companions for bush beans

I'll be growing bush beans on my new hugelkultur bed this year to start off the soil with some nitrogen.

Two questions:
1. Does anyone know if black eyed peas are a bush bean when it comes to companion planting?

2. What are some good companions for bush beans (not climbing)?
Ive got sage, thyme, summer savory, and strawberries on the list so far.

I here good things about marigolds to keep away pests. I would also consider some kind of squash just like when you plant three sisters, since you already planted the beans.

Potatoes are a common companion to beans:
The potatoes help repel the Mexican bean beetle, and...
the beans help repel the Colorado potato beetle.

here is a fairly complete Companion Planting guide.

A companion planting guide: which vegetables and flowers support or inhibit the growth of other plants and/or which pests they deter.

Basil

Plant near: most garden crops
Keep away from: rue
Comments: improves the flavor and growth of garden crops, especially tomatoes and lettuce. Repels mosquitoes.

Beans, Bush

Plant near: beets, cabbage, carrots, catnip, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, marigolds, potatoes, savory, strawberries
Keep away from: fennel, garlic, leeks, onions, shallots
Comments: potatoes and marigolds repel Mexican bean beetles. Catnip repels flea beetles.

Beans, Pole

Plant near: corn, marigolds, potatoes, radishes
Keep away from: beets, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, shallots
Comments: same as for bush beans.

Beets

Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, bush beans, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kohlrabi, onions
Keep away from: charlock, field mustard, pole beans

Borage

Plant near: squash, strawberries, tomatoes
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: repels tomato worms. Improves flavor and growth of companions.

Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts

Plant near: beets, buckwheat, calendula, carrots, chamomile, dill, hyssop, marigolds, mints, nasturtiums, onions, rosemary, sage, thyme, wormwood.
Keep away from: strawberries
Comments: marigolds repel cabbage moths. Nasturtiums repel aphids.

Cabbage and Cauliflower

Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, chard, spinach, tomatoes.
Keep away from: strawberries
Comments: tomatoes and celery repel cabbage worms.

Cantaloupe

Plant near: corn
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others

Carrots

Plant near: cabbage, chives, early potatoes, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, rosemary, sage, salsify, wormwood.
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: onions, leeks, and wormwood repel carrot flies

Chives

Plant near: apples, berries, carrots, grapes, peas, roses, tomatoes.
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: Improves flavor and growth of companions. Deters aphids and Japanese beetles.

Corn

Plant near: beans, cucumbers, early potatoes, melons, peas, pumpkins, soybeans, squash.
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: soybeans deter chinch bugs.

Cucumbers

Plant near: beans, cabbage, corn, early potatoes, radishes, sunflowers.
Keep away from: late potatoes
Comments: Radishes deter cucumber beetles. Cucumbers encourage blight in late potatoes.

Dill

Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, onions
Keep away from: carrots
Comments: Improves flavor and growth of cabbage family plants.

Epplant

Plant near: green beans, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: green beans deter Colorado potato beetles.

Garlic

Plant near: cabbage, cane fruits, fruit trees, roses, tomatoes
Keep away from: peas, beans
Comments: deters Japanese beetles and aphids. A garlic oil spray deters onion flies, aphids, and ermine moths. A garlic tea helps repel late potato blight.

Kale

Plant near: aromatic herbs, buckwheat, cabbage family, marigolds, nasturtiums
Keep away from: pole beans, strawberries

Kohlrabi

Plant near: cabbage/cauliflower companions (except tomatoes)
Keep away from: fennel, pole beans, tomatoes
Comments: kohlrabi stunts tomatoes

Lettuce

Plant near: beets, carrotsparsnips, radishes, strawberries
Keep away from: cabbage family
Comments: lettuce tenderizes summer radishes.

Marigolds

Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: stimulates vegetable growth and deters bean beetles, aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, nematodes, and maggots.

Marjoram

Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: stimulates vegetable growth.

Mustard

Plant near: alfalfa cover crops, fruit trees, grapes, legumes
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: stimulates growth of companion plants.

Nasturtiums

Plant near: apples, beans, cabbage family, greenhouse crops, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, squash
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: repels aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, striped pumpkin beetles, and Mexican bean beetles and destroys white flies in greenhouses.

Onions

Plant near: beets, cabbage family, carrots, chamomile, lettuce, parsnips
Keep away from: beans, peas
Comments: deters most pests, especially maggots.

