Bush beans are quite peculiar when it comes to their neighborhood. They don't get along at all with some types of vegetables, but with others they form a harmonious symbiosis. Find out below which neighbors are good for bush beans and which are bad.
Which plants are good neighbors for French beans?
Good neighbors for bush beans are savory, dill, strawberries, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbages, kohlrabi, chard, radishes, beets, lettuce, celery, tomatoes and zucchini. They promote growth and protect against pests and diseases.
Good neighbors for French beans
Bush beans get along well with many types of vegetables. Some even protect them from diseases or pests. Here is a list of the best neighbors for bush beans:
- Savory: Keeps aphids away, can also be harvested and cooked together
- Dill: Has a positive effect on the taste
- Strawberries
- Cucumbers
- Potatoes: Beans keep Colorado potato beetles away
- Types of cabbage
- Kohlrabi
- Chard
- Radish
- Beetroot
- Salad
- Celery
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
The most important neighbor remains unrecognized
Bush beans enter into a symbiosis with bacteria in the soil, which ensure the accumulation of nitrogen on the roots. They supply the already quite frugal beans with nitrogen so well that bush beans actually don't need to be fertilized.
Bad neighbors for French beans
While good neighbors keep pests away from French beans, bad neighbors can actually attract them. This is especially true when these neighbors are consumed by the same pests. Other plants do not thrive alongside beans because they do not tolerate a lot of nitrogen, such as onions. You should therefore not plant bush beans together with:
- Peas
- Fennel
- garlic
- Leek
- Onions
Don’t mix too much
If you want to combine your bush beans with several plant neighbors, you should make sure that they get along with each other. Bush beans get along really well with strawberries and cabbage, but strawberries and cabbage don't like each other at all. Dill and savory get along well with everyone. Here is an overview of the compatibility of bush beans' good neighbors:
| Strawberries | Cucumbers | Potatoes | Types of cabbage | Kohlrabi | Radish | Beetroot | Salad | Celery | Tomatoes | Zucchini | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberries | – | + | + | + | |||||||
| Cucumbers | – | + | + | – | + | + | + | – | |||
| Potatoes | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| cabbage | + | – | – | + | + | + | + | ||||
| Radish | – | + | + | + | + | ||||||
| Beetroot | + | – | + | + | + | + | |||||
| (Head)Lettuce | + | + | + | + | – | + | |||||
| Celery | + | – | + | + | + | + | |||||
| Tomatoes | – | – | + | + | – | + | + | ||||
| Zucchini | – |
