Companion Plants for Organic Insect Control

About Companion Plants

Companion plants are a great way to control garden insects organically, without harmful, nasty chemicals. Some companions also provide nitrogen or other organic nutrients.

Companion gardening is the practice of planting two different plants in close proximity to each other. One or both plants helps the other, giving off the by-products that the other plant needs. Those by-products are chemicals and micro-nutrients.

Other beneficial plants provide some protection against insects and planting a few of them near the desired plant will keep the insects away.

Great Companion Plants

Try:	With:	For:
Borage	Pumpkins, squash, cucumbers and a variety of plants. Tomatoes	Attracts bees and other pollinators. Deters tomato hornworm
Basil	Peppers, Tomatoes, Marigold	Keeps aphids, whiteflies, hornworms and mosquitos away
Dill	Cabbage / Cole family	Attracts beneficial wasps that kill cabbageworms
Garlic	Roses, tomatoes and a wide variety of flowers and vegetables.	Wards off aphids and other insects and pests. Deters Japanese Beetles. It also makes a great organic insect repellent spray.
Mint	Cabbage and Broccoli	Deters Cabbage moths
Marigold	A wide variety of flowers and vegetables.	Wards off insects. They are also used in Organic Insect sprays.
Nasturtium	Pumpkins, Squash, and a wide variety of vegetables.	Deters Cucumber Beetles, Squash Bugs, Aphids, and more. And, they are edible!
Radishes	Spinach and other leaf crops	Attracts leaf miners away from spinach. The radishes will have leaf damage, but the root is unharmed.
Rosemary	Beans, Broccoli, cabbage, Carrots	Deters Bean Beetles, Cabbage moths and carrot flies
Sage	Carrots	Wards off Carrot Fly
Thyme	Cabbage	Deters cabbage worm
Zinnias	Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower	Nectar attracts ladybugs to control cabbage worms. Try dwarf zinnias.