Never Grow Your Basil Plants Next To This Common Garden Vegetable

Gather a group of people in a room and you'll inevitably get some folks who get along superbly, while others are ready to brawl. The same applies to what you put in the garden. Some vegetables in your garden complement each other well. One example is when you grow basil next to a tomato plant. This is a concept known as companion planting, describing how they interact with one another in the garden. These pairings are based off of mutually beneficial relationships, including how chemicals emitted from one plant benefits another, how one crop repels pests that attack a neighboring plant, or how the companions provide physical supports for each other. At the same time, there are plants that will prevent one another from thriving due to having competing needs, attracting harmful pests, or creating conditions that lead to disease for an adjacent plant. 

One such pairing that should be avoided is cucumbers and basil plants — or most aromatic herbs, for that matter. Cucumbers consist of 96% water, topping the list of water-rich foods. Unfortunately, this makes them susceptible to absorbing the flavor of nearby herbs like basil and sage. This works out for gardeners who prefer an herb-infused cucumber over its mild taste, but most of us probably want cucumbers that taste like, well, cucumbers. 

Another reason to avoid intermingling the two is that being neighbors brings out their competitive nature. Both plants need nutrient-rich soil and heavy watering, and do best when the soil is consistently wet. Since they require the same type of resources, they impact how well the other plant grows, leaving one or the other stunted.  

Rather than completely isolate these two plants, it's helpful to know which crops they play well with. Cucumbers and corn are a fun combination, with corn stalks serving as a trellis on which vining cucumbers can climb, freeing up more space in your garden. Planting cucumbers around corn also adds coverage over the soil, as the plants can stay moist, keep each other cool, and prevent weeds from taking hold. Peas, beets, carrots, and radishes also are ideal companions, especially with radishes keeping cucumber beetles at bay. Conversely, dill will attract predators of insects that tend to damage cucumber plants. 

When it comes to basil, tomatoes are probably its most well-known pairing. They're tasty together (Caprese salad? Yes, please!) and both benefit one another in the garden. Just as radishes keep cucumber beetles from cucumbers, basil plants do the same for tomatoes with thrips, whiteflies, and tomato hornworms. Tomato plants serve basil by shading its leaves and the soil, giving the herb the moisture that it prefers. Other successful companions: peppers, oregano, asparagus, and petunias. Although scientific evidence is still lacking, some gardeners even believe that planting basil near tomatoes and peppers enhances the flavors of the fruit.