Companion Plants for Peas

Traditional companions for peas include bush beans, carrots, cilantro, cucumbers, nasturtiums, pole beans and 5 more in the table below.

Keep chives, garlic, green onions, leeks, onions, potatoes and shallots 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 peas

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 peas
Plant	Kind	Spacing	Season
Bush Beans	Vegetable	9 per sq ft	Warm season
Carrots	Vegetable	16 per sq ft	Cool season
Cucumbers	Vegetable	2 per sq ft	Warm season
Pole Beans	Vegetable	8 per sq ft	Warm season
Radishes	Vegetable	16 per sq ft	Cool season
Sweet Corn	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Turnips	Vegetable	9 per sq ft	Cool season
Cilantro	Herb	9 per sq ft	Cool season
Rosemary	Herb	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Sage	Herb	1 per 2 sq ft	Warm season
Nasturtiums	Flower	1 per sq ft	Warm season

What not to plant with peas

Chives: usually planted in a different bed.
Garlic: usually planted in a different bed.
Green Onions: usually planted in a different bed.
Leeks: usually planted in a different bed.
Onions: usually planted in a different bed.
Potatoes: usually planted in a different bed.
Shallots: 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 peas: 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 peas 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 peas

Questions

What can I plant with peas?

The traditional companions are bush beans, carrots, cilantro, cucumbers, nasturtiums, pole beans, radishes, rosemary and 3 more listed above. Plant companions in neighbouring rows or squares rather than in the same hole.

What should not be planted with peas?

The guides keep chives, garlic, green onions, leeks, onions, potatoes and shallots apart from peas. Give them a different bed.

Does companion planting with peas 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 peas?

In a raised bed planted by the square foot, give peas 8 per sq ft and cilantro 9 per sq ft, in neighbouring squares. In rows, peas need 2 in between plants.