Lettuce companion plants can be utilized to achieve your specific goals for your plants and crops.
In this article, you will find a list of a wide variety of plant types – from asparagus to carrots – you can plant alongside your growing lettuce in your vegetable garden.
Continue reading to discover more about them!
Contents
A List of Beneficial Companion Plants for Lettuce
There are a lot of plants that can be used as a companion when planting lettuce. They can either improve the quality of the soil, ward off pests, attract beneficial insects, provide shade, or maximize your garden space.
Knowing the specific benefits that these plants can provide will aid in selecting the appropriate ones for your lettuce according to what you need.
The best and worst companion plants for lettuce also depend on the season when the lettuce was planted. Root crops, aromatic herbs, and legumes are all good companion plants for lettuce.
1. Asparagus
If you choose to produce asparagus, it is best to leave some of the harvests behind so that it will spread across your garden. The plant will be able to retain enough energy for the following year.
– Unique Characteristic
This vegetable has high levels of flavonoids, particularly kaempferol, isorhamnetin, and quercetin. These compounds are known to lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation as they have strong antiviral and anti-cancer properties.
– Main Benefit
You can use the remaining asparagus plants as natural shade by letting them grow tall and spread out their fern-like leaves. This is especially useful when your lettuce plants are getting too much afternoon light and are starting to wilt.
2. Beets
Root crops like beets are a great companion plant for lettuce. Given that they grow their produce underground while lettuce’s roots are shallow and grow their yields above ground, they can be planted next to each other.
– Unique Characteristic
Lettuce is quite beloved due its low levels of calories, sodium, and fat. Aside from these, lettuce is a great source of vitamin C, folate, iron, and fiber.
– Main Benefit
Beets serve as a great utilization of a small garden space because even when planted next to each other, these plants will not compete for nutrients from the soil. The taproot of the beets will collect nutrients from below, whereas the lettuce will utilize nutrients that are close to the soil’s surface.
This will lessen crop failure and allow you to grow two crops in a small area.
3. Calendula
Calendula is an excellent garden companion plant because it attracts slugs, one of the biggest threats to a lettuce crop. To deter slugs from eating your lettuce, plant calendula away from the rows.
– Unique Characteristic
This plant secretes a pungent scent that repels mosquitoes. Additionally, its oils are known to have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fungal properties.
– Main Benefit
It draws helpful pollinators while warding off pests like tomato worms and nematodes. Calendula flower petals are also edible, with a delicious peppery taste that complements most garden salads.
4. Carrots
Another root crop that can be planted next to lettuce is carrots. Consumed as raw, boiled, or baked, carrots are one of the most ideal garden staples.
– Unique Characteristic
Aside from being tasty, crunchy, and highly nutritious, carrots are great sources of natural sugars and fiber. Plus, they are packed with beta carotene, potassium, and numerous antioxidants.
– Main Benefit
Carrots utilize the subterranean area to grow their produce while lettuce plants have extremely thin roots and grow their crop above the soil. When planted together, they can maximize your garden space.
5. Chives
These fragrant plants deserve a place in the garden for their culinary and horticultural contributions. Mostly used as garnishes and secondary ingredients, chives lend a mild onion scent to any dish.
– Unique Characteristic
Chives are known to have vitamins A and K in them. Aside from these, chives are full of dietary fiber and flavonoids that may help reduce the risk of cancer.
– Main Benefit
Being one of the aromatic herbs, chives can help in warding off aphids from your lettuce. This herb serves as a barrier plant and protects lettuce from these pesky insects.
6. Cilantro
These green wonders are great for gardens and kitchens. When harvested, cilantro leaves make wonderful culinary partners to dishes and even juices or smoothies.
– Unique Characteristics
Cilantro has high vitamin levels of A, C, and K. At the same time, its leaves possess manganese, folate, and potassium without containing any fat or cholesterol.
– Main Benefit
Cilantro deters pests that damage lettuce crops. At the same time, it attracts insects that prey on the bad ones, thereby protecting lettuce.
7. Cucumbers
Cucumbers and lettuce have different growing tendencies which make them perfect to be grown together. While lettuce will grow vertically, cucumbers will vine outward.
– Unique Characteristic
Cucumbers help keep the body hydrated while promoting regular waste movement. Plus, the vitamin K content helps keep bones strong and healthy.
– Main Benefit
As a warm-season vegetable, cucumber reaches maturity first compared to lettuce, which takes longer to mature because it is a cool-season food. By planting them together, you can ensure a steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables from your garden.
