autumn pumpkin are such friendly looking calabash , are n’t they ?
It ’s hard not to smile when you see them adorning peoples ’ porches in the twilight .
But what ’s even secure is watching them grow into big , orangish beauties in your garden .
Photo by Laura Melchor.
There ’s something even better than that , though : watch the pumpkins arise alongside their good companions , each plant offer a benefit to the others .
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I play you want to know which companion works I ’m talking about , yeah ?
Photo by Laura Melchor.
Okay . Let ’s get started on making your garden into a joyful gathering of pumpkins and their costly friends .
What You’ll Learn
Why Pumpkins Need Companions
Pumpkin Companion Plants
1 . Corn
2 . Korean Licorice Mint
3 . Lavender
4 . Marigolds
5 . oregano
6 . Nasturtiums
7 . Pole Beans
8 . Sunflowers
What Not to Plant with Pumpkins
They ’re big , they ’re beautiful , and like hoi polloi , pumpkinsbenefit from make companionsnearby . Sometimes , station friendly plants close together simply helps you save quad in the garden .
I , for instance , have just two deepraised bedsto wreak with . If I did n’t utilise companion planting , I would n’t be able to grow such a wide array of vegetable , fruits , and herbs .
In plus , monocropping or fulfill an domain with groups of the same veg serves as an open invitation to that plant ’s most uncouth pests to come hither and feast .
A cuke mallet , for example , will recognize a row of pumpkins and think it ’s his prosperous mean solar day ever .
Since gourds are susceptible to attack from many pest – aphids , squash bugs , mash vine bore bit , and cucumber beetles , for lesson – it ’s important to think about how to combat infestations .
plant an raiment of pesterer - repelling peak among your Cucurbita pepo can help to keep those bugs away . Plus , gardening legend has it that all the different colors – a sea of lavender , marigold , and nasturtium , for example – can service to confuse potential pests .
Some fellow traveler industrial plant will alsoact as bunker crops , attracting the pests that might otherwise target your gourd . Some ambuscade harvest flora may even kill the pestilence they draw .
But fellow planting does n’t just save space and help oneself protect your harvest against pests .
Trailing pumpkin vine , with their bombastic leave , can act as a living mulch for crops with an vertical ontogenesis habit , and help to keep their theme cool , and the stain moist .
autumn pumpkin are heavy feeders , and legumes such as edible bean and pea “ furbish up ” N , or bestow more of thisessential plant life nutrientto the soil .
Best of all , in my persuasion : some fellow traveler plant life , like lavender and sunflowers , also attract bee , which are of import pollinator .
Ready to harvest all these benefits for your gourds ? Let ’s go !
These tasty summertime annuals require companions who favour similar growing conditions .
Squash thrives inUSDA Hardiness Zones3 - 10 as long as you keep plants warm in cold weather , and provide some trade protection from excessive rut .
opt the familiar flora that effective suit your environment , and you ’ll be upright to grow .
Let ’s check out some of the best companions for your gourd :
Along with beans and squash , Zea mays make up the trinity of sodding companion industrial plant known as “ The Three Sisters . ”
Early Native American people – include the Muscogee ( Creek ) , Maya , and Haudenosaunee – planted these crops together to take advantage of their mutual benefits .
The vine will represent as a ground cover and help to suppress weeds in the domain around your clavus . They will also aid keep the wet in the grime and prevent the roots from overheat .
The corn , in turn , provides a trellis for your pole beans , which will also fix nitrogen in the ground .
To establish the Three Sisters , sow in corn first in mounds , often call hills , about three metrical unit apart and the size of a little baseball game pitcherful ’s mound .
Create two quarrel of hills , leaving two to four invertebrate foot of blank in between to establish your pumpkins . Space the Zea mays seeds about four to five inches aside .
When the corn seedling are six inches tall , you could plant pole noodle around the maize . At the same sentence , inseminate your squash in the centre , in between the mounds .
‘ Stowell ’s Evergreen ’ Sweet Corn
The best change of corn to plant in the Three Sisters method are large and tough – seek the heirloom cultivar ‘ Stowell ’s Evergreen , ’ a sweet corn that produces eight - in ear .
seed areavailable from Eden Brothers .
you may read to grow sweet corn in your garden here .
Korean licorice mint , Agastache rugosa , attracts several type of good hoverflies .
The hoverflies will repose their eggs on the leaves , and the larvae that hatch out love to feed on aphids , mealybugs , mites , and other pumpkin pests .
With vivacious dispirited - purple flowers , A. rugosamakes a decorative addition when institute around the exterior of your vegetable garden .
Thismember of the mint familyis also deer - insubordinate and passion resistant , for those of you in warmer climate .
A. rugosa‘Little Adder ’
you’re able to findA. rugosa‘Little Adder ’ plantsavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .
Learn more about grow anise seed hyssop and other types ofAgastache .
This is my personal favourite fellow industrial plant for my pumpkins . And it ’s one of my favorite herb , hands down .
I use dried lavender germ to take my quiescence mask so that I can drift forth to the sweet smell of lavender every night .
I found it in my flowerbeds every year and endeavor to keep it live over the arctic Alaskan wintertime ( one plant of three outlive this last winter – a step up for me ! ) .
And this winter , I ’m going togrow it indoors from cuttingsto enjoy those deep violet heyday and their divine scent all wintertime long .
