Companion Plants for Leeks

Traditional companions for leeks include beets, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots and 12 more in the table below.

Keep bush beans, peas and pole beans away from them.

These are garden traditions, collected from 13 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 leeks

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 leeks
Plant	Kind	Spacing	Season
Beets	Vegetable	9 per sq ft	Cool season
Bell Peppers	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Broccoli	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Brussels Sprouts	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Cabbage	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Carrots	Vegetable	16 per sq ft	Cool season
Cauliflower	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Celery	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Cherry Tomatoes	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Collard Greens	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Head Lettuce	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Hot Peppers	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Kale	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Kohlrabi	Vegetable	4 per sq ft	Cool season
Leaf Lettuce	Vegetable	4 per sq ft	Cool season
Romaine Lettuce	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Tomatoes	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Parsley	Herb	1 per sq ft	Cool season

What not to plant with leeks

Bush Beans: usually planted in a different bed.
Peas: usually planted in a different bed.
Pole Beans: 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 leeks: 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 leeks 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 leeks

Questions

What can I plant with leeks?

The traditional companions are beets, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery and 10 more listed above. Plant companions in neighbouring rows or squares rather than in the same hole.

What should not be planted with leeks?

The guides keep bush beans, peas and pole beans apart from leeks. Give them a different bed.

Does companion planting with leeks 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 parsley grow to leeks?

In a raised bed planted by the square foot, give leeks 4 per sq ft and parsley 1 per sq ft, in neighbouring squares. In rows, leeks need 6 in between plants.