Companion Plants for Lettuce

Lettuce has been a primary garden ingredient and a widely used green salad throughout the world. Lettuce or Lactuca Sativa nurtures well in the presence of beneficial companion plants. This plant is quick, easy to plant and grow, and simple to harvest.

Planting the companion plants with the lettuce plants offers a variety of dinner salads, boosts its growth, and deters pests in your garden. So, here we are with 10 unique and good companion plants for lettuce that are easy to grow and are the best companions. In addition, they provide many benefits to your plants and gardens. Let’s dive in!

What Are the Benefits of Companion Plants?

Companion plants help many lettuce plants grow beside them with similar preferences. There are a lot of benefits of growing lettuce with other companion plants, a few of them are as follows:

1. Repel Insects and Pests

Cabbage worms, Mexican bean beetles, cucumber beetles, cabbage moths, and carrot flies are insects and pests that plague the garden’s vegetables. If you have planted a good companion plant with lettuce, it will help the lettuce prevent these insects. Make sure to plant the companion plants near the lettuce. 

2. Improve The Soil Nutrients

Growing plants need a lot of nutrients to absorb from the soil. The gardener has to do a lot of care and extra work to keep the soil moist and full of nutrients. Some companion plants of lettuce ease the gardener’s work provide nutrients to the soil and help the lettuce plant be healthy. 

3. Attract Beneficial Insects

If the companion plants are healthy and beautiful, they will encourage the pollinator ladybugs and bees to visit and pollinate the crops. Gardeners usually plant beautiful and colorful plants as companion plants to attract pests and insects and foster pollination. 

4. Supply Shade and Ground Cover

Low-growing companion plants provide a blanket all over the soil, protecting the soil from high rays of sun. In this way, they can keep the plants cool and moist. However, tall and big leafy plants provide shelter and shade to the plants which prefer shade.

About Lettuce Plants

Lettuce is commonly known as celtuce. Whereas, its botanic name is Lactuca sativa. Lettuce thrives in hardiness zone 5 and prefers loose and well-drained soil to grow. Lettuce is a fast-growing crop that grows well in the spring. If you are a beginner in gardening, growing this plant is best for you. It is a leafy green vegetable that grows longer and is not very demanding. 

This plant requires total sun exposure to develop. Lettuce takes 30-70 days to become a mature plant with different growing season lengths. This plant belongs to the family Asteraceae, and its leaves are used for making a salad. This annual leaf vegetable is perfect for growing with other green plants in a garden. Lettuce is native to Mediterranean areas. 

Lettuce Companion Plants

Some companion plants look stunning and benefit lettuce upon growing in the garden. Here are the details of a few beneficial companion plants for lettuce:

1. Asparagus

The common name is asparagus, whereas the botanic name is Asparagus officinalis. It’s found in the hardiness zones 3-8. Well-drained soil works best for Asparagus. It will be your best decision if you are growing asparagus as a companion plant with lettuce.

Asparagus lets the other plant store all the energy for the coming year. So it is best to grow it as a companion to lettuce, which provides natural shade. If your lettuce plant does not like total sun exposure, then growing the asparagus is best to provide shade to prevent it from wilting. This plant is native to eastern Mediterranean lands and Asia Minor. 

2. Calendula 

The common name of Calendula is Marigold. Whereas its botanic name is calendula officinalis. It thrives best in the hardiness zones 2-11 and requires rich and well-drained soil. It is native to Eurasia.

In a particular way, the calendula is one of the best companions to lettuce. Slugs are a major danger to your lettuce plants because they love the lettuce. However, growing the calendula a little far from the lettuce is perfect because it will attract all the slugs toward it. Thus, the lettuce will remain protected from slugs and diseases. 

3. Beets

Beetroot is the common name of beet and Beta vulgaris is its botanic name. It is found in a 2-11 hardiness zone and requires rich loam and well-drained soil to grow. This plant is native to the ancient Middle East. Beets are plants with long roots and use underground space to produce.

Planting the beets near the lettuce is good for saving some space in your garden because its roots are too small. So, growing them close together will provide you with many spaces in the garden, and they will not compete for the space.

4. Chervil

Chervil is commonly known as French parsley, and its botanic name is Anthriscus cerefolium. It is found commonly in the hardiness zones 8-11. This plant requires humus-rich and loamy soil. Chervil is the best companion to lettuce because of its similar qualities.

