Companion Plants for Turnips

Traditional companions for turnips include edamame, fava beans and peas.

Keep potatoes away from them.

These are garden traditions, collected from 6 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 turnips

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 turnips
Plant	Kind	Spacing	Season
Edamame	Vegetable	9 per sq ft	Warm season
Fava Beans	Vegetable	4 per sq ft	Cool season
Peas	Vegetable	8 per sq ft	Cool season

What not to plant with turnips

Potatoes: 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 turnips: 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 turnips 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 turnips

Questions

What can I plant with turnips?

The traditional companions are edamame, fava beans and peas. Plant companions in neighbouring rows or squares rather than in the same hole.

What should not be planted with turnips?

The guides keep potatoes apart from turnips. Give it a different bed.

Does companion planting with turnips 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 edamame grow to turnips?

In a raised bed planted by the square foot, give turnips 9 per sq ft and edamame 9 per sq ft, in neighbouring squares. In rows, turnips need 4 in between plants.