Companion Plants for Eggplant

Traditional companions for eggplant include bush beans, cilantro, dill, marigolds, oregano, parsley and 2 more in the table below.

Keep fennel away from it.

These are garden traditions, collected from 11 US extension guides. Few have been tested in trials, so treat them as a starting point: spacing, sun and rotation matter more.

Good companions for eggplant

Spacing is per square foot, for a raised bed planted square by square. Cool-season companions can share the bed before or after a warm-season crop, or grow in its shade.

Traditional companions for eggplant
Plant	Kind	Spacing	Season
Bush Beans	Vegetable	9 per sq ft	Warm season
Pole Beans	Vegetable	8 per sq ft	Warm season
Cilantro	Herb	9 per sq ft	Cool season
Dill	Herb	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Oregano	Herb	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Parsley	Herb	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Thyme	Herb	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Marigolds	Flower	1 per sq ft	Warm season

What not to plant with eggplant

Fennel: usually planted in a different bed.

What the evidence says

Companion planting charts come from long garden experience, and most pairs have never been tried in a replicated trial. Several extension services say so directly; one review gives traditional charts more entertainment than scientific value.

What reliably helps eggplant: the right planting dates, enough space, and moving crops to a new bed each year (crop rotation).

Plant them side by side

Draw your beds, tap squares to plant eggplant next to their companions, and get every crop's planting dates for your ZIP code. Free, in your browser.

Open the garden planner When to plant eggplant

Questions

What can I plant with eggplant?

The traditional companions are bush beans, cilantro, dill, marigolds, oregano, parsley, pole beans and thyme. Plant companions in neighbouring rows or squares rather than in the same hole.

What should not be planted with eggplant?

The guides keep fennel apart from eggplant. Give it a different bed.

Does companion planting with eggplant work?

Most pairings are tradition rather than tested results: extension services call companion planting promising but largely unproven. None of the pairs for this crop has been tested in a trial we could find. Good spacing, sun, water and rotation do more for a harvest than any single pairing.

How close can cilantro grow to eggplant?

In a raised bed planted by the square foot, give eggplant 1 per sq ft and cilantro 9 per sq ft, in neighbouring squares. In rows, eggplant needs 24 in between plants.