Cucumber Companion Plants: What to Plant With Cucumbers
Cucumbers are a great plant to grow in your garden. You can easily get an abundant harvest from your cucumber plants perfect for serving in fresh summer salads and making your own homegrown pickles.
To make the most of your garden space you should consider companion planting cucumbers in your garden when you are making your garden plans.
Companion planting your cucumbers is the best way to ensure that you are making the most use of your garden space.
Keeping your family fed and your garden thriving is no easy feat, but with the right companion plants you can help your cucumbers grow better than ever, while also maximizing every inch of your garden beds. Cucumbers are great for growing vertically or using as a living mulch.
How to Companion Plant Cucumbers
Cucumbers can be companion planted in a couple of ways. You can trellis your cucumbers to allow you to grow them vertically and use the remainder of the garden bed for other plants. This is a great way to make the most of your garden space.
Cucumbers also make a great living mulch for taller plants. To take advantage of this plant them in your garden beds and trail the vines between plants by hand to block the sun from the soil helping to keep it cool, trap moisture, and block weeds from getting sunlight.
The Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers
Corn
Corn is a great plant to grow with cucumbers. You can use corn as a living trellis to help support your cucumbers so you do not have to work to keep the fruits up off the ground throughout the growing season.
Beets
Beets make a great companion plant for cucumbers. This hearty root vegetable will grow well in the same area as your cucumbers and due to growing at a much shallower level than your cucumbers they should not bother them during harvest. While beets and cucumbers won’t actually benefit each other, they will simply co-exist in peace.
Beans
Beans make a great companion plant for heavy feeders like cucumbers. This is because beans are encouraging the growth of bacteria on their root system that is nitrogen-fixing.
This means beans help to add nitrogen to your soil helping to feed high-demand plants. Plant beans and cucumbers alternating between the two on trellises to take advantage of this pair.
Celery
Celery grows well with cucumbers. The scent helps to repel cabbage worms that love to munch on cucumber plants.
Dill
Dill while a fragrant herb does grow well with cucumbers. This herb is great for attracting beneficial insects including butterflies, lacewings, and ladybugs allowing you to make the most of your space in your garden. This same dill can then be used at harvest to help pickle your cucumbers.
Leaf lettuce
Leaf lettuce grows well in the same beds as cucumbers. Leaf lettuce is perfect for growing in gaps in your garden beds to help make the most of your space. Lettuce will die off when the summer heats up for the year allowing more room for your cucumbers to spread out.
Try also planting lemon balm, comfrey, chives, and other pollinator-attracting herbs next to your cucumbers.
What You Should NOT Plant With Cucumbers
When companion planting your cucumbers you need to be mindful of what you are planting near them.
Avoid planting your cucumbers with zucchini or watermelon nearby. These plants often cross-pollinate leaving you with odd-sized fruits that are usually flavorless.
It is not uncommon for a gardener to harvest what they think is the biggest cucumber they have ever grown to find the inside is more like a bland watermelon missing its sweetness.
Melons and pumpkins should also be avoided as the same types of pests enjoy these fruits.
If you fill a garden bed with just these types of plants you are setting them up to be attacked and your entire crop of each plant destroyed. To help your garden thrive, avoid creating a monoculture in your garden.
Cucumbers should not be grown with very fragrant herbs like mint, oregano, and basil. Also don’t plant them with sage because sage will make your cucumbers smaller.
While these herbs are great for growing in your garden and helping to keep pests at bay they can lead to problems for your cucumbers by affecting the overall taste of the ending product.
Potatoes and cucumbers should not be grown together as they tend to fight for the same nutrients. Cucumbers can also make it more likely that your potatoes will be afflicted with blight.
Cucumbers should not be grown with heavy feeders for the best results.
So now that you know which plants grow best with cucumbers, and which to avoid. Why not check out these other companion planting guides:
