Planting a garden full of vegetables and herbs is a highly enjoyable pastime. Choosing the right combination of plants is vital to a successful crop. Not only that, but the growing to table distance gets significantly smaller. These are some great zucchini companion plants to grow in your garden!
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Why Companion Plant?
Some plants grow better when they are planted alongside a specific plant or two, and zucchini is no exception. These plants benefit each other in some way, or at least do not create a negative outcome when planted nearby. If zucchini is in your garden plan this year, be sure to take advantage of this natural symbiotic plant relationship!
Not only will you be able to grow more plants in a smaller space, but also the plants benefit each other, and may make them grow stronger and healthier!
Let’s look at six of the top zucchini companion plants and how they can assist growth and success in your garden if planted alongside your zucchinis (also known as courgettes!).
The Three Sisters: Beans, Corn, and Zucchini (or Squash)
Beans, corn, and squash. These 3 plants are grown together so often and have such a beneficial relationship between them, they are often referred to as The Three Sisters. Each has its own characteristics about what makes this trio work.
Corn is used as the anchor in this arrangement, as the strong stalks provide a climbing location and support for the beans. Pole beans, fast growers who need a vertical alignment to thrive, wind their vines up the corn stalk.
The beans add nitrogen to the soil, an important nutrient for both the zucchini and the corn to thrive. The zucchini’s low vines and growth pattern shades the soil for both the beans and the corn, keeping in moisture and increasing their growth.
While best suited for a garden space, this trio of symbiotic plants could work if a sunny spot and a larger container are used. If you only have a smaller spot or container to use, just include two sisters: beans and zucchini.
Borage
A stunning herb with blue star-shaped flowers, the borage plant is highly beneficial to grow next to zucchini. Another fast grower, borage smells similar to a cucumber and its stalks and flowers are delicious. Other than its scent and flower, borage has a few characteristics that makes it one of the perfect zucchini companion plants to choose.
First, it sports spiky stems that discourage insect infestation. Since squash varieties like zucchini are very attractive to creepy crawlies that love to snack on them, nearby borage helps to minimize insect infiltrations.
Additionally, borage’s flowers assist in attracting needed pollinators like bees. When a zucchini is pollinated, it will be more productive in production in your garden, so a nearby pollinating magnet is a welcome addition.
Borage is also a companion plant for strawberries, so it’s great for so many gardens!
Garlic
The humble garlic plant is a garden staple for its myriad of uses in recipes around the world. But did you know that it is a perfect zucchini companion plant?
Garlic’s signature scent plays double duty here as its strong smell is a natural repellant for insects like aphids that plague zucchini and other squash plants. Planting garlic nearby can help ensure that your plant has minimal pests and will be able to grow beautiful zucchinis as a result.
Aromatic Herbs
For even the smallest container garden, a grouping of strongly scented herbs are perfect choices to use as zucchini companion plants.
Mint is well known as a beautifully fragrant herb. It works well alongside a zucchini plant, controlling problematic aphid infestations as well as deterring outside pests like deer that like to munch on tender new vegetables.
Oregano will also work in place of mint, as it can help to repel other zucchini-loving pests like cabbage moths.
Another useful herb to grow alongside zucchini is rosemary. A hardy grower, this distinctively scented herb is not only beautiful, but it can discourage pests from descending on your zucchini plants.
Radishes
As sometimes-forgotten root growers, radishes are uniquely colored vegetables that range in color from black to white, with reds being the most recognized varietal colors.
With flavor strains that can be spicy or mild, radishes benefit the garden more than just being another tasty vegetable to harvest. This root plant can help inhibit beetles and vine borers that like to invade growing zucchini plants, so including them as a companion plant is a smart move. Since radishes are small and most of their growth is underground, they make a perfect crop to plant alongside a zucchini both in an outdoor plot and in a container garden.
What Not to Plant
Zucchini plants can be fickle, so it’s important to mention plants you should not plant near zucchini in your garden. Some plants to avoid growing near zucchini include: potatoes, pumpkins, fennel, and cucumbers.
They may share common pests making them more attracted to eating the zucchini, or may hog the nutrients from the soil that the zucchini needs to grow.
Cultivating a Greener Thumb
The more a gardener can understand how plants and herbs can aid and support each other in a growing environment, the greener their thumb will be. Just like in human relationships, plants are most fruitful when their nearby companions support and protect them from potential problems. Zucchinis can add to a thriving garden by simply intentionally planting herbs and other vegetables nearby with care.
Looking for other companion plant ideas? Check out dill companion plants!
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