what is a good companion plant for pumpkins

Great companion plants for pumpkins include corn, peas, melons, radish, lettuce, marigold, nasturtium, sunflowers, and borage. These plants have a host of benefits, including attracting beneficial pollinators to the pumpkin blossoms, repelling pest insects, and providing natural weed suppression.

Full Answer

What can I plant with pumpkins to grow together?

One typical example of companion planting with pumpkins is interspersing corn, beans and pumpkins in the same bed. The beans can use the cornstalks as support structures to climb up, while the massed foliage of pumpkins keeps down the weeds. Melon and squash are also beneficial as pumpkin companion plants.

What plants should you not plant with pumpkins?

Plants to Exclude as Pumpkin Growing Companions. Not every plant will be good for companion planting with pumpkins. Intercropping the wrong species can cause your pumpkins growing problems. For example, experts tell gardeners not to plant pumpkin near potatoes .

What can I plant to keep my Pumpkin Patch clean?

Corn and sunflowers are two perfect companions to help keep your pumpkin patch clean and neat. And companion planting carries no downsides at all, so it’s a great win-win strategy all around!

Can you plant marigolds and pumpkins together?

Marigolds are a common companion plant for many crops in the garden, and pumpkins are another one of those. Marigolds help repel plenty of insects, like nematodes, and also bring in other pollinators. Marjoram can help improve the flavor of your pumpkins when grown together as a companion crop.

Can I plant tomatoes next to pumpkins?

Plant tomatoes in the same area as your pumpkin patch to keep away insects that would eat or damage your pumpkin plants. Asparagus will attract predatory wasps. Flea beetles are more likely to go for radishes when given a choice, so they can be used as a sacrificial trap crop if needed.

Can I plant sunflowers near pumpkins?

Pumpkins can be successfully grown with tall or large columnar plants, such as sunflowers, amaranth, and giant corn. The Three Sisters is a traditional Native American agricultural grouping that includes corn, beans, and squash.

Will pumpkins choke out other plants?

Pumpkins are aggressive garden plants. They can choke out summer squash such as zucchini that competes for water and space. Pumpkins will also cross-pollinate with other squash varieties, affecting your harvest.

Can you plant marigolds with pumpkins?

Marjoram, if used as one of the pumpkin growing companions, is said to produce better tasting pumpkins. Nasturtiums keep bugs and beetles away. Marigold, oregano, and dill all repel destructive insects, like the dreaded squash bug.

Which vegetable should not be planted in an area that previously contained pumpkins?

Consulting a companion planting chart will also show you what not to plant together. For example, pumpkins don't typically make good companions for potatoes, or anything in the brassicas (cabbage) family like cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, or kale.

How close can you plant pumpkins?

Properly space seeds Leave 5 to 6 feet between hills and rows 10 to 15 feet apart. Once pumpkins are well-established, thin them to the best two or three plants.

Can you plant pumpkins in the same spot every year?

Ideally, keep pumpkins on a three-year rotation cycle, meaning you don't plant them in the same spot for three years in a row. This allows soil to replenish nutrients vines remove, and it also helps foil diseases that may survive in soil over winter.

Can I plant zucchini next to pumpkins?

Avoid planting zucchini and summer squash with all other vining plants which include cucumbers and sweet potatoes as well as pumpkins, winter squashes and melons.

Why do I need Companion Plants to grow Pumpkins?

While it is possible to grow pumpkins without any other plants, I don’t advise you to do so since you would just miss out on many positive effects companion plants can have on the yield and on the overall growth behavior of your pumpkins.

Can pumpkins grow near pumpkins?

Yet, not all plants have those beneficial effects on your pumpkins. There are also plants you should never grow near pumpkins. Hence, you should definitely check out all the good and bad pumpkin companion plants in ...

Can you plant pumpkins with beets?

Avoid planting pumpkins with beets, sunflowers, potatoes, zucchini, melon, brassicas, carrots or fennel. If you want to learn more about growing pumpkins in general, make sure to also have a look at my grower’s guide on how to grow pumpkins from seed to harvest.

What is companion planting for pumpkins?

Companion planting with pumpkins or other vegetables involves grouping together garden plants that help each other to grow. Plants may be classified as good companions in the garden if they attract ...

Why do you plant pumpkins with companion plants?

Planting a pumpkin with companion plants isn’t intended to combat vegetable loneliness, but rather to help it grow better, either because companions meet the pumpkin plant’s needs in some way, or because the companions keep pumpkin pests away. If you are planting pumpkins in your garden, it pays to learn something about companion planting ...

What plants repel squash bugs?

Marjoram, if used as one of the pumpkin growing companions, is said to produce better tasting pumpkins. Nasturtiums keep bugs and beetles away. Marigold, oregano, and dill all repel destructive insects, like the dreaded squash bug.

Why are plants considered companions?

Plants may be classified as good companions in the garden if they attract beneficial insects like pollinators into the area. Certain herbs and flowers attract beneficial insects such as:

Can you plant pumpkins with potatoes?

Not every plant will be good for companion planting with pumpkins. Intercropping the wrong species can cause your pumpkins growing problems. For example, experts tell gardeners not to plant pumpkin near potatoes.

Why do pumpkins need companions?

Why Pumpkins Need Companions. They’re big, they’re beautiful, and like people, pumpkins benefit from having companions nearby. Sometimes, placing friendly plants close together simply helps you save space in the garden. I, for instance, have just two deep raised beds to work with.

