Plants That Will Grow Well Next To Mint

The popular herb, mint (Mentha spp.), is known for many of its traits. For one, it's edible and can be used in various drinks and dishes. It can also be used to mask odors, make an ornamental addition to your garden, or help others as a companion plant. Planting mint as a companion to flowers, vegetables, and some fruits can be tricky though. Even in less-than-ideal growing conditions, the Lamiaceae family member is a vigorous and sometimes weedy plant. Due to its fast-growing habit, the roots and stems of a mint plant will spread out rapidly and smother other plants to grow larger.

Still, gardeners who prefer to repel pests easily and naturally have found ways to make mint work for them in the garden. The simplest way to do so is to keep your mint varieties in their own planter so they can't spread out. You could also space them further away, bury dividers or pots to keep the roots of your mint plant contained, or choose plants that are more capable of resisting their advances. As far as the best plants to grow alongside mint, we've rounded up multiple species that can benefit from the mint plant's unique traits.

Most brassica species, such as cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) need a mint plant's strong scent to keep destructive pests at bay. However, cabbage and mint aren't always good partners in the garden. They have very similar growing requirements, but thriving mint tends to become weedy and might inhibit the growth of nearby brassicas. Instead, consider placing cut-up mint leaves below your cabbage plants as mulch.

Radishes (Raphanus sativus) are commonly grown root vegetables in home gardens. They are fairly easy to grow, and depending on when they are planted, may be ready to harvest in the spring or fall. Planted with mint, radishes will be protected from pests that want to eat its tender leaves, and they can be harvested together to make a delicious radish and mint salad.

Eggplants (Solanum melongena) are members of the nightshade family, and they grow well with mint like other Solanaceae species, such as tomatoes. Mint helps eggplants grow more easily by fending off aphids, flea beetles, and spider mites. You can also keep your eggplant plants healthy by planting them in moist and fertile soil that receives plenty of direct sunlight.

Pumpkins (Cucurbita maxima), as well as some other Cucurbits like zucchini and squash, take advantage of mint plants' ability to draw in pollinators and other beneficial insects to the garden. With the help of these two types of bugs, pumpkins are protected from aphids and beetles, and they are pollinated more easily. In the fall, you'll be able to harvest more pumpkins with healthier growth thanks to mint.

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea, Botrytis Group), which is another brassica species along with radishes and cabbage, is another good partner for mint plants. Cauliflower's green leaves are immensely attractive to harmful insects that want to eat them. Even if a mint plant is potted nearby, the pest population will dwindle considerably so you'll have a better harvest in the summer or fall.

Onions (Allium cepa) grow well with mint. They are already heavily fragranced which helps keep hungry bugs away from the plant and others nearby. However, when mint is planted as a companion to onions, it's thought that the flavor of the allium species will be enhanced. Even if this isn't the case for you, planting mint and onions together should have a powerful effect on the rest of your garden as pests are pushed out.

Kale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group) is known for its blue-green leaves that are packed with essential nutrients. The foliage is usually harvested after the first frost in the fall. Yet, if you had a pest problem this year, it's likely that many of your leaves will be unusable. To avoid this, grow mint nearby to scare away pests with its scent and attract beneficial insects that eat any harmful bugs still invading your garden.

A beet (Beta vulgaris) is known for its large purple root and tall foliage. In the garden, the edible plant has fewer problems than you might expect, but they could use a little help through companion planting. Consider growing it near a pot of mint, or if you need to save on space you can simply work some mint leaves into its soil to keep away pests.

Carrots (Daucus carota var. sativus) can be helped by mint which repels carrot rust flies that cause the root vegetable to sustain dying leaves, stunted growth, and root tunnels or scarring. However, like with many other vegetables in this collection, mint plants should not be planted too close so they won't overtake your carrots. You can contain their growth with planters buried in the soil or placed above ground.

Similarly to pole beans, peas (Pisum sativum) can take advantage of your mint plants' ability to send vermin packing. Their strongly scented leaves are repulsive to mice, rats, and other rodents that would normally eat the peas and flower buds off of your plant. Additionally, because mint is a heavy feeder, it will enjoy being grown next to this plant which fixes the nitrogen in its soil.