In my garden, it’s not just about planting seeds—it’s about creating a community of plants that support each other. I rely on companion planting to make sure everyone thrives together.
I find that selecting the best Amaranth companion plants really boosts the health of my garden.
What is Companion Planting?
Best Companion Plants For Amaranth
I can’t wait to show you how companion planting can make a real difference in your garden. I’ll help you understand which plants work best together so you can see your garden thrive like never before.
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Beans
I’ve found that planting beans alongside amaranth has been incredibly beneficial. The beans help to fix nitrogen in the soil, which provides a nutrient boost for the amaranth. Additionally, the tall and sturdy nature of the beans acts as a natural trellis for the amaranth to climb, providing support and preventing it from sprawling on the ground. Lastly, the dense foliage of the beans helps to shade the soil, reducing weed growth and conserving moisture for both plants.
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Corn
Over the years, I have found that planting Amaranth with Corn has been great. Amaranth attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which help to control pests that can damage the Corn. The only real downside is they’re both tall, which is a plus or a negative depending on your garden. -
Cucumbers
I first learned about using amaranth as a companion plant for cucumbers from an old farmer. I have found that planting amaranth near my cucumber plants helps to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which help control pests that can damage the cucumbers. Additionally, the tall and bushy nature of amaranth provides shade and acts as a natural trellis for the cucumber vines to climb on, promoting healthy growth.
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Melons
Over time I figured out through trial and error that planting Amaranth alongside Melons was a great idea. I noticed that Amaranth helped to attract beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs, which in turn helped to pollinate the Melon flowers and control pests. Additionally, the tall and leafy Amaranth plants provided shade and acted as a natural trellis for the Melon vines, supporting their growth and preventing them from sprawling on the ground.
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Squash
This is a pretty common pairing! Personally, I’ve noticed that Amaranth’s tall and sturdy stalks provide shade and protection for the delicate Squash vines, helping them thrive in hot weather. Additionally, Amaranth’s deep roots help improve soil structure, which benefits the nutrient uptake of the Squash plants.
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Tomatoes
This one comes from the book “Carrots love Tomatoes.” I’ve found that planting Amaranth alongside my tomatoes has been a great companion for them. Amaranth helps to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which in turn help to control pests that can harm my tomato plants. Additionally, the tall and leafy Amaranth plants provide shade and act as a natural mulch, helping to keep the soil around my tomatoes cool and moist.
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Peppers
This was a tip from a reader that planting amaranth by my my peppers helped to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which helped keep pests at bay. I’ve found that the tall, sturdy amaranth plants also provided some shade for my pepper plants during the hottest part of the day, which they seemed to appreciate. Plus, the amaranth leaves can be used as mulch around the base of the pepper plants, helping to retain moisture in the soil.
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Lettuce
I’ve found that planting Amaranth close to Lettuce has been a great companion for my lettuce plants. The tall and sturdy nature of Amaranth provides shade and protection to the delicate lettuce leaves, preventing them from getting scorched by the sun. That shading can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your climate. Additionally, Amaranth’s deep roots help improve soil structure and nutrient uptake, benefiting the growth of lettuce. -
Spinach
Another tip is to plant Amaranth next to Spinach in your garden, just watch out that the amaranth isn’t blocking too much sun or you harvest your spinach before the amaranth gets too tall. I’ve found that Amaranth helps to repel pests that can damage Spinach leaves. Additionally, Amaranth’s deep roots can help to improve soil quality, which can benefit Spinach’s growth. Lastly, Amaranth’s tall stature can provide shade for Spinach during hot summer days.
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Swiss chard
I’ve found that planting Amaranth next to Swiss chard has been really beneficial. The tall and sturdy nature of Amaranth provides shade and protection for the delicate Swiss chard leaves. Additionally, Amaranth’s deep roots help improve soil structure and nutrient availability, which ultimately enhances the growth of Swiss chard. In my experience, this combination has resulted in healthier and more vibrant Swiss chard plants.
What Not To Plant With Amaranth
Just like there are plants that play well together, there are others that don’t get along. Here are some plants that you’re going to want to avoid putting into close proximity to each other. Most of these aren’t the end of the world if it happens, we only have so much garden space after all, but where it makes sense, keep these in mind.
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Tomato
I learned this the hard way, but planting Amaranth next to Tomato negatively impacts the Tomato plant. The Amaranth tends to overshadow the Tomato, blocking its access to sunlight and stunting its growth.
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Potato
This one came from my neighbor, and I’ve noticed that the Amaranth negatively impacts the Potato plant by competing for nutrients in the soil, resulting in stunted growth for the Potato.
