Discover the best Beets Companion Plants that not only improve the taste of this root vegetable but also protect it from pests and diseases.
These Beets Companion Plants will help you have a plentiful harvest while saving the plants from potential harm.
Have a look at the best tomato companion plants here
Beets Companion Plants
1. Onions
All allium family members, such as scallions, bulb onions, chives, shallots, leeks, and garlic are known as ‘stinking lilies’ as their pungent smell repels many pests that damage your beets.
Onions can deter different bugs that can threaten beet crops, like sugar beet flea beetles. They can also ward off mammals such as deer, gophers, rabbits, and groundhogs.
Learn about growing onions in pots here
2. Garlic
Garlic is also an excellent option for companion planting of beets. It improves the flavor of the beetroot and releases sulfur into the soil, a natural anti-fungal element that diminishes many diseases affecting beet growth.
Learn a special trick to root garlic here
3. Lettuce
Growing lettuce beside beets is good for the entire garden as it has a shallow root system. The beet’s taproot will pull nutrients from the soil below, and the lettuce uses nutrients accessible around the soil’s surface, helping these plants coexist in the same area easily.
Grow lettuce in between beets to fill space. Lettuce also helps in hot weather by obstructing the sun from overheating the soil, offering the needed shade to the beets.
4. Brassica
The members of the Brassica family, like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, and rutabagas, are great choices for companion planting with beets.
Beet leaves have a good amount of iron and manganese; when any leaf falls or tilts into the soil, it will encourage brassica vegetables.
Grow beets, cabbage, and mint collectively for three-fold companion planting. Beets and cabbage are great for each other, while mint repels insects along with mammals while enhancing the taste of the cabbage.
5. Radishes
This cool-season fast-growing crop pairs well with beets in the garden. Radishes grow rapidly, so you can harvest them first, giving beets extra space to thrive.
Find out the best radish varieties here
6. Bush Beans
While they grow, beans and legumes refine the soil through a process known as nitrogen fixation.
Legumes take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into nitrates and ammonia in the soil, which is absorbed by beets, encouraging their growth.
Discover the best bean varieties here
7. Herbs
The fragrance of herbs like hyssop, thyme, mint, rosemary, and catmint deter beet-eating pests.
Catnip is one of the best bug-repellant and keeps away mice and voles. Many mint varieties also work well in deterring pests; even sprinkling chopped mint leaves on the ground repels pests, but growing it along beets will be much more beneficial.
Note: Remember that mint is an invasive perennial that quickly takes over the garden.
8. Corn
Although corn is more commonly related to the ‘Three Sister’ companion planting, beets and corn grow fine together and benefit each other. Corn provides the needed shade to the beets where the sun is harsh in the afternoon.
9. Oats
Growing oats and beets together lowers the chances of damage caused by the sugar beetroot maggot. They also enhance the taste of each other.
10. Swiss Chard
Both beets and chards have similar growing requirements, so cultivating them together makes a lot of sense, especially if you have a small space. This way, you can enjoy a fresh harvest of 2 veggies simultaneously!
Want to grow swiss chard in pots? Click here
Plants to Avoid Growing Near Beets
1. Field Mustard
Field mustard is from the same family as cauliflower and broccoli, but if grown along beets, it sucks off the nutrients from the soil, leaving little or nothing for beets to thrive on.
2. Pole Beans
While many bean varieties are good for beets, pole beans are an exception. Growing them near beets can exploit each other’s growth. Also, excess nitrogen from pole beans will result in more foliage and small tubers.