Oregano

Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: deters many insect pests.

Parsley

Plant near: corn, roses, tomatoes
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others

Parsnips

Plant near: onions, radishes, wormwood
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: onions and wormwood help keep root maggots from parsnips.

Peas

Plant near: beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, early potatoes, radishes, turnips
Keep away from: garlic leeks, onions, shallots

Peppers

Plant near: basil, carrots, eggplant, onions, parsley, tomatoes
Keep away from: fennel, kohlrabi

Potatoes

Plant near: basil, beans, cabbage family, corn, eggplant, flax, hemp, marigolds, peas, squash
Keep away from: apples, birch, cherries, cucumbers, pumpkins, raspberries, sunflowers, tomatoes, walnuts
Comments: hemp deters phytophthora infestans. Basil deters potato beetles. Marigolds (dug into crop soil) deter nematodes.

Radishes

Plant near: chervil, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, peas, nasturtiums, root crops
Keep away from: hyssop
Comments: radishes deter cucumber beetles. Chervil makes radishes hot. Lettuce helps make radishes tender. Nasturtiums improve radishes' flavor.

Rosemary

Plant near: beans, cabbage, carrots
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: repels bean beetles, cabbage moths, and carrot flies.

Sage

Plant near: cabbage family, carrots, tomatoes
Keep away from: cucumbers
Comments: deters cabbage moths and carrot flies. Invigorates tomato plants.

Soybeans

Plant near: corn, potatoes
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: chokes weeds and enriches soil.

Spinach

Plant near: celery, cauliflower, eggplant, strawberries
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others


Strawberries

Plant near: borage, bush beans, lettuce, pyrethrum, spinach
Keep away from: cabbage family


Sunflowers

Plant near: cucumbers
Keep away from: potatoes
Comments: can provide a trellis and shelter for shade-loving cucumbers.

Swiss Chard

Plant near: bush beans, kohlrabi, onions
Keep away from: pole beans


Tarragon

Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: improves vegetables' flavor and growth.

Thyme

Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from: can be planted along with any others
Comments: deters cabbage moths.

Tomatoes

Plant near: asparagus, basil, cabbage family, carrots, gooseberries, mustard, parsley, onions, rosemary, sage, stinging nettles
Keep away from: fennel, kohlrabi, potatoes, walnuts


Turnips and Rutabagas

Plant near: peas
Keep away from: knotweed, mustard
Comments: mustard and knotweed inhibit the growth of turnips and rutabagas.

[quote=Matthew McCoul]
1. Does anyone know if black eyed peas are a bush bean when it comes to companion planting?
[/quote]

If I remember rightly, black eyed peas are actually a cowpea, which is, again if I remember correctly, an oldworld bean from Africa (unlike most modern beans that are from North America). Some cowpeas are bush, some are climbers, most are semi-climbers or semi-bush.

I don't have first hand experience as cowpeas don't grow well here, but I suspect that cowpeas have the same companion likes/dislikes as other bean crops. If there is any discrepancy for companion planting charts, (ie, bush beans say one, pool beans another, fava beans a third) go with fava companions as they are also an oldworld bean.

Do you know the source of your seed? That might give us a clue to their growth style.

Black eyed peas are a bush bean plant, growing up to 30" tall. So you would use the recommendations for bush beans listed above for companion plantings.

Thanks Bryant. We can't grow them here, so I have no personal experience with their growth habit.


This thread has got me thinking about the different beans I have grown and how their origin affects how they act with different companion planting.

For example, in my garden, fava beans (being of European and Middle Eastern origin) don't mind garlic anywhere near as much as bush or pole beans. But they hate growing near or after potatoes and tomatoes for some reason. The complete opposite to how my bush beans (of North American origin) respond to companion planting.

As a general theme, plants with the same historical origin often grow well together in my garden...

... which makes me wonder about cowpeas. Ashworth in Seed to Seed tells us that cowpeas (and confirms my suspicion that black eye peas are cowpeas) originate in Asia then migrated into Africa... and through the mass migration of people, eventually found their way to the Southern US.

We can also see the difference between cowpea and bush bean by looking at their fancy plant names: Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) and Vigna unguiculata (cowpea). Again, citing Ashworth since I know there are different schools of thought on how to name plants.

So then I wonder, wouldn't the origin (and genetic structure) of the plant have a stronger effect on companion planting than it's growth pattern?

