10 Winter Squash Companion Plants To Add to Your Garden

Winter squash companion plants can help you to easily grow this tasty food staple, as the plants come with some benefits for many squash varieties but also for other plants in your vegetable garden.

Many companions will also give you sweet and healthy harvests, so you gain more when you grow them with your squashes.

Read this article to learn about some of the compatible plants you might want to grow alongside squashes.

10 Types of Winter Squash Companion Plants To Try

For effective winter squash plants companion planting, here are some awesome crops:

1. Marigold

Just in case you want to diversify your winter squash garden, marigolds make an excellent choice. Marigolds help repel a lot of pests, especially insects, so your squashes and other plants in the garden will be free from many types of bugs. Marigolds also produce very beautiful flowers, so they can boost the look of your garden.

When growing marigolds, consider the spacing and arrangement of your garden. You should grow the marigolds around the edge of your garden so that pests do not go into it. Do not grow them in between your squash plants.

2. Peas

Peas are very good companion plants for your squash, as they provide extra nutrients to the plants. Peas are legumes and the thing about legumes is that they are in a relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These organisms help to fix nitrogen in the soil (for the peas to make use of).

When you grow peas and squash together, you can spend less on fertilizer (nitrogen) by making sure that the harvested pea plants rot in the soil. By doing so, the decomposing plant will release its nutrients into the soil for your squashes.

3. Beans

Here’s another fine winter squash companion plant. Just like peas, beans are legumes and they help to replenish the nitrogen in the soil. Bean plants are more effective, as they grow larger than peas and shed their leaves quickly so that your winter squashes can benefit from the released nitrogen in the leaves.

Beans are companion plants for almost every type of plant, and they make excellent butternut squash companion plants . They take little space and will not mind growing in between your winter squashes. Note that you should plant your bean plants two weeks before you plant the squashes. Also, grow them in garden soil and not a potting mix.

4. Corn

When it comes to companion planting for squash, corn is what you’d surely want to grow. With corn in your garden, you do not need to spend so much on stakes or a trellis for your winter squashes, as the squashes can climb the corn plants.

Well, if you see that the squashes are growing too rapidly and the corn can no longer carry their weight, support them with stakes.

Note that corns are heavy feeders and do not add nutrients to the soil. This means that you will spend a lot of money on fertilizer for your squashes and corn plants. Well, what you spend is worth it, as you get to enjoy the grains and squash fruits.

5. Catnip

Here is another of those companion plants for squash bugs and other pests that people have started to cultivate nowadays. While catnips are often used at home to entertain cats, and might not be among the most popular pumpkin companion plants<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>, you can still use them alongside your winter squashes in the garden to good effect.

Some insects that catnip plants will help repel are striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs, ants and some flying insects. Catnip is an awesome pest control plant for your winter squashes.

6. Sunflowers

It does not matter if you are looking for kabocha companion plants or something that’s more compatible with summer squash plants, as sunflowers can work well with both. While sunflowers do not have any direct benefit to the squash, aside from blocking excess sunlight from reaching the squashes, sunflowers are compatible with squashes. Sunflowers are also beautiful and give you a lot of seeds.

Note that to make the companionship between your squash and sunflowers work, you need to feed both plants regularly. Both squashes and sunflowers are heavy feeders and none produces nutrients for the other. Well, nothing stops you from growing yet another companion plant such as the pea plant in your garden.

7. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are common plants that are not so selective of the type of plant that you grow them with. Tomatoes make good companions to winter squash plants, as they have similar care requirements and tips. Your winter squashes will also gain a lot from the companionship, as you’d extend the care for your tomatoes to the squashes (tomatoes are fragile plants).

Note that tomatoes attract a lot of insect pests to your garden, so you need to protect them as well as your squashes from pests. So long as you can grow both plants free from pests, you’d enjoy your tomato and squash harvests.

8. Garlic

If you want your squashes to grow pest-free while you also want medicinal farm products, here’s the best companion plant for you. Garlic is a bulbous plant that people have been growing for ages for different uses. In your squash garden, you will use garlic as a companion plant to repel pests. When it’s time for harvest, you will also get healthy bulbs of garlic.

When growing garlic and squash, ensure that you consider sunlight. Do not cover the garlic plants from sunlight with the trellis of your squashes. Also, remember to enrich the soil for both plants.

9. Cucumber

While growing squash vines, you can also add cucumbers just in case you prefer growing vine plants. Squashes and cucumbers are similar plants, as they have similar spacing and other growing requirements so you can grow them together without any problems.

While your squashes and cucumbers can share the same trellis, ensure that you space both plants properly so that the leaves of one do not cover those of the other. Also, plant your cucumbers and squashes at the same time.

10. Red Clover

Many companions of your winter squashes repel pests from the garden. Here’s a special plant that attracts beneficial insects to the garden. Red clover plants attract insects such as lacewings, minute pirate bugs, big-eyed bugs, coccinellid beetles and ground beetles. 

You can grow squash close to clovers, but just make sure that you prune the clovers often so that they do not overgrow and cover the squash. Remember that a clover plant grows rapidly, so always keep its growth in check.

Conclusion

After learning of the best companions for your winter squashes, you should also learn their specific needs so that you can successfully grow them.

Here are some useful reminders from this article for you:

• Legumes such as beans and peas are important for squash, as they help to enrich the soil for your squashes.
• Cucumbers are similar to squash, so they are very compatible as companion plants.
• Even if they are compatible, you should avoid planting squash too close to other plants so that they do not become overcrowded.
• Remember to feed your squash plants and their companions, especially when you are growing heavy feeders.
• If you are growing garlic and other plants that do not grow so tall, do not cover them with the squash trellis.

It does not matter which of the squash varieties you are growing, you can easily grow squash with other plants when you follow the planting guide of plants outlined in the article. For information on bad companion plants for squash or specifics such as what not to plant with butternut squash, read our other articles.

References

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/squash-companion-plants

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