- Choose crops you eat.
Start with 6–10.
- Find your frost date
Sort crops into cool-season and warm-season.
- Group companions
Use the checker and keep pairs sources list as incompatible (beans and onions, tomatoes and potatoes) in separate beds.
- Map beds
Put tall crops (corn, trellised tomatoes) on the north side so they don't shade short ones.
- Schedule
Plan seed starting and planting with the calendar.
- Plan succession sowings
Sow lettuce, radish and beans every 2–3 weeks.
- Rotate families
Move crop families each year to reduce soil-borne disease.
Companion checker
Group your crops into happy beds.
Open itSources
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, "Companion Planting in Gardening" (SPES-620P)
- University of Maryland Extension, "Vegetable Succession and Companion Planting"
- Oregon State University Extension, "Companion Planting"
- Penn State Extension, "Herbs Make Good Plant Partners and Companions"
- University of Minnesota Extension, "Planting the vegetable garden"
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (frost/freeze data)
Pairings are summarized in our own words from extension-service guidance. Research support for many companion effects is limited, so treat them as good habits, not guarantees.