The 9 Best Companion Plants For Peppers

Companion planting is a term with multiple meanings. When discussing ornamental gardens, companion plants are those that pair well for aesthetic purposes. In fruit and vegetable gardens, we select companion plants based on the variety of services they provide to neighboring plants. The pepper companion plants featured here play various roles in the garden community, enhancing pepper yields through pest reduction, weed management, and soil enhancement.

How Companion Plants Work

The idea of companion planting is not new and many practices have been handed down from previous generations. However, it is only recently that science-based studies have investigated the effectiveness of these strategies. Some have proven successful, while others don’t stand up to rigorous testing. This knowledge has helped enhance the adoption of proven methods, and increased our understanding of why and how they work.

We can broadly group companion plants based on the services they provide. Some deter pests through chemical compounds in their foliage, while others are highly attractive to certain pests and effectively “trap” them, thereby protecting the main crop. Other companion plants enhance the growing environment by shading the soil to reduce moisture loss, reducing weed growth, and adding nutrients to the soil. Finally, some plants are highly attractive to pollinators and other beneficial insects. All these services promote a healthier, more productive growing environment for peppers.

When selecting companion plants to grow among peppers, consider the common pest challenges you face in the garden and match these to trap crops or pest deterrents. Regardless of where you live, adding flowering resources to attract beneficial insects can go a long way toward reducing garden pests. Finally, growing legumes to naturally fertilize soil is an age-old practice, and one that can save you money. Try treating the garden as an interconnected system, rather than isolated rows, to develop a health plant community.  

Pepper Companion Plants To Use as Trap Crops

Plants may not strike you as a pest management tool, but they can be used to great effect in managing common garden pests. One of the main ways companion plants are used to manage pests is through trap cropping. Trap crops are plants that attract pests away from a crop or ornamental plant because they are more desirable or attractive to the pest. Planting a trap crop is most worthwhile for pests that are abundant and destructive in most years. Here are a few trap crops to plant with peppers:

Hot Cherry Peppers

• Botanical Name: Capsicum annuum
• Planting Time: Late spring, after the threat of frost has passed

Hot cherry peppers can be planted as a trap crop around the perimeter of bell pepper plants to draw pepper maggots away from the main crop. This insect pest is common along the east coast, and west to Texas. Adult pepper maggot flies lay their eggs on the developing fruits, which are damaged by maggot feeding once the eggs hatch. Hot cherry peppers are more attractive to the maggot flies than bell peppers, making them an ideal trap crop.

Radish

• Botanical Name: Raphanus sativus var. radicula
• Planting Time: Early spring, as soon as soil can be worked

Radish plants serve as a trap crop for flea beetles. These small black beetles chew holes in leaves and can stunt plants. Flea beetles are a problem for peppers as well as eggplant and tomatoes. Radishes belong to the same plant family and are a preferred host for flea beetles. They can also be planted earlier than peppers, offering an abundant food source when pepper plants are young and vulnerable.

Nasturtium

• Botanical Name: Tropaeolum majus
• Planting Time: Late spring, after the threat of frost has passed

Plant nasturtiums as a ground cover between vegetable rows to serve as a trap crop and living mulch. Aphids are highly attracted to nasturtiums, which draw them away for crop plants. While you may see the aphids grow to large numbers on the nasturtium plants, they are also serving as a nursery for natural enemies–the predators that feed on aphids. This abundance of predators will help manage aphids throughout the garden. In addition to these services, nasturtiums also make a great groundcover, helping to conserve soil moisture, and their flowers attract pollinators.