Can anyone confirm or deny this theory? Personal experience, anecdotal evidence, or gasp and horror, point me to some book or scientific study?

Or are cowpeas really that similar to regular beans that it makes no difference?

Peas and beans are easily misidentified with one another because they are both legumes and seeds. They are also members of one same family – the Leguminosae (now known as Fabaceae). It’s just that they have significant differences that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Foremost, beans are described as large seed plants. The term “bean” is actually used to describe the seed of broad beans. Later on, its description is widened to cover those belonging to the genus Phaseolus like the common and runner beans. Beans also include the palatable seeds and pods of herbs. Similarly, the seeds of other non-Leguminosae shrubs or trees, as in the case of coffee and cocoa, which are still considered beans because they both resemble ordinary beans. Other seeds like vanilla beans are referred to as such because they resemble similar pods as natural beans. There are many types of beans like the French beans, runner beans, drying beans, and broad beans (fava beans in American regions).

Peas are part of the genus Pisum and specie sativum. In typical cooking, peas are regarded as vegetables yet they are still a naturally occurring fruit. Most peas appear as round seeds inside the pea pods. This crop thrives during the cooler season. That’s why they are usually planted during winter or before the onset of summer (still varies with the specific location). Each pea is said to weigh within 0.1 to 0.36 gm. at an average.

Peas are usually sown deep (30 to 40 mm.) either in double or narrowed rows. The primary pea varieties grown nowadays can reach a height of 450 to 1,500 mm. with the Greenfeast peas being very well known. Other peas that are gaining popularity are the snow peas and sugar snap peas.

The most distinct difference between the two is the characteristic of their stems. Peas have hollowed stems while beans possess more solid ones. For either legume, the taller ones need trellises to properly grow and serve as support. Most beans just twine themselves over their support while the peas use their tendrils (from their leaves) to twine. In this connection, beans lack tendrils as compared to peas.
Moreover, the pattern of cotyledon development is also different in the sense that these structures come out from the ground in the case of beans while for the peas these cotyledons do not emerge. Beans, especially those that climb, are sown within a wider range of depth than peas at around 25 to 50 mm.

Summary:

1.Peas are characterized by their hollow stems while beans possess more solid stems.
2.In general, beans lack tendrils as compared to peas that use their leaf tendrils to twine.
3.Peas are treated as vegetables in the realm of cooking even if they are ordinarily fruits.
4.With regard to cotyledon development, beans have their cotyledons emerging from the ground unlike in the case of peas.

And here is an other description of the differences between Beans and Peas:

Beans are defined in different ways based on various criteria. The criteria again may vary depending on the people who compose it. As an example, Americans can define bean in one way and Indians can do it in another way. Often it is described as pods and seeds of several genera of the family Leguminasae (often called as Fabaceae). But in accordance to the English usage ‘bean’ also refers some other seeds or organs (pods), which make a similitude with leguminasae seeds or pods. Coffee beans, castor beans, cocoa beans may show some similarity to the legume seeds, while vanilla pods may be comparatively similar to the pods of legumes. They are frequently referred as pulse crops, and peas are one key fraction of them. All the leguminasae plants gain their nitrogen requirement through self-fixation with the help of rhyzobium bacteria associated in root nodules. They can fix the atmospheric nitrogen and convert in to biologically available forms. Some of the main bean varieties are common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), broad bean (Vicia faba), lima (Phaseolus lunatus), mung bean (Vigna radiata) etc.

Peas are only a variety of beans. But it includes the crops in the genera of Pisum and some of the edible seeds of fabaceae and lathyrus species. Some of the well-known peas are Pisum sativum (common pea), Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) and Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea). Peas have both climbing and dwarf varieties. Pea vines have coil like structures called as tendrils. They help the vine to climb by twining around any supportive structure. Peas are also cold season crops.

There are plenty of similarities between beans and peas. The most important similarity is that both are pulse crops, which belong to the same leguminasea family. Therefore, beans and peas show more or less similar botanical features. Both crop types do have vast varietal difference. Climbing and dwarf varieties are commonly identified in both cases. When considering about the nutritional properties of beans and peas, they are composed of proteins, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals, with some proportional differences. They contain tanning and phytic acid as antinutritional factors.