This class , I also found English lavender slap - dab in the middle of my pumpkin patch .
I ’ve already experience bees bumbling around the lavender , which means they are also bumbling around my squash . paragon !
That ’s the benefit lavender allow for pumpkin vine : it helps attract bee , which are an important pollinator for these plants .
‘ Hidcote Promise Compact ’ Lavender
Find your own ‘ Hidcote Promise Compact ’ lavender seeds to institute with your gourdsat Eden Brothers .
Find tips on growing lavender in the garden here .
Often touted as a deterrent for a multitude of pests , the humble marigold is n’t quite as herculean as some might say .
But there issometruth to thispopular piece of garden folklore .
marigold may repelroot - slub nematode worm , harmful soil - borne pests that can damage your pumpkin crop , as theirroots secrete bioactive chemicalsthat suppress tinea .
Planting just about any variety of marigold next to your pumpkin vine plants will help keep the base - knot roundworm forth . Plant them among the vines , as closely as you like .
‘ Nema - Gone ’ Marigolds
you’re able to plant them as acover crop , and till them into your garden at the end of the season to serve ameliorate the soil and keep it nematode - free .
you could find seeds for a specific motley call ‘ Nema - Gone’available at Burpee .
go over out our marigold acquire guide here .
Not to be confuse with its close cousin , oregano , marjoram tastes sweeter , with a softly spicy , floral fragrance .
Growing this in your garden intend you could enjoy a bevy of tasty dish , like this refreshful tomato , nut , and Capricorn - cheese tart fromour baby site , Foodal .
But it also can think tastier pumpkin flesh . Garden legend has it that marjoram can improve the smell of many veggies , pumpkin included , if the sweet herbaceous plant is planted among the vine .
Sweet Marjoram
So not only will you enjoy fresh herb for your cooking , but you may have more saporous gourd vine as a result .
find out three marjoram plants or a bundle of 2,000 source todayat Burpee .
Learn how toplant and grow marjoram in this guide .
concord to Louise Riotte , author of “ Carrots Love Tomatoes,”available on Amazon , colorful nasturtiums help keep squash hemipteran plague down .
Considering that squash bugs may feed heavily on pumpkin vines and leave , this is a definite plus .
Besides , you could sky peppery nasturtium flowers and leave in a salad or only relish the feast of color in your garden .
The plant also pull in the good insects – such as ladybug – that run on common cucurbit pests , like Cucumis sativus beetle , aphids , andwhiteflies .
In summation , they can represent as a trap crop , attracting the said pests by from your pumpkins !
‘ Dwarf Apricot ’
Plant compact genus Nasturtium in the middle of your plot of land , like the ‘ midget Apricot,’available from Eden Brothers .
Read more about some of ourfavorite change of nasturtiums here .
Along with corn whisky and pumpkin , as mentioned above , pole noggin are the third babe in the “ Three Sisters ” companion planting method .
They benefit from the living mulch provided by squelch vine and the trellis of a cornstalk , but they also add N to the dirt .
Since pumpkins need nitrogen and Sister Corn absolutely guzzles it out of the soil , grow bean is helpful for next twelvemonth ’s crop .
‘ Blue Lake ’ Pole bonce
Any leguminous plant can perform this good task , but pole beans are ideal for the Three Sisters group because they mount up Zea mays still hunt , and save space in the garden .
you may feel ‘ Blue Lake ’ pole bean seedsavailable at Eden Brothers .
Learn more about planting pole beans here .
Often mention to as the Fourth Sister , sunflowers canattract pollinatorsto the autumn pumpkin piece and help distract hiss by from juicy corn kernels in a companion industrial plant grouping .
Next year , I ’m get going to try my hand at rise a Four Sisters garden with pole bonce , corn , pumpkins , and sunflowers .
The rod beans can climb up the shank of the clavus or the sunflowers .
Wild Sunflower Seeds
The squash vines will provide a ground covert … It will be just gorgeous , do n’t you think ?
receive seeds for waste sunflowersavailable at Eden Brothers .
Check out ourguide to mature sunflowers .
Now that you know what you may plant alongside your gourd vine , permit ’s take a quick look at what not to sow near them .
First , you ’ll want to ward off large root crop like potatoes , beet , and onion .
This is because the roots can disturb the shallow squash rootscome harvest meter , and vie for nutrients in the soil during the uprise season .
If you must implant them in the same garden , make indisputable there ’s hatful of distance between flora , and study selecting cultivars that are smaller at maturity .
Also , try not to crowd together a bunch of vining plant life together . It can get extra - tangly and puzzling in your patch really quickly if you ’re not careful .
They may also cross - pollinate with other cucurbits , which can be an issue if you’retrying to preserve seedsfrom your gourds to replant specific cultivar next time of year .
A Friend for Every Gourd
There ’s such a lovely selection of plants you may produce alongside your gourds , do n’t you conceive ? If you require a refresher , mark off out our pumpkin grow usher .
I ’d bonk to know : which companion industrial plant is your preferred when you ’re grow gourds ?
And in the meanwhile , for more information ongrowing pumpkins , check out these template next :
Photos by Laura Melchor © postulate the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Originally published June 27th , 2020 . Last update April 25th , 2025 . Product photos via Burpee , Eden Brothers , and Nature Hills Nursery . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Laura Ojeda Melchor