Pepper Companion Plants To Deter Pests

Another companion planting strategy is to interplant crops with plants that produce volatile chemicals (e.g. odors) that confuse pests. Pests use olfactory cues produced by plant roots, stems, foliage, and flowers to find host plants. Strong smelling companion plants can mask the scent of crops so pests cannot find them. Other companion plant odors simply repel pests. Here are a few pest deterrents to plant among your peppers:

Onions and Garlic

• Botanical Name: Allium spp.
• Planting Time: Late fall or early spring, as soon as soil can be worked

The tiny green peach aphid, which may look yellow or green in summer, feeds on a wide range of vegetable plants and is responsible for vectoring several plant diseases. Interplanting garlic and onions (including scallions and chives) among peppers is a simple way to deter green peach aphids. This strategy can be used with any crop targeted by green peach aphids.

Basil

• Botanical Name: Ocimum basilicum
• Planting Time: Late spring, after the threat of frost has passed

If you’ve ever brushed up against a basil plant in the garden, you know they have a pungent aroma. This scent can be used to mask the smell of peppers (and tomatoes), working to deter thrips and other garden pests from finding your crop. Basil is also known to deter aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies.

Pepper Companion Plants To Attract Beneficial Insects

Nature supplies its own form of pest control through predators and parasitoids, the latter of which include non-stinging wasps, flies, and other insects that develop on or in a host, eventually killing it. In natural systems, pests seldom reach outbreak levels because predators, parasitoids, and disease organisms (collectively called natural enemies) keep populations in check. But gardens are highly disturbed, and these natural modes of pest management are often disrupted. We can encourage natural enemies, as well as pollinators, by planting nectar-rich flowers, which predators and parasitoids feed on along with pests. The size of the flower parts impacts what type of insect visitors utilize the flowers.

Dill

• Botanical Name: Anethum graveolens
• Planting Time: Late spring, after the threat of frost has passed

The golden umbels of dill are packed with tiny, nectar-rich flowers that attract a variety of beneficial insects including parasitoids wasps, lacewings, and syrphid flies, all of which feed on aphids, whiteflies, insects eggs, and other garden pests. Dill is also host to the beautiful black swallowtail butterfly. Despite all this insect activity, dill is productive enough to provide foliage for both you and the caterpillars.

Cilantro

• Botanical Name: Coriandrum sativum
• Planting Time: Fall and Spring

Cilantro prefers cool temperatures and tends to bolt or set flowers when temperatures rise. For the purpose of attracting beneficial insects, this is exactly what we want–flowers! Like dill, the small nectaries in cilantro flowerheads attract parasitoids, ladybeetles, lacewings, and syrphid flies that feed on small, soft-bodied garden pests.

Pepper Companion Plants To Feed and Protect the Soil

It may sound counterintuitive to grow plants as a means of reducing weed competition, but many living mulches are used for this purpose. Plants grown as groundcover beneath crops are selected for the benefits they provide and tend to develop root systems that complement, rather than compete with the main crop.  

We’ve already discussed the benefits of planting nasturtiums as a living mulch to conserve soil moisture and attract pollinators. Living mulches are also used to protect against soil erosion. Companion plants in the bean or legume family further aid plants by feeding the soil. These plants turn nitrogen from the air into forms that neighboring plants can utilize, essentially providing a source of fertilizer. Both companion plants listed below provide this service.

Cowpeas

• Botanical Name: Vigna unguiculata
• Planting Time: Late spring, after the threat of frost has passed

Cowpeas go by several names. Those that produce edible seeds are commonly called black-eyed peas or crowder peas. Varieties grown for forage are often called field peas. Both types can be used in the garden as a groundcover or living mulch to reduce weeds and fix nitrogen in the soil. Cowpeas can be allelopathic to seeds (preventing germination), so only use them alongside transplants or established plants.

White Clover

• Botanical Name: Trifolium repens
• Planting Time: Fall, late winter, or early spring

White clover is a popular plant to use as a living mulch thanks to its ease of growth and the variety of services it provides. Like cowpeas, clovers fix nitrogen in the soil, making the nutrient available to peppers and other crops. The abundant flowers attract a diversity of beneficial insects, including native bee species. Clover plants tolerate cool temperatures and can help stabilize soil during the
shoulder seasons.