Cucumber plants thrive when planted alongside specific companion plants that offer pest deterrents, attract beneficial insects, and promote overall growth. Selecting the right companion plants for cucumbers is a strategic way to enhance garden productivity and resilience against pests.
What are good cucumber companion plants?
There are many plants that make good neighbors for cucumbers:
- Tomatoes. Cucumbers work as living mulch beneath tall plants like tomatoes and corn—the large leaves and vines block weed growth and help maintain soil moisture levels.
- Brassicas including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower
- Celery. Trellised cucumber vines provide natural shade to celery.
- Corn. Cucumbers work as living mulch beneath corn. Some gardeners even use strong corn stalks as a trellis for cucumbers.
- Dill and other flowering herbs. Aromatic herbs mask the scent of cucumbers from aphids and attract beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps.
- Eggplants. Again, the cucumbers serve as living mulch.
- Green beans. Like peas, green beans fix nitrogen in the soil.
- Lettuce. If you trellis your cucumber plants, they will provide natural shade to delicate lettuce.
- Marigolds. These flowers repel cucumber beetles and squash bugs, mask the smell of the cucumbers from aphids, and attract pollinators.
- Nasturtium. Like marigolds, flowers like nasturtium repel pests that would harm your cucumber plants.
- Okra. This is another crop that benefits from a bed of cucumber living mulch.
- Onions. Onions and other alliums repel pests with their strong scent.
- Peas. Peas and other legumes are nitrogen-fixing, and cucumber plants benefit from that boost in nutrients.
- Radishes. Radishes and other root vegetables do not compete for space with sprawling cucumbers. Planting radishes among your cucumber plants can help you maximize a small space!
What should you not plant next to cucumber?
Do not plant cucumbers near other plants in the cucurbit family, such as melons or squash. Cucumbers are “autotoxic,” meaning the plants produce chemicals that inhibit growth of plants in the same family if they are too close together.
Keep potato plants and cucumber plants far away from each other. Cucumbers can encourage late potato blight.
Can you plant tomatoes and cucumbers together?
You sure can! Tomatoes and cucumbers have similar sun and water needs, so it is easy to care for them together. Sprawling cucumber plants below the tall tomato plants can inhibit weed growth and help the soil retain moisture.
Can you plant zucchini and cucumbers together?
Nope, we don’t recommend this pairing. Zucchini and cucumbers are both in the cucurbit family, and the cucumbers put out chemicals that inhibit the growth of other cucurbits.
