7 Best Companion Plants For Basil: Great Neighbors For Basil

Are you looking to boost the health and flavor of your basil plants? Basil, a beloved herb for its aromatic leaves, can thrive when paired with the right companions in your garden.

This article unveils the perfect plant pals for basil, guiding you to create a more productive and pest-resistant herb patch. Read on and let’s grow together!

Key Takeaways

• Plant basil with tomatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, marigolds, potatoes, root vegetables, and garlic to help them grow better and keep pests away.
• Avoid planting cucumbers, fennel, thyme, common rue, and sage near basil because they might not get along or could harm each other’s growth.
• Basil can improve the taste of certain plants like tomatoes and can also benefit from the protective effects of plants like marigolds against pests.

7 Best Basil Companion Plants

Discovering the perfect companions for your basil can transform your gardening experience, boosting both growth and flavor. Let’s dive into the world of companion planting where we pair up basil with some fantastic garden friends that promise a thriving herb space.

Pairing basil with the right plants enhances its growth and flavor; to learn more about growing basil effectively, explore our guide on how to grow basil indoors.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes and basil make a great team in your garden. Planting them together does more than just save space. Basil helps tomatoes grow better by keeping away bad bugs like flies and hornworms.

This means you can have more tasty tomatoes without using harsh chemicals.

Both basil and tomato plants love the sun and need soil that drains water well. With basil as its buddy, tomato plants can give you bigger fruits to enjoy. Put them side by side in your indoor garden, and watch how they help each other out!

Bell peppers

Bell peppers love having basil as their neighbor in the garden. These two plants enjoy lots of sunlight together. Basil’s strong scent is great for keeping away certain pests like thrips and aphids.

This means your bell peppers can grow better without as many bugs bothering them.

If you plant flowering basil close to your bell peppers, it could help make more peppers that taste even better! Plus, because both these plants like the same kind of soil and light, they can be really good friends in your vegetable garden.

Just be sure not to mix hot and sweet peppers too close; they need about 20 feet between them, but sweet basil fits right in with either type.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a friend to your basil plants. It brings in ladybugs who eat harmful bugs like aphids. These little insects are great for keeping your basil healthy. The smell of basil also helps keep away the asparagus beetles that want to eat your asparagus plants.

Planting these two together is smart because they help each other stay pest-free.

Basil and asparagus work well together in a garden. Basil’s strong scent acts like a guard, confusing pests that might attack the asparagus. Plus, it makes the ladybugs stick around since they love both plants’ environment! This team-up means you don’t need harsh bug sprays and your indoor garden stays natural and happy.

Marigolds

Marigolds are amazing friends for basil in your indoor garden. They have a strong smell that keeps away unwanted bugs like nematodes, aphids, and Japanese beetles. These bright flowers work hard to protect your basil by being a pest deterrent.

Planting marigolds nearby means slugs might go after them instead of your tasty basil leaves. With marigolds around, you can expect fewer pests bugging your herbs. Plus, they love the same sunny spots and well-drained soil that basil does, making them perfect partners in keeping your herb garden healthy and happy.

Potatoes

Potatoes make great friends for basil in your garden. Basil helps potatoes by scaring off bad bugs with its strong smell. This keeps the potatoes safe from pests like the Colorado potato beetle.

Planting these two together is smart because they help each other stay healthy.

Basil’s scent hides the potatoes, so the bugs can’t find them to eat them. This is a natural way to keep your plants safe without using chemicals. You’ll be happy to see how well basil and potatoes grow together!

Root vegetables

Root vegetables like beets, carrots, radishes, and parsnips are great friends to basil. They live well together in garden beds or pots. Basil helps these veggies by keeping away harmful bugs that want to eat their leaves.

It sends out a scent that pests don’t like. This makes the root veggies safer and lets them grow big and tasty.

These plants also help each other stay healthy. Basil can stop soil-boring insects from hurting beets and other roots. Indoor gardeners love this because it means they don’t need to use bad chemicals on their plants.

Plus, when you put basil with root vegetables, your indoor garden will look nice and smell good too!

