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
Squash is easy to grow, but it does have some special requirements. As such, you’ll want to make sure that you’re planting it with friends who share its tastes and needs. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the best squash companion plants.
Best Squash Companion Plants
Corn and Pumpkins as Squash Companion Plants
Squash, corn, and pumpkins are all summer squash that does well planted together. This is because they all reach maturity at different times of the season. If you plant all three, harvest the corn first, followed by the squash and pumpkins. The squash companion plants will keep weeds away from the soil where you’ve planted your seeds or seedlings. Squash grows best in soil that you didn’t disturb for several years.
Squash with Cucumbers, Melons, and Beans
All these are in the same family, and you should plant them together to help each other grow. In this case, you also have to think about distance, time, and depth.
Planting distance: Space plants three to four feet apart with one plant per hill (single file).
Planting time: Plant squash after the danger of frost has passed in most areas. This will ensure that your plants don’t get hit by frost before they have a chance to produce fruit. If you live in an area where there is no frost or only light frosts, you can plant earlier than this time frame if you wish.
Planting depth: Planting depth is also important. It allows rainwater to penetrate the soil without disrupting roots too much or washing away nutrients needed by plants. To achieve proper drainage when planting containers using potting mix place 4 inches at the bottom. Then fill the remaining container full with potting mix. Add more if necessary, so that you have at least 8 inches before reaching the top rim of the container. This helps keep water from sitting on top of the soil instead run down sides. For seeded beds dig into soil 12-inches deep but make sure holes aren’t too big. Bigger holes may allow weeds to grow through them faster than desired.
Companion Plants Peas and Beans
Squash is a heavy feeder and can benefit from the addition of peas and beans. Peas, in particular, are excellent at fixing nitrogen. This is an essential nutrient for plants but not something that occurs in soil. Beans are also excellent sources of nitrogen. So, when you plant them with squash, you’re giving your crop a boost in two ways. First, by providing it with plenty of nutrients. Second, by helping squash resist disease1(which may come as a result of being over-fed).
Peas and beans also have the benefit of helping squash grow taller—and faster! This means you can get both more yield out of each plant and bigger yields.
Beets and Sunflowers as Squash Companion Plants
Beets and squash are both cool-season crops. Plant them once the soil temperature reaches 50°F (10°C). They are also good for human consumption. They help us to stay healthy by providing nutrients. These can be potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron.
Beets help squash grow by attracting pollinators such as bees! Beekeepers can plant beets in their gardens to help attract bees outside of their hives. So, they have more access to the nectar within. The combination of sunflowers and squash plants is an excellent example of how companion planting works.
Sunflowers attract pollinators. Squash provides them with a place to land after collecting pollen from other crops nearby. What a win/win situation!
Squash and Parsley
Parsley is a great squash companion plant. As an aromatic herb, it helps repel squash bugs and aphids. Parsley also has a mild flavor, so it’s easy to grow in your garden.
What Not to Plant With Squash
Squash and tomatoes are both members of the nightshade family. This means that they attract many of the same diseases and pests2. Of course, you can plant both in your garden. It’s very important to plant them far enough apart. In this case, they won’t suffer from cross-pollination. What do squash and tomatoes have in common? They’re both heavy feeders.
So, if you want healthy plants that produce plenty of fruit—and keep their leaves green all summer long—you’ll need to give them plenty of fertilizer.
If you heard of the disease Verticillium, be careful. Eggplants are targets of this disease and can infect squash very fast!
Potatoes, as with tomatoes and eggplants, share the same soilborne diseases. The disease affect cucurbits, the squash family.
References
- Ganesh Babu, R., & Chellaswamy, C. (2022). Different stages of disease detection in squash plant based on machine learning. Journal of Biosciences, 47(1), 1-14.
- Lopez, L., & Liburd, O. E. (2022). Can the introduction of companion plants increase biological control services of key pests in organic squash?. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 170(5), 402-418.
