Companion gardening is the act of planting different crops together in your garden that will be mutually beneficial. If you want to try companion gardening, it is important that you know how. Tomatoes grow great with some types of plants and there are plants that will actually prevent your tomatoes from thriving. Regardless of if you are growing tomatoes from seed or if you are purchasing tomato seedlings, you don’t want your efforts to be wasted by making a mistake in this area.

There are several plants that help tomatoes. Basil, among the best companions for tomatoes, will improve the flavor of your tomatoes and repel insect. In turn, the basil becomes more flavorful as well. It’s a win-win. Planting carrots with tomatoes will increase the flavor and production of your tomatoes. Your carrots on the other hand, while just as flavorful, may be smaller than they would be alone. Therefore, if you plant tomatoes and carrots together, do it for the benefit of the tomatoes and not the carrots.

Chives and mint will also help the flavor of the tomatoes. If pests are a problem, consider planting, marigolds, chives, onion or garlic. These plants, all in the same family except the marigolds, use their smell to encourage insects to shop elsewhere.

Unlike the plants above, there are many plants that should be kept away from tomatoes. The first is corn. Both tomatoes and corn attract the same worms. As a rule of thumb, it is good to be aware of what disease and predators each type of plant has and then avoid putting them together in the garden. Potatoes should also be kept apart from tomatoes. Potatoes and tomatoes are in the same plant family, and they are both susceptible to the same blight. Planting fennel and tomatoes together will result in smaller tomato plants. The tomatoes will still be healthy, but the plant will be limited.

Finally, avoid planting tomatoes anywhere near black walnut trees. Black walnut trees produce a chemical called juglone which is toxic to tomatoes. If a tomato is grown under a black walnut, expect it not to produce and to never be healthy. Avoid this at all costs.

Companion planting is a great way to increase the flavor in your tomatoes and ward off unwanted pests, but it is important to know how. Tomatoes grow great next to some plants, but can be poisoned and destroyed next to others. Before growing tomatoes from seed, it is important to plan what plants will be growing, not only next to each other, but next to existing plants like trees and shrubs.