These crops can be used for various agricultural purposes such as intercropping, crop rotations, biological fuels, green manure, and rhyzobium bio fertilizer. Both plant types are able to reproduce by self-pollination.

Beans are categorized under different genera of fabaseae family, whereas the peas mostly consist of seeds and pods of genera Pisum. Growth patterns of climbing variety beans and peas are different. Tendrils (twining structures) can be seen in pea vines while no other beans have them, and instead they use vine itself to twin around the support. **Most of the peas are taken to consume in their dried form, while beans are consumed as freshly prepared food, in addition, to their dried seeds.**

Note: as you can see, some of the information out there is nearly the same. The ** bit on consumption would, of course, depend on the cook, I like fresh peas and beans, but I also dry both for storing over winter. Frozen peas in the grocery store were also fresh before being flash frozen and packaged. So, the precise permaculture statement "IT DEPENDS" is apparently applicable to Beans and Peas too.

Great information RedHawk.

Do Cowpeas follow the same growth habit as pea peas? They seem to be a different genus. If beans and peas differ that drastically, would cowpeas be different again?
My understanding is that cowpeas require a great deal of heat unlike pea peas that love cool days. I've grown my share of beans and peas, but never cowpeas so I'm super-curious about them.

example from Seed to Seed:
Phaseolus vulgaris - common bean
Pisum sativum - garden pea (pea pea)
Vigna unguiculata - cow pea (includes black eye peas)

so... different?

edit for clarification and relevance back to black eye pea.

Yes, cowpeas (blackeyed and others) follow the growth habits of peas except for the fact that they don't have the tendrils of true peas, they grow in a bush form usually around 30" tall, so in this one respect they look more like a member of the bean family but with a hollow stem. They are sort of a Frankenstein pea or is that bean. The best method I've discovered for telling beans from peas are; Peas have a hollow stem, Beans not so much (the stem walls are thicker and you would need a microscope look at the core to see the hole in the middle)., Peas have tendrils, Beans do not., Peas will emerge with a set of true leaves the cotyledons are under ground, Beans will have cotyledons just above ground level or higher.

Thanks for the clarification.

One day I hope to grow cowpeas. I hear there actually is a variety that grows this far north, but I haven't been able to find it.

what zone are you in? I may be able to give you some varieties that you can grow.

Thank you for the offer. I have some I'm hoping to try this year already... fingers crossed I can get some to produce seed.

Our limiting factor isn't so much the temperature or the zone, but rather the day length. Southern crops start to flower when the days are shorter than x hours (depends on the crop). So even though southern peppers, cotton, beans &c. put on vigorous growth here, they won't flower until the days are short enough... which is too cold for them to pollinate.

In that case, if you have the room, a high tunnel might be a good way to get things to produce for you. I know it works in Alberta so it should work in BC as well or maybe even better. My wife is from Alberta (Lethbridge), she gardened there for years with good success.

It’s an amazing hypothesis. Thank you for expanding my thinking.

Bryant RedHawk wrote:Peas have tendrils, Beans do not., Peas will emerge with a set of true leaves the cotyledons are under ground, Beans will have cotyledons just above ground level or higher.  

I grow scarlet runner beans each year. It's one bean with the cotyledons underground.

From the list that Bryant posted back in 2015 it likes a person could just plant their favorite food as a companion plant for beans.

And beans are easy to grow.

Anne Miller wrote:From the list that Bryant posted back in 2015 it likes a person could just plant their favorite food as a companion plant for beans.

And beans are easy to grow.

Indeed.

Easy to grow.
Easy to preserve.
Easy to eat.

At least where I live, I'm not sure I can think of a more versatile crop for me.

I know the original question was about bush beans, but since there was at least one post proposing that there may be some sort of antagonism between Old World and New World crops I want to add my observation that broad beans and potatoes grow happily together. I have read/heard about this combination, and tried it myself. In my case, at least, both potatoes and broad beans seemed to produce similar harvests per plant compared to separate plantings - it is important to mention that the potatoes in my case were spaced as if they were planted alone, while the broad beans were only about 1/4 of the density they would normally be sown. This means the potato harvest was "normal" for the size of the bed, but with "bonus" beans. I usually sow broad beans a little before planting potatoes, but in this case they went in at the same time - the broad beans may have been very slightly held back by this, so it is possible sowing them a couple of weeks before planting the potatoes would allow them to produce slightly more. Or just earlier. I may have to try.