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Cucumber
This also came from Carrots Love Tomatoes. Amaranth negatively impacts cucumber by competing for nutrients and space, leading to stunted growth and reduced yield.
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Sunflower
Another one I’ve heard around is that Amaranth negatively impacts Sunflower by competing for sunlight and nutrients, which can hinder the growth and development of Sunflower.
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Corn
I’ve heard mixed things on this, but Amaranth can negatively impact Corn by competing for nutrients and sunlight, potentially reducing Corn’s growth and yield.
What Should You Plant Near Amaranth
In addition to the list below, there are some common plants you likely already have in your garden that I thought you might want to know. These veggies make up much of my garden, so here is what you need to know about companion planting them with Amaranth.
Lettuce and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for lettuce in a vegetable garden. It helps to deter pests like aphids and attracts beneficial insects. Additionally, amaranth’s tall growth provides shade for lettuce, helping to prevent it from bolting in hot weather.
Carrots and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for carrots. It helps deter pests like aphids and nematodes, and its tall growth provides shade for the carrots, preventing them from bolting. Additionally, amaranth’s deep roots help improve soil structure and nutrient availability for the carrots.
Beans and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, Amaranth is a good companion plant for Beans in a vegetable garden. It helps deter pests like aphids and attracts beneficial insects. Additionally, Amaranth’s tall and upright growth provides shade and support for the Beans.
Tomatoes and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, Amaranth is a good companion plant for tomatoes. It helps deter pests like aphids and attracts beneficial insects. Additionally, Amaranth’s tall growth provides shade and helps prevent weed growth around the tomato plants.
Cucumbers and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for cucumbers in a vegetable garden. It helps deter pests like aphids and attracts beneficial insects. Additionally, amaranth’s tall and bushy growth provides shade and helps prevent weeds from growing around the cucumber plants.
Zucchini and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for zucchini in a vegetable garden. It helps deter pests like aphids and attracts beneficial insects. Additionally, amaranth’s tall growth can provide shade and help prevent weeds from growing around the zucchini plants.
Peppers and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for peppers in a vegetable garden. Amaranth attracts beneficial insects and provides shade for the peppers. Additionally, amaranth is a nutrient-rich plant that can improve soil health.
Peas and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for peas in a vegetable garden. It helps to improve soil fertility and provides shade for the peas. Additionally, amaranth can attract beneficial insects that can help protect the peas from pests.
Radishes and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for radishes in a vegetable garden. It helps deter pests like aphids and beetles, and its tall growth provides shade for radishes, preventing them from bolting too quickly. Additionally, amaranth’s deep roots help improve soil structure and nutrient uptake for both plants.
Squash and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for summer squash. It helps deter pests like aphids and attracts beneficial insects. Additionally, amaranth’s tall growth provides shade and helps retain moisture in the soil, benefiting the squash plants.
Onions and Amaranth Companion Planting
Yes, amaranth is a good companion plant for onions in a vegetable garden. It helps repel pests that can damage onions and also provides shade to keep the soil cool and moist. Additionally, amaranth’s deep roots can help break up compacted soil, benefiting the growth of onions.
Tips For Companion Planting With Amaranth
- Incorporate flowering plants among your Amaranth can provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season to keep pollinators in your garden longer.
- Plant a few Amaranth each week of your so you have some ready to harvest each week instead of all at once. This will make it so you can eat what is ready without going to waste or having too many at once.
- Plan your garden so that different plants bloom consecutively alongside Amaranth, providing continuous attraction for beneficial insects and maintaining a balanced ecosystem throughout the growing season.
- When companion planting Amaranth, pair tall plants that provide shade with lower-growing, shade-tolerant plants to make the most efficient use of space and light.
- Plant legumes such as peas and beans near plants that require a lot of nitrogen. Legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, enriching it for plants that are heavy feeders.
Your Turn!
- What have you learned about companion planting for Amaranth?
This says cucumbers grow well close to amaranth and it also says the opposite. Very confusing
Please note that tomato is included in both (good/bad) lists.
The “good companion” list states that “I’ve found that planting Amaranth alongside my tomatoes has been a great companion for them.”
But then the very first item on the list of plants to avoid is… tomato. We’re given the contradictory statement: “I learned this the hard way, but planting Amaranth next to Tomato negatively impacts the Tomato plant.”
Exactly which lesson has the author learned, then? I, for one, would treat all of these recommendations as dubious at best, and wouldn’t make any decisions based upon them.