PlantAlong

What to plant with zucchini

Sources list Nasturtium as good companions for zucchini. Keep zucchini apart from Potatoes. Only 2 pairings have been tested in a study; the rest are guidance or tradition.

Pairings
4
Last reviewed
Photo: Gu Bra / Pexels
Good neighbors first, then plants to keep apart. Each one says how strong the evidence is.

Helps

  • Nasturtium Traditional pairing1

    The chart says "squash", not zucchini by name.

Trap crop

  • Blue Hubbard squash Tested in a study

    A border of Blue Hubbard squash draws striped cucumber beetles away from the summer squash it encircles; the border is sprayed when beetles arrive.23

    Connecticut experimental plots used yellow summer squash, not zucchini by name: over 94% of cucumber beetles were on the Blue Hubbard perimeter; border sprays cut beetles on the unsprayed main crop by up to 93% and squash vine borer by 88%. A six-farm demonstration (Boucher & Durgy 2004) is grower-reported, not a replicated trial. Needs border spraying; farm scale.

Disputed

  • Marigold Tested in a study

    Tradition lists marigold as a squash companion (no reason given). Field tests of squash (Cucurbita pepo) intercropped with French marigold found no consistent nematode effect.145

    UC chart (tradition) lists marigold as compatible with squash. Powers et al. 1993 found no consistent nematode differences under squash and cucumber intercropped with marigold; UF/IFAS ENY-056 says that intercrop was less productive than monoculture. Sources say "squash" and "Cucurbita pepo", not zucchini by name. As a preceding cover crop (2+ months before), marigold can reduce root-knot nematodes.

Keep apart

  • Potatoes Traditional pairing1

    The chart says "squash", not zucchini by name.

Traditional pairings come from a UC Master Gardener chart that traces to the UC Davis Edible Landscaping Handbook and ATTRA. The chart gives no reasons, and we found no trial of these pairs; treat them as garden lore.

Sources

  1. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCCE Master Gardener Program), Companion Planting Chart: Companion planting in the vegetable garden, File dated 2023-09 in URL path; no date printed. Retrieved 2026-11-02.
  2. University of Vermont Extension, Vermont Vegetable and Berry Program, Perimeter Trap Cropping: A Novel Approach to Insect Pest Control, July 2004. Retrieved 2026-11-02.
  3. Journal of Extension 42(5), Article 13, Demonstrating a Perimeter Trap Crop Approach to Pest Management on Summer Squash in New England, October 2004. Retrieved 2026-11-02.
  4. Journal of Nematology 25(4):666-673 (Society of Nematologists); FLVC journal host, Effects of Mixed Cropping on a Soil Nematode Community in Honduras, 1993. Retrieved 2026-11-02.
  5. University of Florida, IFAS Extension (Entomology and Nematology Department), Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) for Nematode Management (ENY-056), reviewed Reviewed November 2019; page footer "Reviewed: 01/2024". Retrieved 2026-11-02.