Garlic

Garlic is a powerhouse for your indoor basil garden. It works hard to keep away pests that don’t like its strong scent. Think of it as a guard for your basil, scaring off aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies.

These little bugs can hurt your plants but with garlic around, they’ll stay away.

Growing garlic next to your basil can also make the basil taste even better. Imagine how good your food will be with flavor-packed herbs straight from your own garden! Plant them together and watch as they help each other become their best selves.

Garlic doesn’t just protect; it boosts the taste too!

5 Plants to Avoid Growing With Basil

Knowing the plants to keep at a distance can be just as crucial as finding good companions for your basil; stay with us to learn which ones might hinder rather than help your herb thrive.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers don’t make good neighbors for basil. They need a lot of the same food and water that basil does. If you put them too close, they might fight over it. Think of your garden like a tiny world where every plant needs its own space to be happy.

Also, cucumbers have deep roots that can take all the water, leaving the basil dry. Basil helps with pest control too, but not when it’s struggling to grow because of thirsty cucumber plants nearby.

It’s best to keep these two apart in your indoor garden so they both can thrive without trouble.

Fennel

Fennel can be a problem for your indoor basil garden. This plant is not friendly to most vegetables, including basil. The reason is that fennel gives off a chemical in the soil that hurts other plants around it.

It’s a big risk because these chemicals can make your basil grow poorly or even die.

Keep fennel far away from your basil to have a happy, healthy herb garden. Fennel attracts certain pests too, which might move over and start bothering your basil plants next. It’s better to pick other plants as companions for your basil to help each other out and keep pests away naturally.

Keeping them apart helps make sure they both can thrive without fighting over resources or attracting unwanted insects.

Thyme

Thyme likes it dry, but basil needs the soil to stay moist. Because of this, thyme is not a great friend for basil in your garden. They both go after the same food in the soil too.

This can lead to less tasty herbs if they are grown close by each other.

Keep thyme away from your basil plants. They are better off not sharing space so they can both grow well without fighting for what’s in the dirt. Think about putting them in different pots or parts of your indoor garden to make sure they have what they need.

Common rue

Common rue is a plant that can’t be friends with basil. It gives off something bad from its roots that stops basil from doing well. People call rue the herb of grace, but it’s not very nice to basil and even to our skin – it can make you itch or give you a rash if you touch it.

Keep this plant away from your basil pots! Rue also doesn’t get along with sage and cabbages. Since these plants don’t play well together, it’s best to put them in different spots in your garden or different pots if you’re growing indoors.

Sage

Sage might seem like a good friend for basil, but it’s not the best choice. Basil loves moist soil while sage prefers things drier. If you plant them together, one might not do as well because their needs are so different.

Also, sage can grow big and bushy which might block the light that your basil needs to grow strong.

Think of sage as a buddy for other plants in your garden instead. It helps keep cabbage moths away and smells really nice. It’s better to give both sage and basil their own space to be happy and healthy plants.

This way they can both do what they do best without getting in each other’s way.

While sage and basil have different growing needs, understanding how to protect basil from pests is essential; for more information, visit our article on common basil pests.

FAQs – Best Companion Plants For Basil

1. What are companion plants for basil?

Companion plants for basil are other plants that grow well with basil and can help each other by bringing in good insects or making the soil better.

2. Why should I plant flowers like marigolds near my basil?

Marigolds can protect your basil by keeping away bad bugs and they also bring bees and butterflies to pollinate your garden.

3. Can planting certain herbs with basil improve its flavor?

Yes, planting herbs like oregano near your basil can make it taste even better!

4. Will growing vegetables like tomatoes next to my basil help both plants?

Tomatoes and basil are great friends! They help each other stay healthy, and the tomatoes keep some pests away from the basil.

5. How does putting onions close to my basil garden help?

Onions scare off pests that might hurt your basils, such as carrot rust flys, so they act like a shield for them.

6. Are there any veggies that shouldn’t be planted with my basil?

Basil likes most veggies, but keep it away from rue because they don’t get along well together.