Companion planting cheat sheet

Companion planting is useful when it means shared space, shared work, and fewer pests — not folklore charts with 40 “must pair” claims. Use this short cheat; ignore the rest until you have a season of notes.

What usually helps

• Tall + short: corn or sunflowers as windbreak / light shade for lettuce in heat
• Trap / distract: nasturtiums near brassicas (watch them; they also attract aphids)
• Aromatic edges: herbs (basil, dill, cilantro) at bed borders — harvest for you first, insects second
• Nitrogen helpers: beans or peas near heavy feeders if you also add compost (legumes are not magic fertilizer)
• Living mulch: low clover or dense lettuce under taller fruiting plants to reduce bare soil

What to stop doing

• Do not pack incompatible root zones into one square foot “because a chart said so”
• Do not expect marigolds alone to erase tomato hornworms
• Do not plant walnuts / juglone-heavy trees next to sensitive beds and blame “companions”

Classic pairs that earn their keep (small yards)

One-season experiment rule

• Try one companion idea per bed
• Write what failed (shade, water competition, disease)
• Next year keep only what reduced work or damage

Planting sequence: Seasonal planting order. Filter paid vs free: Vs Free.

If you want layout + water + season extension as a system (not another folklore chart), a structured guide can help after you lock frost dates and sun map:

Keep the pairs that save work. Drop the rest.