This crop is beneficial for growing a little away but not too far from lettuce to prevent the lettuce from slugs. Chervil is a slug-repellent crop that helps the lettuce prevent harmful slugs and grow healthy. Planting it between the lettuce rows is beneficial to deter aphids. This plant is native to Russia, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.

5. Eggplant

Egg Plants or Brinjal are commonly known as Garden eggs, whereas their botanic name is Solanum melongena. It nurtures well in the hardiness zones 5-12. They develop best in the humus-rich, well-drained, and warm soil. It is native to India and China.

Eggplants are a summer crop, you can plant them beside lettuce to prevent them from being exposed to hot weather conditions. Lettuce cannot bear hot weather conditions, so planting eggplant next to it will take up space when the lettuce is harvested. Eggplant provides the best soil conditions for the lettuce and helps its healthy growth.

6. Chives

Chives are commonly known as Herbs. Its botanic name is Allium schoenoprasum. These herbs require moist and fertile soil and are found in hardiness zones 3-10. The chives are native to Asia and Europe.

If you are worried about the aphids near the lettuce plant,  growing the chives near the lettuce is the best idea. In this way, you can prevent the plant from aphids. Chives are the crop that acts as a barrier plant for lettuce. So, planting it between the lettuce rows will deter the aphids from harming the leaves.

7. Mint

The common name of mint is Pristine, whereas its botanic name is Mentha piperita L. It thrives best in 3-8 hardiness zones. Well-drained and rich soil is essential for their growth. Mint is native to South Africa, Eurasia, Australia, and North America. 

Planting and growing the mint plant near the lettuce is one of the best decisions to make your lettuce grow healthy and efficiently. Mint plants have an aroma that makes the aphids and insects disappear from the lettuce. So, if you are worried about pests, especially slugs and aphids, plant mint beside lettuce. It will repel all the slugs that can harm the growing lettuce. 

8. Cilantro

The common name of Cilantro is Coriander leaves. However, its botanic name is Coriandrum sativum. It is found in the hardiness zones 2-11. Cilantro is native to Asia and southern Europe. It requires loamy and moist soil to nurture well.

Cilantro is an aroma that attracts beneficial insects for pollination and repels harmful insects. So, growing it near or between the lettuce rows will be best to protect the lettuce from various insects and diseases. If you plant this fragrant cilantro beside the lettuce, it will deter pests.

9. Nasturtium

Capucine is the common name of Nasturtium, whereas its botanic name is Tropaeolum. It thrives best in hardiness zones 9-11 and requires neutral and acidic soil.  It is native to Central America, South America, Mexico, and Chile. 

Nasturtiums are flowers of different colors that attract aphids toward them. Many gardeners use this plant to grow farther from their vegetable garden to attract the aphids toward nasturtiums. So, growing the nasturtiums in the corner of your garden will protect your lettuce from aphids. you must consider it to plant. 

10. Radishes

The common name of Radish is Raphanus sativus longipinnatus, however, its botanic name is Raphanus sativus. It requires lighter and sandy soil to grow. Radishes thrives in hardiness zones 2-11. They are native to China.

Radishes are fast-growing vegetables; growing them in the garden will mark the slow-growing lettuce rows. If you plant the radishes in the garden, they will germinate quickly, showing where the lettuce can eventually grow. Increasing the radish alongside the lettuce will improve their crop because it softens the radishes and makes them more delicious.

Conclusion

Lettuce is a widely used, and easy-to-grow salad and vegetable. It thrives best in the companionship of different plants. This article explores 10 different types of best companion plants for lettuce with their benefits and details. Choose any plant from the described plants, be an expert gardener, and make your lettuce healthy.

FAQs

1. What Are the Bad Companion Plants for Lettuce?

There are a lot of plants that are bad for lettuce; you do not have to grow them besides lettuce. Avoid growing the cabbage and brassica family vegetables or flowers near or beside the lettuce. The other crop that you may avoid planting near the lettuce is the fennel crop. It is not suitable because it inhibits the growth of lettuce and other plants. 

2. What Are the Best and Worst Companion Plants for Lettuce?

Many plants are beneficial companion plants for lettuce in containers and for growing beside lettuce. The best companion plants are radishes, Nasturtiums, onions and shallots, chives, eggplant, cilantro, mint, calendula, and garlic. Some bad plants are cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi. Make sure not to grow bad plants near the lettuce.