8. Dill
This vegetable is a favorite in the garden for several reasons. Its fragrance discourages many unwanted visitors yet tastes wonderful in many dishes.
– Unique Characteristic
Even though it is very low in calorie content, dill packs a lot of essential vitamins and minerals. For example, vitamins A, C, and manganese are just some of the noteworthy nutrients from dill.
– Main Benefit
Dill is one of the most ideal herbs used as a companion plant for leafy vegetables because it attracts insects like praying mantis, ladybugs, and wasps. At the same time, dill discourages pests like aphids and cabbage moths from destroying lettuce.
9. Eggplant
Lettuce and eggplant work well together in the soil, as well as on plates. Plus, eggplants help protect lettuce from harsh elements of nature.
– Unique Characteristic
Eggplants are packed with antioxidants, along with copper, manganese, and thiamine. Aside from these essential nutrients, eggplants contain a good amount of dietary fiber.
– Main Benefit
Eggplant leaves help keep lettuce from wilting during hot summers. Given that it thrives under sweltering conditions, eggplants will be quite happy to brave the sun and still provide the necessary shade for lettuce to grow.
10. Marigold
Blessed with a pungent aroma, marigold plants are as beautiful as they are beneficial. Plus, they are quite easy to grow and propagate.
– Unique Characteristic
As a plant, marigold is known to discourage pests and diseases due to its strong fragrance. Its oil is prized for its flavonoid content, which counters most inflammations.
– Main Benefit
Marigold is a gardener’s best buddy because of its reputation for keeping pests out of vegetable plants. It has a smell that scares away rabbits and other nibblers and covers the aroma of other plants and flowers, thus protecting lettuce from pests.
11. Nasturtium
Easy-growing nasturtium plants are often placed next to lettuce as pest traps. Aside from this function, nasturtium leaves and flowers can be made into teas or added to salads.
– Unique Characteristic
Planted along with vegetables, nasturtium draws pests to itself instead of the susceptible target plant. Despite its high levels of vitamin C, nasturtium has a mild peppery taste when consumed.
– Main Benefit
Nasturtiums are attractive flowers that seem to be favored by aphids. This plant also repels cucumber beetles and white flies. Despite the seeming contradiction, many gardeners use nasturtiums to draw aphids away from their crops by planting them close to their vegetable gardens.
12. Onions
Flavorful and pungent, onions are some of the best natural pest repellents. Planted with lettuce, onions ensure that your crop is safe from undesirable visitors.
– Unique Characteristic
Onions have that signature scent due to organic sulfur compounds that they naturally contain. These compounds have been shown in studies to help reduce symptoms associated with inflammation issues, as well as diabetes.
– Main Benefit
Given that onions can fend off and repel insects and pests like aphids and beetles, they can help your lettuce and other leafy crops. While lettuce plants have relatively thin roots and grow their harvest above the earth, alliums, such as onions and shallots, use the underground area to grow their produce.
13. Parsnips
Parsnips grow their produce underground because they are a root crop. On the other hand, the lettuce plant has extremely shallow roots and grows its yield above the ground.
– Unique Characteristic
Just like its carrot and celery relatives, parsnips contain compounds that deter pests without being disagreeable to humans. Aside from this, they contain high amounts of fiber, as well as vitamins A, B, and potassium.
– Main Benefit
Parsnips and lettuce have a symbiotic relationship in the garden. Parsnips repel pests while lettuce plants help keep the soil cool and moist.
Conclusion
Growing lettuce is fairly easy, but there are ways to further improve how the plants grow by means of companion planting.
Let us recap the key notes on what we have learned:
- The lettuce companion plants include herbs like chives and cilantro, which serve as barrier plants that naturally ward off pests like aphids and slugs that can be dangerous and harmful to lettuce plants.
- Plant lettuce next to root crops like beets and carrots to maximize your garden space.
- To improve soil nutrition and to ensure that your lettuce won’t have insufficient nutrients, you can plant legumes like peas and runner beans, which provide the needed nitrogen instead of taking it from the soil.
- Marigold, sunflower, and tomato plants can provide shade to prevent the wilting of the delicate lettuce leaves.
- Fennel is considered to be one of the bad companion plants for lettuce because it can inhibit its growth or even kill the plant.
With all these planting tips as regards choosing the ideal companion plant for lettuce, you can now further utilize your garden space while producing healthier and more delectable lettuce plants.
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