What to Plant With Beans: Companion Plants for Green Beans (and What to Avoid)

Beans are among the most sociable crops in the garden. They are listed as companions for more vegetables than almost anything else in our sources, and they add little demand on soil fertility, since UMN Extension notes beans need less fertilizer than most crops. The main thing to watch is the onion family, which is listed as a poor neighbor. Here is the full picture, plus how bush and pole beans change the layout.

Good companion plants for beans

Corn and squash: the Three Sisters

Maryland, Oregon State and Virginia Extension all describe the corn and bean pairing: pole beans climb the corn stalks, and their roots sit at a different depth. Add squash and you have the Three Sisters, with the big squash leaves shading the soil and holding down weeds. Plant the corn first and let it get a head start so the beans do not pull young stalks over. More in what to plant with corn. Step by step in our Three Sisters garden guide.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers and beans are listed companions in Oregon State and Virginia Extension guidance. Both are warm-season crops planted after the last frost, and both can share a trellis wall in a small garden. See what to plant with cucumbers for the cucumber side.

Potatoes, carrots and spinach

Bush beans fit neatly beside potatoes and carrots without getting in the way of hilling or thinning, and Virginia Extension lists bush beans as spinach companions too. See what to plant with potatoes and what to plant with carrots.

What not to plant with beans

Onions and garlic

Virginia Extension lists the onion family, including garlic, as incompatible with beans, and the same goes for peas. It is the most common keep-apart rule in a vegetable garden, so plan beans and onions for different beds or opposite ends of a long bed. Onions get along with carrots, tomatoes, peppers and the cabbage family instead (see what to plant with onions).

Beets

Beets are listed as incompatible with pole beans. If you want beets nearby, give them a separate row next to the onions, a listed beet companion.

The full list of pairs to separate is in our keep-apart chart.

Bush beans vs. pole beans

UMN Extension describes the trade-off well. Bush beans grow about two feet tall, need no support, and set most of their pods in a short window, which suits canning and freezing. Pole beans are twining vines that reach six feet or more, need a trellis, and keep flowering and producing until frost. Pole beans give more harvest per square foot, which makes them a good fit for small gardens.

• Bush beans: sow seeds about four inches apart in single or double rows, with rows two to three feet apart.
• Pole beans: put the trellis or teepee up at planting time, then sow seeds four inches apart along it or two to four seeds at the base of each pole.

Two simple bean layouts

1. Three Sisters block.

   Corn planted in a block, pole beans sown at the base of each corn plant once the corn is several inches tall, and squash around the edges.

2. Bush bean bed.

   Bush beans in the middle, carrots on one side, cucumbers on a trellis along the north edge, and strawberries or spinach at the ends. Keep onions, garlic and beets in another bed.

Our raised bed layouts include ready-made plans you can adapt.

When to plant beans

Beans are a warm-season crop sown directly in the garden from your last frost date onward. Our planting calendar turns your frost date into a sowing window, including repeat sowings. For bush beans, sow a new batch every two weeks; see succession planting. For soil temperatures, a date table and how often to resow, see when to plant beans.

Watering, harvest and pests

An inch of water per week is a good target, UMN Extension says; beans in sandy soil need watering more often. Cultivate shallowly, since beans have roots near the surface, and a three-to-four-inch mulch of herbicide-free straw or clippings helps hold down weeds. Pick snap beans before the seeds inside start to bulge the pods. Watch for bean leaf beetles on young plants and for aphids, and note that very hot weather during flowering can cause flowers to drop and fewer pods to set.

Beans in containers

Bush beans are an easy container crop. Use a pot with good drainage, a sunny spot and steady watering, and sow a few seeds a few inches apart. Pole beans can grow in a large container with a trellis or obelisk set in at planting time.

Frequently asked questions

What grows well with beans?

Extension-listed companions for beans in our checker are carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peas, potatoes, spinach, squash (including zucchini) and strawberries. The table on this page explains why each pairing works.

What should you not plant with beans?

Our sources list beets (pole beans in particular), garlic, onions and sunflowers (pole beans in particular) as poor neighbors for beans.