Eggplant Companion Plants: What to Grow and Avoid

The best companion plants for eggplant are bush beans, peppers and tomatoes, marigolds, nasturtiums, basil, spinach and lettuce, amaranth, and thyme. Eggplant is a heat-loving nightshade that draws its share of pests, from the Colorado potato beetle to flea beetles and aphids, so the right neighbors do real work: they fix nitrogen, repel or trap those pests, shade the roots, and pull in the beneficial insects that keep everything in balance. The main plants to keep away from eggplant are fennel, brassicas, and anywhere other nightshades grew last season.

Plant eggplant with: bush beans, peppers, tomatoes, marigolds, nasturtiums, basil, spinach and lettuce, amaranth, and thyme.

Keep eggplant away from: fennel, brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kale), and the spots where potatoes, tomatoes, or peppers grew last year.

The best companion plants for eggplant

Eggplant is a hungry, pest-prone crop, so the best companion plants for eggplant are the ones that feed the soil, confuse the bugs, and bring in help. Here is what to plant with eggplant, and why each pairing earns its place.

Bush beans

Bush beans are the classic eggplant companion. As legumes they fix nitrogen in the soil, feeding the heavy-feeding eggplant right where it grows. Beans are also famous for repelling the Colorado potato beetle, one of the top eggplant pests, which makes them a rare companion that helps below ground and above it at the same time.

Peppers and tomatoes

Peppers and tomatoes are fellow nightshades with almost identical needs: the same heat, the same rich soil, the same steady water. That makes them easy, low-drama neighbors that thrive on the same care as your eggplant. Group them together and you can water, feed, and tend the whole nightshade bed as one. If you grow peppers or tomatoes too, our pepper companion plants and tomato companion plants guides map out their best partners as well.

Marigolds

Marigolds are one of the most useful flowers you can tuck around eggplant. Their roots release compounds that deter root-knot nematodes in the soil, and their scent helps put off many of the pests that target nightshades. A border of marigolds around the eggplant bed adds pest defense and a haze of bright color at the same time.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums work as a trap crop, luring aphids and flea beetles, both of which love eggplant, onto themselves and away from your fruit. Plant them at the edges of the bed as a sacrificial magnet so the pests gather there instead of on your eggplant leaves. As a bonus, their trailing blooms are edible and pull in pollinators.

Basil

Basil is a powerhouse eggplant companion. Its strong aromatic oils help repel aphids, thrips, and spider mites, three of the sap-sucking pests that plague eggplant in hot weather. Basil also loves the same warmth eggplant does, so the two grow happily side by side, and gardeners often plant them together in the kitchen garden for exactly this reason. See our basil companion plants guide for more on where basil fits best.

Spinach and lettuce

Low, leafy greens like spinach and lettuce make a living mulch beneath taller eggplant. They spread across the soil, shading the roots and helping the bed hold moisture through summer heat, while their shallow roots stay out of the eggplant's way. Because they are quick and low-growing, you can harvest a crop of greens before the eggplant fully shades them out.

Amaranth

Amaranth harbors beneficial predatory insects, giving ground beetles and other helpful bugs a place to shelter near your eggplant. Those predators go to work on the pests that would otherwise settle on your crop. Amaranth is also a striking, easy plant in its own right, adding height and color to the edge of the bed.

Thyme

Thyme is a low, aromatic herb that helps deter pests with its scent and draws in pollinators and beneficial insects when it flowers. Planted as a fragrant edging around the eggplant bed, it earns its keep as both a companion and a kitchen herb.

In every case the pattern is the same: beans and greens feed and shade the soil, the aromatic herbs and flowers repel or trap the pests, and plants like amaranth invite in the predators. Mix a few of these companion plants for eggplant into every bed and you build in protection without reaching for a spray.

What not to plant near eggplant

Eggplant is easygoing with most of the garden, but a few neighbors cause real trouble. Keep these away from eggplant.

• Fennel: Fennel is allelopathic, meaning it releases compounds that inhibit the growth of many nearby plants, eggplant included. It is a poor companion for almost everything, so give it a bed of its own well away from your vegetables.
• Other nightshades in the same soil: Eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers all share the same soil-borne diseases, such as verticillium and blight. Growing eggplant where another nightshade grew last season lets those diseases build up and carry over. Rotate away from last year's nightshade patch so the eggplant starts in clean ground.
• Brassicas: Cabbage, broccoli, kale, and their relatives are heavy feeders that compete with eggplant for the same nutrients and space, and they prefer cooler conditions than heat-loving eggplant. Keep the two groups in separate beds so neither one is held back.

Why companion planting works for eggplant

A few things make companion planting especially worthwhile for eggplant.

• It fights eggplant's worst pests. Colorado potato beetles, flea beetles, aphids, and spider mites all target eggplant. Bush beans, marigolds, nasturtiums, and basil each push back on those pests through repellent scents, trap-crop tactics, or by sheltering the predators that eat them.
• It feeds a hungry crop. Eggplant is a heavy feeder. Nitrogen-fixing bush beans enrich the soil right beside it, while a living mulch of spinach and lettuce shades the roots and keeps moisture in during the heat of summer.
• It brings in the helpers. Flowering companions like marigolds, nasturtiums, and thyme draw pollinators and beneficial predatory insects into the bed, building a healthier, more balanced patch around your eggplant.

For the full picture on growing the crop itself, from starting seeds to harvest, see our eggplant growing guide.

How to lay out eggplant companions

Putting companion plants for eggplant to work is mostly about placing the right plant in the right spot.

• Space eggplant first. Give each eggplant 18 to 24 inches of room in full sun and rich, well-drained soil, then fit the companions into the gaps around them.
• Ring the bed with flowers. Plant marigolds and nasturtiums around the edges of the eggplant bed so their pest defense and trap-crop pull surround the crop.
• Tuck herbs and greens between plants. Slip basil and thyme between the eggplants, and use low spinach and lettuce as a living mulch beneath them to shade the roots.
• Interplant the beans. Sow bush beans nearby to feed the soil with nitrogen and help keep the Colorado potato beetle at bay, but keep them a little clear of the eggplant stems so both get light and air.
• Rotate every year. Move eggplant to a bed where no nightshade grew the previous season to avoid shared soil diseases, and start beans or greens in the old spot to rebuild the soil.

Grow eggplant in warm soil, keep it evenly watered, and surround it with these companions, and you will have a healthier, better-defended crop with far less work. You can find heirloom, non-GMO eggplant and companion seeds anytime in our eggplant seeds collection.