated cultivar with a substantial center stalk.

Plant them well ahead of the vines they’re intended to support.

Try ‘Lemon Queen,’ planting the seeds as soon as the weather is warm enough, and at least three weeks ahead of the cucumbers.

‘Lemon Queen’ Sunflowers

It takes 85 to 90 days to grow five to seven feet tall and bloom on a main stalk strong enough to support vines.

Find ‘Lemon Queen’ seeds available at Botanical Interests.

And our guide to growing sunflowers covers cultivation instructions.

Keep Cucumber Plants Away From These

Along with pairing up mutually-beneficial plants, it’s a good idea to keep cucumbers away from these plants that impact them adversely.

Other Cucurbits, Like Squash

C. sativus is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes various gourds, squash, and watermelons.

You may want to get familiar with that short list ahead of vegetable garden planning, because ideally, you won’t place any of its relatives too close to cukes.

When they’re neighbors, they tend to spread disease and attract the same insect pests, since they are susceptible to almost all the same issues and bugs.

If any are vining varieties, they’ll quickly get tangled, too.

Potatoes

One potato, two potato… no potato here, because they don’t play well with cucurbits.

One reason is that both vining veggies and potatoes are quite thirsty, and compete for water with one or both as the loser.

Also, to harvest potatoes, you have to uproot them, which can disturb those thin, shallow side roots the cucumber relies on.

Other nightshades do fine as cucurbit neighbors though, including tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. 

Sage and Other Aromatic Herbs

While I’ve never come across any hard data on the topic, gardening wisdom and even the occasional agricultural extension service expert warns against planting sage (Salvia officinalis) or other pungent, aromatic herbs near cucumbers.

The thinking is that the strong scent of these herbs may adversely affect the flavor profile of nearby vegetables.

My view is, why risk it? There’s a chance all those generations of home gardeners are mistaken, but I’d rather just save the sage, basil, and mints for other spots.

Cool Friends for Cucumber Plants

As you start using this list of vegetable plant friends and enemies to plan your own garden, I hope you’ll experience an added benefit.

Aside from improving the health of your plants and the yield of your vegetables, companion planting can hone your awareness as a gardener.

To figure out which pairings will work in your available growing space, you’ll need to observe, tinker, and check in on your seedlings, soil, and even the bugs.

To me, that’s one of the great joys of gardening: being present.

It gives me a lift that exceeds even the value I receive from managing my cucumbers, and indeed all the vegetables I grow, in a way that will keep them producing at their best.

What about you? Do you have any experience with cucumbers and their BFFs and enemies?

Tips or questions are most appreciated. Kindly share either in the comments section below.

And if you’re getting into the swing of growing this popular vegetable, or even if you’re still just considering all the angles, read these cucumber guides next:

Cucumber Company - 7 Friendly Plants and a List of Bad Neighbors - AgroXXI

Just as humans are social creatures and are drawn to each other for various reasons, so too are many horticultural crops benefiting from planting companions. Take cucumbers, for example. Choosing the right neighbors will do them good, but there are certain plants they should avoid. ..

Growing companion plants is beneficial for a number of reasons. First, it creates biodiversity as opposed to monoculture. nine0004

Monocultures are much more susceptible to pests and diseases than plants in mixed plantings, some of which attract insect predators, while others, such as legumes, enrich the soil with nitrogen. In legumes, root systems are colonized by special rhizobial bacteria that help fix atmospheric nitrogen and then convert it into nitrates. Part of the nitrogen is sent as a nutrient for the plant itself, while the rest enters the surrounding soil and becomes available to green neighbors. nine0004

Corn . The corn stalks will serve as a natural support for the climbing vines of the cucumber plants, saving you the labor of building a trellis.

However, there is one caveat. In this case, you need to choose cucumber varieties with light and small fruits, otherwise the corn stalks will not bear the weight of lashes with large cucumbers. In return for support, cucumbers provide the corn with a natural mulch under the stalks, retaining moisture and preventing weed growth. nine0004

Sunflowers . Similar to corn plants, tall and strong sunflowers are also ready to put their stems under cucumber vines.

Thanks to the variety of varieties and hybrids, modern sunflowers look to suit every taste: from dwarfs 50 cm tall to giants reaching a height of three meters, with petals of all shades - from pale yellow to orange and red, in one and two layers.

It should be remembered that the shells of sunflower seeds contain a substance that is toxic to grass. So you will either need to harvest the sunflowers before the seeds start to fall if you plan on planting something there next season. nine0004

Dill. This popular and beneficial aromatic plant attracts insect pollinators such as bees and parasitic wasps. The former will help the cucumbers with pollination, while the latter will regulate the level of pests. It is also believed that dill improves the taste of cucumbers.