What bugs are in pumpkins?

Since gourds are susceptible to attack from many pests – aphids, squash bugs, squash vine borers, and cucumber beetles, for example – it’s important to think about how to combat infestations. Planting an array of pest-repelling flowers among your pumpkins can help to keep those bugs away.

What do hoverflies eat?

The hoverflies will lay their eggs on the leaves, and the larvae that hatch out love to feed on aphids, mealybugs, mites, and other pumpkin pests.

What is the best corn to grow in the Three Sisters method?

The best varieties of corn to plant in the Three Sisters method are large and sturdy – try the heirloom cultivar ‘Stowell’s Evergreen,’ a sweet corn that produces eight-inch ears. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers. You can read more about how to grow sweet corn in your garden here. 2.

What are the three sisters of plants?

1. Corn . Along with beans and squash, corn makes up the trio of perfect companion plants known as “The Three Sisters.”. Early Native American peoples – including the Muscogee (Creek), Maya, and Haudenosaunee – planted these crops together to take advantage of their mutual benefits.

How to plant three sisters?

To plant the Three Sisters, sow corn first in mounds, often called hills, about three feet apart and the size of a small baseball pitcher’s mound .

Do companion plants kill gourds?

Some companion plants will also act as trap crops, attracting the pests that might otherwise target your gourds. Some trap crop plants may even kill the pests they attract. Photo by Laura Melchor. But companion planting doesn’t just save space and help protect your crop against pests.

What is companion planting?

Companion planting is all about encouraging growth, and optimizing overall output, combining guardian plants with complementary crops. Growing healthy pumpkin plants means being prepared for any number of pests: squash bugs, cucumber beetles, squash vine borers, and aphids can all be a problem for developing fruit.

What herbs attract hoverflies?

Aromatic herbs like oregano, chives, chamomile, marjoram, tansy, and hyssop. Oregano makes a good ground cover and attracts hoverflies, which feed on aphids, while the presence of marjoram is said to enhance pumpkin’s flavor. Tansy is a mostly ornamental plant that both boosts potassium in soil and repels Japanese beetles.

What is a successful garden?

A successful garden is one that emulates nature, with the soil, plant life, and beneficial insects all working together as a harmonious whole.

What is a tansy plant?

Tansy is a mostly ornamental plant that both boosts potassium in soil and repels Japanese beetles. Radishes. Flea beetles are more likely to go for radishes when given the choice, so they can be used as a sacrificial trap crop if needed.

What plants repel mosquitoes?

Lemongrass has citronella, which mosquitoes hate. Lavender will attract bees, but repel other bugs. Marigolds will help get rid of mosquitoes, white flies, and root-knot nematodes. Chives will deter cucumber beetles; borage paves the way for ideal zucchini squash pollination.

Does mint help with ants?

Growing mint can help an ant problem. Lemongrass has citronella, which mosquitoes hate.

What are some good plants to grow in a garden?

Lavender will help attract bees and other pollinators. Marigolds are a common companion plant for many crops in the garden, and pumpkins are another one of those. Marigolds help repel plenty of insects, like nematodes, and also bring in other pollinators.

What are some plants that repel insects?

Marigolds are a common companion plant for many crops in the garden, and pumpkins are another one of those. Marigolds help repel plenty of insects, like nematodes, and also bring in other pollinators.

Can pumpkins be borered?

Pumpkins can be susceptible to infestation from pests such as aphids, cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and vine borers. By using companion planting with pumpkins you can use other plants to help keep bugs away from them.

Can you plant Kohlrabi with pumpkins?

Kohlrabi does not do well when planted with pumpkins due to the shade that the leaves of a pumpkin vine cast on the ground.

Does Agastache Rugosa attract insects?

Agastache Rugosa also known as Korean Licorice Mint will help attract beneficial insects like hoverflies. It will also bring in pollinators.

Can marjoram be used as a companion crop?

Marjoram can help improve the flavor of your pumpkins when grown together as a companion crop.

Why add companion plants to pumpkins?

Adding companion plants amongst your pumpkins offers several benefits and will help you to achieve a successful harvest. Not to mention benefiting from the companion plants also.

Why do you plant pumpkins with companions?

Companion planting helps to break up a section of the same crop. This helps minimize an infestation to occur amongst all of your pumpkins.

What pests do marigolds deter?

Marigolds help to deter a range of pests from whitefly to cabbage moths, cabbage worms to aphids.

What are the benefits of pole beans for pumpkins?

As mentioned above, pole beans are beneficial to your pumpkins. They are high in nitrogen, a vital nutrient your pumpkins need to grow.

Why plant tansys near pumpkins?

However, planting tansy’s near your pumpkins can provide benefits that outweigh the cons. Tansy helps to draw up potassium from the soil making it easier to access . As we’ve already discussed, pumpkins need a lot of nutrients to grow, potassium being one of them.

What is a Tansy herb?

Tansy is a tall herb with small yellow flowers. This beautiful plant packs a punch and must be carefully handled if you choose to use this as a companion plant.

What is the best herb to grow with pumpkins?

Unlike the other companion plants, marjoram improves the taste of your pumpkins. Marjoram is similar to oregano, only sweeter. It is an excellent herb to grow and use in the kitchen along with the other vegetables in your vegetable garden.