Companion Plants for Pole Beans

Traditional companions for pole beans include sweet corn, calendula, carrots, celery, cilantro, cucumbers and 11 more in the table below.

Keep beets, chives, garlic, green onions, leeks, onions 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 pole beans

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 pole beans
Plant	Kind	Spacing	Season
Carrots	Vegetable	16 per sq ft	Cool season
Celery	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Cucumbers	Vegetable	2 per sq ft	Warm season
Eggplant	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Peas	Vegetable	8 per sq ft	Cool season
Potatoes	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Radishes	Vegetable	16 per sq ft	Cool season
Zucchini and Summer Squash	Vegetable	1 per 4 sq ft	Warm season
Sweet Corn	Vegetable	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Swiss Chard	Vegetable	4 per sq ft	Cool season
Winter Squash	Vegetable	1 per 2 sq ft	Warm 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
Calendula	Flower	1 per sq ft	Cool season
Marigolds	Flower	1 per sq ft	Warm season
Strawberries	Fruit	1 per sq ft	Cool season

What not to plant with pole beans

Beets: usually planted in a different bed.
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.
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 pole beans: 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 pole beans 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 pole beans

Questions

What can I plant with pole beans?

The traditional companions are sweet corn, calendula, carrots, celery, cilantro, cucumbers, eggplant, marigolds and 9 more listed above. Plant companions in neighbouring rows or squares rather than in the same hole.

What should not be planted with pole beans?

The guides keep beets, chives, garlic, green onions, leeks, onions and shallots apart from pole beans. Give them a different bed.

Does companion planting with pole beans 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 calendula grow to pole beans?

In a raised bed planted by the square foot, give pole beans 8 per sq ft and calendula 1 per sq ft, in neighbouring squares. In rows, pole beans need 6 in between plants.