Legumes . All legumes - from sugar peas to green beans - are good neighbors of cucumbers, as they supply some amount of nitrogen naturally.

Nasturtiums . Beautiful flowers and natural aphid traps will draw the attention of the pest to themselves.

Marigold . Perhaps the most sought-after companions, reflecting a wide range of pests. First, the roots and stems emit a chemical that is unpleasant to insects, and second, the petals contain the same chemical. Therefore, you can pluck the petals and scatter them around the cucumber plants.

Root vegetables . Cucumber plants produce one large tap root, while the rest of the roots remain thin and shallow, spreading only 15-30 cm around. This means that carrots, turnips, radishes and radishes can be planted nearby. Radish is recommended as a way to scare off earthen fleas - the worst enemies of the cucumber. nine0004

Bad neighbors

Fennel . This plant is in principle hostile to other crops, as it is in fact a strong inhibitor of the growth of most other plants, and cucumber is no exception.

Cabbage . Plants of the family Brassica (such as white cabbage or cauliflower) have a complex relationship with cucumbers. Despite the fact that some gardeners believe that cabbage improves the growth of cucumbers, in fact, the crop eagerly absorbs water from the soil, and when planted nearby, competes for soil moisture. nine0004

Melon . Both plants have long vines that become tangled at close range and also attract the same pests.

Potato . Identical diseases with cucumber culture and fierce competition for nutrients in the soil. It is better to plant them far away from each other.

Sage . Unlike dill, it spoils the quality of the fruit. Since cucumbers are quite subtle in taste (after all, they are 95 percent water), overly powerful "flavors" like sage and mint affect the flavor characteristics in a negative way. nine0004

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Companion plants for cucumbers and which ones to avoid

In this article you will learn:

  • Should different plants be planted side by side;
  • How much watering cucumbers need;
  • Why legumes are useful neighbors for a vegetable;
  • Which plants repel pests; nine0101
  • Why potatoes and melons should be grown separately from cucumbers.

Cucumbers are a fairly prolific crop with vines that can spread over a large area - the healthier the cucumber plant, the more space they take up. But aside from the space requirements, cucumbers can also pair well with more vegetables than you might think.

Cucumbers ( Cucumis sativus ) belong to the same family as marrows and melons and can be eaten fresh or pickled for later use. There are some plants that make good garden neighbors for cucumbers and some that should be avoided. You may be surprised to know that melons, a relative of cucumbers, do not grow well in the vicinity. nine0004

How to grow crispy, tasty cucumbers?

What is companion seating?

Companion or companion planting is the close planting of different species based on their ability to enhance each other's growth, provide some form of pest protection, or other benefits.

Sometimes it's a matter of choosing plants with different growth habits that don't compete with each other, or it can mean choosing companions with different nutrient requirements to use the soil efficiently. nine0004

Although scientists have not published results on planting companions, many gardeners swear by it. Some companion plantings are just common sense - for example, make sure taller plants don't give too much shade to shorter plants.

Strategic planting of companions is especially important in small gardens or where careful space planning is required.

Cucumbers

Because cucumbers need a trellis to keep the fruit off the ground and prevent disease, corn or sunflowers can act as a natural trellis for cucumber bushes.

Cucumbers require at least 2-3 cm of water per week (that's the thickness of the water layer if evenly spread across your plantings) to thrive and avoid bitter fruit, and will do well near corn and sunflowers as they won't compete strongly with cucumbers due to their less thirsty habits.

Cucumber bush varieties, however, do not require a trellis and can compete for sunlight and space with corn and sunflowers. nine0004

Good companions for cucumbers

There are many vegetables that are excellent companions for cucumbers. Peas, corn, beans and lentils are legumes whose root system increases the nitrogen content of the soil.

The mechanism by which this happens is that the roots have the ability to colonize the bacteria Rhizobium and absorb about 20 percent of the sugar produced by the plant, which is then converted into nitrogen. nine0004

Any nitrogen not taken up by legumes is released into the nearby soil as the plant decomposes, making it available to nearby companion plants. This will benefit your cucumber plants as well as many other garden plants.

Other good vegetable companions are radishes, beets, carrots and onions .

marigold flowers will help repel beetles, while nasturtium is unpleasant for thrips and other insects that feed on cucumbers. These flowers, along with sunflowers, are good companions for almost all vegetables and herbs. nine0004

Oregano is an herb with a well-established reputation as an insect repellent and another good companion for cucumbers, as is dill. Dill also attracts beneficial predatory insects to the garden, which help rid it of pests.

Bad companions for cucumbers

Just as some plants are good companions together, there are some that should not be allowed to live side by side.

Potatoes compete strongly with cucumbers for nutrients and water, so they should not be planted together.

Learn more