Avoid These Companions for Your Potato Plants

Potatoes are versatile vegetables, loved universally for their convenience in cultivation and cooking. But, there's a trick to flawlessly growing these tubers - careful selection of their companion plants.

Gardening enthusiasts must be aware that some plants just can't cohabit alongside potatoes. Missteps in plant selection can invite pests, diseases, or simply cause overcrowding - all detrimental to a fruitful potato yield.

Gardening experts have flagged a few plants that make for extremely poor neighbors for potatoes. These include common favorites like tomatoes. All our garden gurus advised against growing tomatoes adjacent to your potato patch. Reason? Both are solanaceous crops sharing pests and diseases such as blight, warns Ken Johnson, a horticulture educator from the University of Illinois Extension. Johnson adds, the tomatoes might also overshadow the potatoes blocking out crucial sunlight.

The bad news doesn't stop there. Peppers too come from the solanaceous family and bring the same problems as tomatoes. Additionally, they battle fiercely for nutrients with potatoes, noted Sara Rubens, Seed to Sanctuary's founder. And then there's the Colorado potato beetle; both peppers and potatoes can provide it an open invitation, damaging both crops.

Similarly, eggplants are Solanaceae members and can attract pests and diseases that spread quickly among potatoes, cautions Veronica Yurchak, a specialist at the University of Maryland Extension. So while eggplants look stunning and taste delicious, it's smart to not let their stellar qualities make you overlook their potential harm to potatoes.

Certain plants can also take up too much space, thereby stifling potato growth. Watch for sprawling plants like cucumbers that battle hard for resources and space, Rubens points out; it’s best to plan for a different home for cucumbers, perhaps a pot or another container.

With their giant leaves, pumpkins too provide a similar problem; they can blot out the sunlight your potatoes need, adds Rubens.

Asparagus presents a different problem. Rubens explains that their long-term root systems can disrupt your potato crops. You might have to dig up potential potato growth, destroying the asparagus roots in the process. However, Johnson reassures that it wouldn't be as catastrophic if enough distance separates the two.

And then there's the fruit family. For instance, raspberries, like potatoes, are prone to fungal diseases. Growing them alongside potatoes is a recipe for larger garden disaster.

For healthy potato cultivation, be mindful of your crop's neighbors. The journey to delicious homegrown spuds begins with negative selection - understanding what not to plant alongside.