Onions planted near lettuce and other garden staples

When it comes to companion planting onions, there are some plants that welcome onions into the neighborhood:

• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Strawberries
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage

Onions naturally repel pests that like to chow down on cabbage family plants—cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, and cabbage maggots.

Onions also help repel aphids, Japanese beetles, and rabbits.

Chamomile grows especially well alongside onions. Chamomile has antibacterial and antifungal properties to protect the onions—and it can help improve the onion’s flavor, too. Summer savory is another good choice if you want to add a little sweetness to your onions.

While onions tend to get along with most plants in the garden, they are chemically incompatible with some plants and they could suffer if these guys are growing nearby:

• Asparagus
• Beans
• Peas
• Sage

And, weirdly enough master gardeners recommend you keep your onion species away from each other when you plant your garden. Onions often fall prey to onion maggots, and these little squirmers can make their way from one onion to another if they’re too close together. Keep other members of the Allium family away from your onions, too—garlic and shallots need their own space for their own good. Leeks, on the other hand, have been known to grow well with onions by confusing onion flies.

Do you do companion planting with your onions? Have you encountered any problems when positioning onion plants in your garden. Please share your experiences with everyone in the comment section below.