Make room
Carrots + onions
Different rooting depths can help share a bed.
Allow both crops their normal spacing.
Read the RHS explanation →Small-space growing • Ideas to try
A little company
in the veg patch.
Explore practical companion planting ideas, with a reason behind each pairing and a source you can follow.
Useful ideas, with room to experiment.
Results vary between crops and gardens. These are starting points, not universal rules or guarantees. Read the RHS overview.
What are you growing?
7 planting ideas to explore.
Make room
Lettuce + sweetcorn
Harvest quick lettuce before the corn shades it.
Plan the harvest before the canopy closes.
Read the RHS explanation →Make room
Radishes + Brussels sprouts
A quick crop between slower-growing plants.
Remove radishes before the sprouts need the space.
Read the RHS explanation →Explore pest support
Tomatoes + French marigolds
Tagetes can help reduce whitefly and thrips.
This is not a promise of pest-free tomatoes.
Read the RHS explanation →Explore pest support
Lettuce + sweet alyssum
Flowers support insects that prey on aphids.
Leave space for the lettuce to mature.
Read the RHS explanation →Explore pest support
Cabbages + clover
Low clover and trefoil can disrupt cabbage root fly.
Manage the ground cover so it does not crowd crops.
Read the RHS explanation →Share support
Sweetcorn + climbing beans + squash
Corn supports beans; squash covers the soil.
Use climbing French beans, not vigorous runners.
Read the RHS explanation →No pairings found just yet.
Try a different plant name or clear the filters. This is a small collection; a missing pairing does not mean plants cannot grow together.
Keep the basics on your side.
Before squeezing in another plant, check its mature size, light and watering needs. A pairing should fit the bed you have, and leave you room to tend and harvest it.
We’ve kept this guide deliberately small rather than offering a long list of unexplained “friends and enemies”. Pick one idea, see how it does, and make a note for next season.
Source links checked October 2026. Independent BTGL guide; no RHS affiliation.
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