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If you’re new to growing peppers, or you have had some bad luck in the past, you may wonder what you should plant near your peppers. The best neighbors for pepper plants can help deter pests, attract beneficial insects, or avoid other common problems.
It’s a great idea to plan ahead of planting season so you are fully aware of what your garden will look like. We like to plan out our garden plot during the winter months so that we are ready come spring.
In this article, I’ll share some of the best pepper plant companions for your garden. I’ll also cover a few plants to avoid planting with peppers.
Jump Ahead:
- Best pepper companions
- Worst pepper companions
What Are Companion Plants?
Companion plants are plant varieties that complement each another when planted together. The most common examples are tomatoes and basil. The basil is said to help deter or confuse certain pests like the hornworm. Basil flowers also attract good insects. Both plants are also harvested around the same time, and they pair well in the kitchen.
It is essential for any garden, large or small, to consider which plants to place next to each other. These choices can be the difference between a successful harvest and a lot of wasted effort. The ideal plant companion will attract pollinators, deter pests, or otherwise help its neighboring plant.
In general, I recommend intercropping a diverse range of vegetables, fruits, and flowers throughout the garden. This diversity helps keep pest populations at bay, while inviting a wide range of life to your plants.
Companion planting is different than crop rotation, which involves changing the location of select crop groups each year. A lot of interaction happens above and below the soil, so we should do our best to give our pepper plants helpful neighbors!
Best Pepper Plant Companions
Let’s start with what you should plant alongside your peppers. There are many options, so it will be up to you to decide how many to grow and how to organize your garden. These recommendations work for all pepper varieties, including spicy peppers like habaneros and sweet bell peppers.
Alyssum
Alyssums are beautiful, hardy plants that produce lots of tiny flowers. They are great for planting near peppers as they attract beneficial insects like hover flies, predatory wasps, and the minute pirate bug. These feast on aphids and other pests that may otherwise infest your plants.
Alyssum can also be planted very early in the season. They’ll flower from spring to fall, naturally self-seedling throughout the year. It will likely return the following spring from fallen seed, making it easy to have every season.
Basil
Full of aromatic oils, basil is a fantastic garden herb that is easy to grow. It has a positive effect on peppers and tomatoes and does not take up much space in the garden.
Basil may help deter pests like aphids, mosquitoes, and thrips, and its flowers will attract pollinators. Scatter basil throughout your garden, and for added effect, you can occasionally crush a few basil leaves to release more fragrance.
Try some of the unique varieties of basil like lemon, cinnamon, and (our favorite) sweet Thai!
Beets
Another low-footprint crop, beets make a good pepper companion. Great for filling up unused space in the garden, beets are generally happy anywhere. They are a cool season crop, so you can use your pepper plants to help case some shade on your beets in the afternoon heat.
Chives
The fragrance of chives helps ward off certain types of flies, along with many animals like deer. As part of the allium family, chives are an excellent tasting. They also produce beautiful, edible blossoms in early spring which attract pollinators.
Chives will grow back every year, so be sure to plant them in a permanent spot! These plants make a great companion to peppers and other veggies.
Eggplant
Eggplants make great companion plants for peppers. They require similar maintenance and soil makeup and are harvested around the same time of year. This is because eggplants are closely related to peppers, coming from the same plant family, the Solanaceae, or nightshades.
They also complement each other well in cooking, used to make the traditional (and delicious) condiment ajvar.
Garlic
Garlic makes a great companion for most common garden plants, and this includes peppers. This is thanks to garlic’s antiseptic properties and its natural insect and animal deterrence. Garlic is also delicious and high in value-per-square foot of garden space.
For this reason, I recommend planting garlic scattered throughout the garden in the autumn (garlic needs a cold period to produce properly). The slender plants will easily fill in small gaps in the garden, making the most of your beds.
Peas
Peas make a great companion plant for the garden. They are cool season crops that can be planted early, and may also be more interesting to aphids and other pests than your peppers, acting as a “trap crop.”
But most importantly, peas and other legumes are nitrogen fixers. In other words, the roots can essentially create nitrogen fertilizer all on their own! To get the most of this benefit, you’ll want to mow back the peas before they finish flowering, leaving the roots in the ground. This is why peas are so commonly used as cover crops.
