What to Plant With Cucumbers and What to Avoid

Companion planting for cucumbers is a method of arranging your garden to create a supportive environment. This approach involves growing specific plants near each other to enhance growth, manage pests, and improve crop production. By selecting appropriate neighbors for your cucumbers, you can foster a more resilient garden that relies on natural interactions.

Benefits of Companion Planting for Cucumbers

A primary advantage of companion planting is its ability to deter pests naturally. Some companion plants release scents that can repel or confuse insects searching for cucumber plants, like cucumber beetles and aphids. This creates a more diverse garden ecosystem, which can reduce pest pressure without chemical intervention.

Certain flowers and herbs are effective at attracting beneficial insects. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are drawn to these plants, which is important for the fruiting of cucumbers. Predatory insects like ladybugs and parasitic wasps, which feed on pests, are also attracted, providing biological pest control.

Companion planting can also improve soil health. Legumes, including beans and peas, are nitrogen-fixing plants that enrich the soil with nutrients for heavy feeders like cucumbers. Some low-growing companions can act as a living mulch, helping to retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.

The practice allows for more efficient use of garden space. Vining cucumbers can be trained up trellises, leaving the ground level available for other crops. Root vegetables and low-growing greens can be planted underneath, maximizing the productivity of a small area.

Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers

Pairing cucumbers with the right vegetables can support their growth. Legumes such as beans and peas fix nitrogen in the soil, which helps nourish cucumber plants. Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets grow primarily underground, so they do not compete with cucumbers for surface space, and radishes can also help deter cucumber beetles.

Including certain herbs in your cucumber patch offers advantages. Dill is known to attract beneficial insects, including predatory wasps and ladybugs that prey on aphids. Oregano serves as a useful ground cover and may repel some insects.

Flowers are not only aesthetic but also serve functional roles in a cucumber patch.

• Marigolds are used for their ability to repel pests like aphids and nematodes through the scent they emit.
• Nasturtiums are another valuable flower, known for deterring aphids, squash bugs, and cucumber beetles, and can also act as a “trap crop.”
• Borage is excellent for attracting pollinators like bees, and it may also add trace minerals to the soil.
• Sunflowers can provide a natural trellis for vining cucumber varieties, though care should be taken to select lightweight cucumbers.

Plants to Avoid Planting Near Cucumbers

Certain plants can hinder the growth and health of cucumbers and should be planted separately.

• Potatoes are heavy feeders that compete directly with cucumbers for water and soil nutrients, and both crops are susceptible to blight.
• Potent herbs such as sage have been observed to stunt the growth of nearby cucumber plants due to the strong oils they produce.
• Planting cucumbers near other cucurbits, like melons and squash, is not recommended as they share nutrient requirements and are vulnerable to the same pests.
• Fennel has allelopathic properties, meaning it releases chemical compounds from its roots that can inhibit the growth of many other plants, including cucumbers.

Cucumber Companion Planting Layout Tips

Utilizing vertical space is an effective strategy in a companion-planted garden. Growing vining cucumber varieties on a trellis keeps the fruit off the ground, which helps them stay clean and away from soil-dwelling pests. The space underneath the trellised cucumbers can then be used for low-growing companions like lettuce.

Proper spacing between all plants is fundamental to preventing competition and disease. Good air circulation is necessary to keep foliage dry and reduce the risk of fungal issues like powdery mildew. When planting, ensure that plants have enough room to reach their mature size without overcrowding.

Interplanting, or alternating different types of plants in the same rows, can create a healthier garden. You might alternate rows of cucumbers with rows of nitrogen-fixing beans or intersperse flowers like marigolds throughout the patch. This diversity can confuse pests searching for their host plants.