29 Plants to Grow With Tomatoes | Best Tomato Companion Plants

Meet our Editorial Team, a collection of expert gardeners, writers, and DIY aficionados committed to delivering top-notch content. From organic gardening and indoor plant care to culinary arts and home improvements, we cover a wide spectrum of topics to enrich your life.
Learn About Our Editorial Policy

2-Minute Read

Discover the best Tomato Companion Plants and grow them together for a bumper harvest and not just that also find out what you should avoid.

Tomato Companion Plants

The key to getting the most productive tomato plants is to plant the right companions with them. Read this article to find out which are the best Tomato Companion Plants!

Here are the best tips for growing tomatoes in pots


What is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is a sustainable way to grow plants without the use of toxic pesticides. This makes different vegetable grow better with reduced chances of getting attacked by pests.

For example, growing nectar-rich flowers are a great way to attract pollinators or growing plants with big leaves provide shade to the specimen growing next to it.


Tomato Companion Planting

As tomatoes are prone to pests and fungal issues, growing them with certain plants will save them from the potential harm, which will result in better and juicy fruits!


Tomato Companion Plants: Herbs

1. Basil

Basil is a wonderful companion for tomatoes as it helps to keep flies and hornworms away. Moreover, planting them together also improves the taste of tomatoes.

Basil also limits egg-laying behaviors of hornworm moths, which can pose a great danger to tomatoes.

2. Chives

Chive is a must grow with tomatoes as this herb helps to keep pests like aphids, nematodes, and mites at bay. Not to mention the fact that it also looks good.

3. Thyme

Tomato Companion Plants 5

You must grow thyme near tomatoes as it attracts beneficial insects while enhancing the color and flavor of tomatoes. It also keeps the population of armyworms in control.

4. Garlic

Planting garlic around tomatoes ensures that the plant is safe from the attacks of red spider mites. The pungent fragrance of the herb also keeps other pests away.

5. Borage

Tomato Companion Plants 10

Plant borage near tomatoes as it protects tomatoes from hornworms. Also, the beautiful blue flowers of this herb match perfectly with red tomatoes!

6. Parsley

It is one of the best herbs that act as a groundcover while keeping the tomatoes safe from pests by attracting hoverflies that feed on them.

7. Dill

Dill’s flowers are a rich source of nectar to pollinators like tachinid flies, parasitic wasps lacewings, lady and pirate bugs. They also attract harmful pests to themselves, thereby keeping the tomatoes safe.

8. Fennel

Tomato Companion Plants 11

Just like dill, fennel is also a great herb to attract pollinators. It also helps to keep parasitic aphids wasps and aphids away.

9. Oregano

The flowers of oregano attract many beneficial pest-eating insects, which make sure that the tomatoes are safe from their attack.

10. Cilantro

Tomato Companion Plants 12

Just like dill and fennel, the flowers of cilantro are a rich source of nectar. The blooms lure predatory insects that happily feed on common tomato pests.

11. Sweet Alyssum

Its flowers are loved by syrphid flies and parasitic wasps. Both of them simply love to feed on aphids, which keeps tomatoes safe.


Tomato Companion Plants: Vegetables

12. Asparagus

Tomato Companion Plants 14

As tomatoes help to keep the asparagus beetles away with a chemical called solanine, they keep asparagus safe. Asparagus, on the other hand, keeps root-knot nematodes at bay, which keeps tomatoes safe.

13. Lettuce

You can grow lettuce between tomato plants in the garden to create a handsome groundcover. They will also help to retain the moisture in the soil while suppressing weeds. Tomatoes will give lettuce all the shade they need to grow well in return.

14. Squash

Tomato Companion Plants 16
spokesman

Squash makes for a great groundcover, which keeps moisture in the soil intact, something that tomatoes simply love.

15. Cowpeas

Green stink bugs love to feed on cowpeas and growing these plants near tomatoes will ensure the plant is safe from them. Grow them a few weeks before planting your tomatoes.

16. Oats

Oats are great to control the weed population around tomatoes. They form a thick mat that also keeps the moisture and temperature in check.

17. Crimson Clover

One of the best living mulch, grow crimson clover between tomato rows to control weeds and provide essential nitrogen fixation in the soil. It also attracts beneficial insects and pollinators.

18. Cucumber

pinterest

One of the key compounds cucumber produce is cinnamic acid, which is a strong allelochemical that helps to reduce the germination rate of weeds.

19. Sweet Potato

Tomato Companion Plants 25
spokesman

The large and bushy leaves of sweet potatoes keep the tomatoes safe from water splashes, which can spill the spores of many fungal diseases on the plant. This greatly reduces the chances of disease transmission.

20. Bush Beans

As bush beans are short in height, including them between tomatoes makes sure there is a proper air circulation between the plants, which reduces the chances of fungal diseases.

21. Mustard Greens

Growing mustard greens as a cover crop near tomato plants keeps them safe from verticillium wilt. Make sure you grow them a few weeks before planting tomatoes.


Tomato Companion Plants: Flowers

22. French Marigold

Tomato Companion Plants 40
Shutterstock/Swellphotography

Grow marigolds with tomatoes as they keep tomato worms, slugs, and other garden pests at bay. They also help to repel root-knot nematodes.

23. Nasturtium

Nasturtiums attract the attention of aphids and black flies to themselves, which keeps tomatoes safe. They also attract beneficial predator insects to feed on other pests.

24. Petunia

Tomato Companion Plants 41

Not only do they add beauty to the garden, but they are also beneficial when it comes to keeping various pests away from tomatoes.

25. Cosmos

They attract aphids to themselves while also attracting hoverflies, which are the number one feeders of aphids.

26. Calendula

Tomato Companion Plants 48

Calendula keeps many pests away that tomatoes are prone. As an added bonus, its flowers are edible and you can add them to salads and desserts.

27. Sunflowers

Sunflowers are favorite of bumblebees that are great pollinators. It is always good to have these blooms in your garden as they are simply stunning!

28. Coneflowers

Tomato Companion Plants 50

The large blossoms of coneflowers attract all types of bees that will make sure you have no trouble pollinating tomato plants.

29. Red Clover

This plant helps in two ways – it attracts pollinators and also fixes nitrogen in the soil. Both are super beneficial for tomatoes.


What Not to Plant With Tomatoes

Don’t pair tomatoes with cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, and other members of the brassica genus, as they slow up the growth and development of tomatoes.

Tomatoes and potatoes are also not a good match as both suffer from the same pests and diseases. Corn is another plant that needs to be avoided as it is also vulnerable to the same pests and diseases as tomatoes.

Recent Posts

Join our 3 Million Followers:

[easy-followers hide_title="yes" new_window="yes" nofollow="yes" show_total="no" total_type="text_before" columns="3" template="roundcolor" nospace="no" hide_value="no" hide_text="no"]

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here