Onions
Onions don’t take up much space in the garden and can be another method for using every square foot. They are also fairly easy to grow and cook well together with peppers. Planting carrots nearby onions can help complete the symbiosis as carrots tend to ward off onion flies.
Peppers!
Of course! Peppers compliment other peppers. We grow more peppers than any other type of vegetable, and we like to organize by heat level. Since we save our seeds, we keep the hottest pepper plants farthest from our heatless peppers to avoid unwanted cross-pollination.
The more pepper varieties you have, the more intentional cross-breeding can be done to create interesting new pepper types in the next growing season!
See our favorite places to buy pepper seeds >
Petunias
Looking to add some color to the garden? Petunias are a beautiful, decorative flower the may also help distract certain pests. These include hornworms, leafhoppers, and aphids. Though they can also become subject to attack, better on the flowers than your tasty peppers!
Rosemary
One of our favorite herbs, rosemary is a hardy plant that helps keep the soil moist for longer. Use rosemary as a ground cover around your pepper plants to decrease the rate of moisture evaporation from the soil.
Tip: Pair rosemary, carrots, and onions; they’re all beneficial to one another!
Tomatoes (see more info below)
Though this is debated, we grow tomatoes and peppers in the same garden every year without issue. We do recommend that you rotate the crops each year to avoid soil or root-based pathogens from thriving.
If you have enough space, keep the tomatoes separated from your peppers, but know that there shouldn’t be any harmful interaction between tomato and pepper plants.
Yarrow
Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an easy to grow flowering plant that is known for attracting ladybugs and other beneficial insects. These flying friends help pollinate your pepper flowers and also feast on aphids. Instead of buying live ladybugs for your garden, plant things that attract them naturally!
Other plants that attract ladybugs include coriander, dill, dandelion and more. See this great list of plants for attracting more beneficial insects.
There are many more options for plants to put near your peppers. This list is by no means exhaustive, so keep researching if you have a specific plant in mind! However, most herbs will be safe to plant near peppers, and if you avoid the following plants, you will most likely be safe.
Worst Companions For Peppers (Avoid!)
Though there aren’t too many plants to avoid planting near peppers, we have a few recommendations. In most of these cases, you can plant these plants in the same garden with peppers, but they should be adequately spaced out to avoid potential issues.
❌ Fennel
Fennel is not a great companion for any veggie garden plant. It attracts certain insects and pests, which means it can be a deterrent, but only when planted far away from your vegetables. Fennel is a nutritious, tasty herb that you should plant, just not near your peppers and other veggies.
❌ Brassicas
While cabbage and broccoli plants won’t destroy your pepper harvests, they do prefer a different soil. Peppers prefer a more acidic pH balance while cabbage needs a more neutral soil makeup. Also, be aware of the fertilizing needs of each – brassicas are heavy feeders of nitrogen, while peppers require less.
❌ Kohlrabi
Despite this being a fairly uncommon plant, it is not recommended that you plant kohlrabi near your pepper plants. This comes from the same family as cabbage and broccoli and can attract cabbage butterflies.
❌ Oregano
While many herbs make great companions, I avoid planting oregano nearby peppers. In fact, I only grow it in containers. The reason? Oregano is highly invasive, making it difficult to get rid of once established. Keep it away from your garden beds unless you want to fight it all season!
Can Tomatoes and Peppers Be Planted Together?
Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetable plants for gardeners, and you may question whether they can be planted together.
In short, tomatoes can be planted with peppers in the same garden bed. However, be mindful of the proper plant spacing for each plant type, as they are quite different:
- Tomatoes require significantly more space between plants to allow for adequate airflow. Aside from patio-type tomatoes, most varieties require at least 18-24″ of space between stems. Without room to breathe, tomatoes become a host for disease and pests (blight, aphids, hornworms, etc.).
- Peppers can be spaced closer together, depending on the variety. If you grow bell peppers and other annuum varieties, they can typically be planted about 12-18″ between plants (stem to stem). Some mild bottom pruning is all they need to breathe and thrive.
Tip: In addition to proper plant spacing, it is recommended that tomatoes and peppers be rotated each season to a new location. If you have multiple garden beds, simply plant them in another bed each year.
I hope this article helps you plan out what to plant near your peppers. There are infinite options to choose from, but following these pepper plant companion recommendations will help ensure a great harvest! Happy gardening!
Calvin
One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.
