Companion Plants for Summer Squash & Zucchini

It can be difficult to find companion plants for the zucchini and squash, as these two plants take up a lot of room and are big eaters. There are three plants that can be beneficial to the squash and zucchini when planted together in your garden:

Nasturtiums: these little edible flowers are a trap crop for certain insects such as flea beetles and aphids. If these types of pests are giving you problems in your garden then you may want to consider planting nasturtiums around your squash and zucchini as a border plant.

Beans: beans release quite a bit of nitrogen into the soil, which can make them beneficial to the heavy eaters squash and zucchini. However since they tend to be a running crop also, you will want to train them to grow up trellises or poles in order to plant them with the squash and zucchini.

Corn: this plant grows well with squash and zucchini as it grows up while they grow out. Also the squash and zucchini will benefit the corn by shading the ground and preventing weeds that tend to choke out corn from growing.

Another note: Nasturtiums are a great addition to salads, they have a sharp peppery taste. When you harvest your nasturtiums you will want to pick or cut the flowers and leaves as needed. Floral shears make easy work of harvesting nasturtiums.