Planted in the right conditions, basil is a wonderful boon to pollinator activity, creates a habitat for welcome insects, and boosts the overall health of the soil and nearby plants. Here are the best basil companion planting options, as well as what not to plant with basil and a rundown on how basil can attract beneficial insects.
Skip Ahead: Basil companion planting basics • The best basil companion plants • Bad companion plants for basil • Common basil pests • Basil companions for containers
Basil companion planting basics
Aside from being one of the most beloved garden herbs, basil is an excellent companion plant in the summer garden. Garden tradition says that basil improves the flavor of some fruiting vegetables, though that's for you to judge. The real joy of growing basil is to harvest bunches of it, smell it in the air, and enjoying the miniature habitat that it creates.
These companion planting ideas are not rules to be followed, but suggestions for a healthy garden. What basil needs to thrive is plenty of heat, sun, and richness in the soil. Given limited space, it will grow well and contribute massively to the garden next to most plants that share those requirements.
The best basil companion plants
Generally, basil grows well with other plants that enjoy full sun, intense heat, very rich soil, and regular watering. This includes most fruiting vegetables, some leafy greens, and some non-Mediterranean herbs. Basil also grows well with low-growing annual flowers that can help to shade the soil around the plants.
Whatever you plant with your basil, be sure to give both plants plenty of space. Basil can suffer from downy mildew and other diseases when it doesn't have enough airflow.
When you're planting basil with tomatoes, cucumbers, or peppers, plan ahead and have somewhere for those companion plants to grow vertically. Otherwise, the quickly growing plants can sprawl, shade the basil, and create a less healthy growing environment.
When it comes to herbs, basil makes a fantastic companion plant for other herbs that appreciate rich soil and consistent watering: chives, parsley, and cilantro could all do well in an herb bed with basil.
Here are some of the best vegetables, flowers, and herbs to plant with basil:
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Lettuces
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Cucumbers
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Chives
- Calendula
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
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1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes and basil are the quintessential companion planting pair. They are happy to grow in identical conditions, provided the tomatoes are well trained or cordoned. Underplant your tomatoes with basil-- spaced generously-- and they will grow happily together.
Basil is thought to improve the taste of tomatoes, though I make no personal claims. More importantly, basil attracts two insects that prey on tobacco and tomato hornworms: ladybugs and lacewings. But truthfully, these are both ancillary benefits; the compatibility of tomatoes and basil is what makes them a fantastic pair.
Read More: The 11 Best Companion Plants for Tomatoes
2. Peppers
Companion planting with peppers works very well with basil, as both plants need full sun and rich, moist soil. Basil can also shade the roots of peppers, maintaining the moist soil that bell peppers need. Again, generous spacing is important as heat, humidity, and a lack of airflow can cause pest and disease issues.
3. Lettuces
Basil can grow well with other leafy greens that benefit from rich soil, including lettuces. While lettuces typically like a sandier soil than basil, the two can happily grow together in any rich soil with adequate drainage. As the summer progresses, basil planted to the south or west of lettuces can grow to provide them needed shade.
4. Carrots
Carrots like to grow in rich, loamy soil that's well tilled and deep, and both carrots and basil benefit from consistent watering. In the late summer, allowing one or two basil plants to flower can attract the insects that prey on common carrot pests.
When planting basil with carrots, be mindful to not plant the basil in a position to shade carrots, as both plants need full sun.
Read More: The 10 Best Companion Plants for Carrots
5. Asparagus
Asparagus is one of basil's most well known companion planting partners, if not a particularly popular crop to grow. If you grow asparagus, a nearby row of basil can help cut down on asparagus beetle populations by attracting beneficial pests.
6. Cucumbers
Many claim that basil and cucumber make bad companion plants, as the basil can affect the taste of the cucumbers. This is a detail so fine that I doubt most gardeners would notice, if it's true at all. Like tomatoes and peppers, well-trained cucumbers-- as long as they're kept fairly neat-- would grow well with basil.
Prepare their soil with generous helpings of organic matter and get supports or ties in place early, and these plants could grow happily together all summer.
