Potato Companion Plants
Vegetable90 days to maturity
Potatoes are a cool-season tuber crop grown by planting seed potato pieces and hilling soil up around the stems as they grow. Their best-known enemy is the Colorado potato beetle, which can defoliate plants fast, and they are highly susceptible to late blight, the disease behind the Irish famine. Because the edible crop forms underground, even moisture and loose, hilled soil matter more than for most vegetables.
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Companion Planting Strategy for Potato
Potatoes do best beside plants that confuse or repel the Colorado potato beetle and that do not share its diseases or compete for the same root space. They should be kept away from other nightshades and from crops that worsen blight pressure or compete heavily for water.
Best Companion Plants for Potato
These plants grow well alongside Potato — providing pest control, attracting pollinators, or making better use of your garden space.
Bush beans fix nitrogen that feeds the potatoes and are reported to repel the Colorado potato beetle, while potatoes in turn help deter the Mexican bean beetle.
Corn grows tall above the low potato foliage so the two share a bed without competing, and its shade helps keep the soil cool and moist for tuber development.
Horseradish planted at the corners of a potato patch is a traditional companion said to repel Colorado potato beetles and to improve the potatoes' disease resistance.
What Not to Plant With Potato
Keep these away from Potato. They compete for resources, attract shared pests, or inhibit each other's growth.
Tomatoes are nightshade relatives that share late blight and Colorado potato beetle, so planting them together concentrates pests and disease and worsens outbreaks.
Cucumbers compete heavily for water and nutrients and are vulnerable to blight, and crowding them with potatoes raises the disease pressure on both crops.
How to Grow Potato
- Botanical name
- Solanum tuberosum
- Family
- Nightshade (Solanaceae)
- Sun
- Full sun, 6-8+ hours daily
- Water
- 1-2 inches per week, especially steady once tubers form
- Soil
- Loose, well-draining, slightly acidic soil, pH 5.0-6.0
- Spacing
- 10-12 inches apart; rows 30-36 inches
- Planting depth
- Plant seed pieces 3-4 inches deep, then hill soil up as plants grow
- Germination
- Sprouts emerge in 14-28 days from seed potato pieces (grown vegetatively, not from seed)
- Days to maturity
- 70-120 days depending on early, mid, or late variety
- When to plant
- Plant seed potatoes 2-4 weeks before the last spring frost, once soil reaches about 45F
- Harvest
- Dig new potatoes after flowering; harvest mature potatoes 2-3 weeks after the tops die back, then cure in a cool dark place
Common Potato Problems
Colorado potato beetle (striped beetles and humpbacked larvae defoliating plants)
Handpick adults, larvae, and orange egg clusters, rotate crops far from last year's bed, and use spinosad or Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis if needed.
Late blight (dark greasy lesions on leaves and stems that spread in cool wet weather)
Plant certified disease-free seed and resistant varieties, space for airflow, avoid overhead watering, and remove and destroy infected plants immediately.
Scab (rough corky patches on tuber skins)
Keep soil slightly acidic, maintain even moisture during tuber formation, avoid fresh manure and lime, and plant scab-resistant varieties.
Greening of tubers (green skin from sun exposure, which produces toxic solanine)
Hill soil or mulch over developing tubers so they stay covered, and store harvested potatoes in the dark; cut away any green portions before eating.
Potato Companion Planting FAQ
What are the best companion plants for potatoes?
Bush beans add nitrogen and help repel Colorado potato beetles, corn grows tall above the foliage without competing, and horseradish planted at the patch corners is a traditional beetle deterrent. Aromatic herbs and marigolds can also help mask the plants from pests.
What should you not plant with potatoes?
Keep potatoes away from tomatoes and other nightshades, since they share late blight and Colorado potato beetle and growing them together intensifies both. Avoid pairing them with cucumbers, squash, and sunflowers, which compete heavily and can increase blight pressure.
When should I plant potatoes?
Plant seed potatoes 2-4 weeks before your last spring frost, once the soil has warmed to about 45F and is no longer soggy. In hot climates, many gardeners plant in late winter or even fall to dodge summer heat.
Why do you hill potatoes?
Hilling mounds loose soil around the stems to give tubers room to form and to keep them covered, which prevents sunlight from turning them green and toxic. It also suppresses weeds and improves drainage around the plants.
More vegetable companions
Plan Your Potato Garden
Use our interactive tools to design the perfect garden with Potato and its companions.