Steve Yoder
I'm Steve, a 30-something urban gardener fascinated by companion planting research. Growing up surrounded by greenery sparked my passion for gardening early on. I enjoy transforming my small backyard, experimenting with companion planting techniques and eco-friendly practices. Sustainability matters—I advocate for native plants and composting.
Table of Contents
Did you know that you can boost the growth of your turnips with some turnip companion plants? Let’s have a look at them!
Turnip Companion Plants
Grow these plants along with your turnips for fascinating results:
Garlic And Chives
Garlic and Chives are both fantastic choices as turnip companion plants! Chives are not edible, still, they are beautiful. Due to their ability to repel pests, especially aphids, they make excellent turnip companion plants. The turnip plant itself contains pest-repellent characteristics. Garlic and chives also enhance the flavor of their companions. Garlic has a pungent fragrance. Your garden won’t attract pests like Japanese beetles and aphids.
This indicates that planting them together carries no threat of a pest invasion.
What else you can plant with garlic: 5 Best Garlic Companion Plants + 5 Bad Neighbors
Mint
A member of the labiates family is a good choice for turnip. Turnip and mint are one of the best combinations in companion planting! Together they can repel the most harmful insects. That means you can plant both of them in your garden without any doubt.
Mint companion plants full list: Mint Companion Plants – Do They Even Exist?
Thyme
Thyme also has a fragrant aroma. The aromatic smell of thyme makes it a great choice among the most suitable turnip companion plants. Cabbage white butterflies can be a problem for any cabbage variety, including turnips. Thyme repels these pesky butterflies. Thyme also lures beneficial insects. For example, thyme attracts insects such as hoverflies and bees. So, if you want a protector plant for your turnips, thyme is the right choice!
This article lists other thyme companion plants: 5 Thyme Companion Plants Doing a Great Job Together
Peas
Your turnip plant is best paired with peas. Peas are a fantastic companion plant for any food in your garden. They have the ability to fix nitrogen. If you plant your turnip plants together, they will be able to absorb the soil’s nitrogen more effectively. Additionally, turnips often grow underground whereas peas grow above. So, two plants can be grown in one area without any problems.
Vetch
Legume plants include weeds like vetch. Like peas, vetch plants will help other plants in the garden absorb the nitrogen in the soil in a better way. Vetch enhances soil quality, making it an excellent companion plant.
Beans
Beans are another plant species that work well in gardens. Bush beans and pole beans are excellent for enhancing the soil quality of your plants. Beans of any kind, including pole beans, can be in the legume category. They can let their companion plants absorb the nitrogen in their soil. This is their innate ability to fix nitrogen. Your turnips will grow to their full capacity as a result of the beans you planted.
Other beans companion plants: Beans Companion Plants – Which Ones Should be Chosen?
Swiss chard
Swiss chard offers its companion plants plenty of large shade. So, when planting turnips with Swiss chard, color management is a major benefit. Turnips can burn in the sun if there is no shade very quickly.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes and turnips make great companions. Tomato plants can be delicate. Turnips repel aphids, helping to keep your tomato plants free of insect infestations. So, the pest-repelling properties of turnips help to preserve the health of delicate plants like tomato plants. On the other side, vegetables like onions or potatoes do not grow well with tomatoes.
Lettuce
In most gardens, lettuce goes well with lots of vegetables. Celery, strawberries, squash, and spinach do best with lettuce. The lettuce plant is the finest color regulator. It is particularly helpful for a turnip-like underground plant to consume lettuce.1 In addition, lettuce attracts useful insects such as hoverflies.
What not to Plant with Turnips
Be aware not to choose the following ones as turnip companion plants:
Carrots
As far as root crops go, carrots are quite delicate and inconspicuous. They will compete with turnips for soil space. Additionally, they’ll lure flies that will eat turnips while giving the mustard plants no extra help. Also, planting turnips with other root crops won’t work since there will be too much rivalry.
Better plants to choose as carrot companion plants: 5 Carrot Companion Plants for More Nutrients (+ 5 Bad Companions)
Potatoes
When it comes to root space, potatoes and turnips compete very hard with one another. There aren’t any advantages to growing potatoes alongside turnips to make up for the drawbacks. Potatoes will not only take up too much room in the soil where your turnips grow. They will also eat up a lot of the nourishment that your crops need.
Better choice for potato companion planting: 8 Best Potato Companion Plants Helping your Crop Growing
References
- Doğrusöz, M. Ç., Mut, H., Başaran, U., & Gülümser, E. (2019). Performance of legumes-turnip mixtures with different seed rates. Turkish Journal of Agriculture-Food Science and Technology, 7(1), 81-86.