Read More: The 15 Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers
7. Parsley
Basil is one of the best companion plants for parsley, given their shared soil, water, and sun requirements. Parsley prefers partial shade as the sun becomes intense, which basil can provide just as summer reaches its peak. Whats more, the combination of flowering parsley (in its second year) and basil contribute to a rich garden ecosystem that can keep pests in balance.
8. Cilantro
Most of cilantro's companion plants grow best in cool weather, as cilantro tends to bolt when temperatures rise. That said, basil and cilantro both do best in rich, well draining soil and full sun.
In mid-August, cilantro starts can be moved into the shade cast by basil plants and benefit from basil's frequent watering schedule. The basil will be pulled up when the weather cools, giving cilantro more sun at just the right time.
9. Chives
Chives and basil make beautiful partners, and both enjoy full sun and rich soil. Interplanting chives and other alliums alongside herbs like basil and members of the Apiaceae family (carrots, cilantro, parsley) can help to deter pests.
Read More: The 12 Best Companion Plants for Chives
10. Calendula
Calendula, also known as pot marigolds, attracts lacewings and ladybugs, both of which prey on tomato hornworms and aphids. Calendula produces beautiful orange and red flowers all summer and can be used to make a versatile homemade calendula oil.
11. Marigolds
Marigolds can reduce populations of root-knot nematodes, a common tomato pest, in the soil. They also support ladybug and some parasitic wasp populations (Trissolcus basalis, which could help with aphids and stink bugs, respectively.
Read More: The 16 Best Companion Plants for Marigolds
12. Nasturtiums
Nasturtium is another common companion plant for basil, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other heavy-feeding vegetables. Like calendula and marigolds, its primary benefit is that it attracts pollinators and contributes to a healthy garden by promoting biodiversity. It's also edible, grows low to the ground, and produces beautiful, bright flowers.
Bad companion plants for basil
Some popular vegetables, herbs, and flowers plants that thrive on full sun are nonetheless not suited to growing with basil. Here are a few plants to avoid planting with basil, either because they don't take similar conditions or because they don't grow well with basil's other companion plants:
- Lavender
- Mediterranean herbs
- Mint
- Brassicas (kale, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, etc.)
1. Lavender
Lavender likes full sun, but it doesn't want nearly as much water or richness in the soil as does basil. Both are beautiful additions to a garden, but they won't thrive together.
2. Mediterranean herbs
Categorically, Mediterranean herbs do not want to grow alongside basil. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and sage all thrive in relatively poor soil with sharp drainage and much less water than basil wants.
3. Mint
Though mint can also thrive in rich soil and full sun, it will quickly spread to dominate a planting area and choke out its neighbors. It's best planted only in pots, or else areas you're prepared to sacrifice (more or less) forever.
Read More: The 13 Best Companion Plants for Mint
4. Brassicas
Brassicas generally do not perform well next to other basil companion plants-- namely tomatoes, peppers, and other fruiting vegetables. The brassica genus includes a variety of vegetables, such as kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and bok choy, all of which enjoy soil that hasn't been recently amended with compost.
Read More: The 10 Best Companion Plants for Broccoli
Common basil pests
In most climates, basil is more susceptible to disease than to pest infestations, but it is prey to a range of common garden insects. These include aphids, loopers, Japanese beetles, cutworms, grasshoppers, spider mites, whitefly, slugs, and snails.
Basil also repels some insects that might damage nearby plants. This includes asparagus beetles, tomato hornworms, and carrot flies. Some sources will claim that basil deters whitefly, although excessive nitrogen in the soil can also attract whitefly to your basil.
When it bolts, basil's flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators that can benefit nearby vegetables. It also attracts lacewings and ladybugs, which prey on pests like hornworms and aphids.
What grows well with basil in a pot?
Basil planted in a large pot with others herbs, such as cilantro, parsley, or chives, will stay happy given ample space, organic matter, and water. Basil can even grow well in a pot with trailing cherry tomatoes. Finally, basil underplanted with marigolds or nasturtiums in a pot would make a beautiful display and attract pollinators to your garden patio.