The Best Spinach Companion Plants for a Thriving Garden

Growing spinach isn’t about just preparing the soil and planting the seed but it’s about preparing and creating the environment to make it grow and thrive, which you can do with the help of companion planting.

Spinach companion plants include strawberries, beans, lettuce, cilantro, cucumber etc. The main science behind companion planting is to know what benefits it could give to the main plant “spinach” that increases its growth and protect it from pest attacks.

In the below blog, we will explore different companion plants for spinach, along its the benefits. So let’s get to it.

Importance of Companion Planting for Spinach:

The reason for companion planting for spinach is simple, just to protect it from pests like leaf miners, aphids, spider mites etc. You can also protect your spinach plant with pesticides but instead of that you should do it by a safer and organic method by planting companion plants next to it. Other than that it also attracts beneficial insects like different pollinators.

Spinach Companion Plants

Companion planting is a unique technique that involves growing different plants with a certain plant to enhance its growth by repelling dangerous pest from it and enhance its growth. In this blog that certain plant is spinach and we will talk about how to improve its growth by planting different companion plants with it. So let’s get to it.

Strawberries:

Strawberries are one of the best companion plants to spinach plants. Due to its vibrant colors, it attracts different beneficial insects like hoverflies, butterflies, and different bees which not only help the spinach in pollination but also protect the plant against pests.

The strawberries plant have a shallow roots system which doesn’t compete with spinach plants for nutrients and other resources but still make sure to plant it about 15 to 20 inches away from the spinach plants.

Peas:

Peas are also considered very good and suitable companion plants for spinach because of their shallow root system. Due to its shallow root system, it won’t compete for nutrients in your spinach plants. Pea plants take less space to grow and they usually repel insects, but sometime it attract some of insects so keep an eye on them.

Lettuce:

Lettuce is another considerable companion plant that has the same growing requirements as spinach, so you don’t have to do anything special in terms of preparing the soil. Other than that it can also keep the soil moisture as spinach likes and prevent the soil from erosion.

While planting lettuce with spinach, just make sure to plant it 10 to 15 inches apart.

Beans:

Beans are also good companion plants for spinach for a lot of reasons like the improve the quantity of nitrogen in the soil, having really deep roots that improve the whole structure of spinach and it also attract some beneficial insects.

Whenever you thinking of planting beans with spinach, just plant them about 8 to 12 inches apart.

Kale:

One of the main reasons which make kale a good spinach companion plant is its protection from heat with the help of its big leaves. Other than that the kale plant is very different from spinach so it won’t fight for nutrients and it will provide extra space for the spinach plant.

Garlic:

Garlic is my personal favorite plant to grow next to spinach because both are cold-weather plants and can do better together. With its unique smell, it can repel different pests from both spinach and garlic.

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes plants are also really good companion plants for spinach. It basically offers two benefits for the spinach plant, one is repelling and managing different pests and insects, and the second is protection from the heat of the sun which can cause early bolting in spinach.

Eggplant:

Eggplant is also a good candidate as a companion plant for spinach. It mainly provides cover and shade for the spinach plant. It also attracts different insects for pollination and some beneficial insects that can help you control some pests.

Sweet Alyssum:

In flower sweet alyssum has some sweet nectar that attracts different beneficial insects and pollinators. It also takes very little space and most gardener plant it near their spinach plant including me. Other than that it also gives an attractive look to your garden.

Cucumber:

The cucumber is a vine plant that covers a lot of space if grows horizontally, but if can manage to grow vertically with the help of a trellis or any other support then it can become beneficial for spinach. A vertical cucumber plant can provide shade and cover for the spinach plant and that shade can prevent the spinach plant from bolting.

Calendula:

Calendula is an organic flower that is also considered a suitable spinach companion flower plant. One of its main benefits is a vibrant colour that not only attracts beneficial insects for your spinach but also repel different predators including rabbits and deer.

Cilantro:

The Cilantro plant is also one of the best spinach companion herbs plant. During its flowering stage, it attracts different insects some are pollinators while others help the spinach plant reduce its pests and help control its pest population.

Below we listed vide demonstration how to make easy companion planting.

Conclusion:

So after discussing different companion plants for spinach, now you may have a clear idea of what is companion plants and what types of companion plants should be planted next to spinach plants. A lot of people have different views about companion plants but I consider them a must-have in your garden not only for that particular plant but to give a nice look at your garden.