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Samples set the crop list and matching bed assumptions.
Enter 2–12 distinct crops, one per line. Duplicate aliases count once.
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Choose the root volume and layout that most closely matches the planting.
Use Tight when roots or canopies will meet before harvest.
Describe how much the bed can separate dry and moist planting pockets.
Choose the garden problem you want ranked first.
Both modes treat the result as planning guidance, not a guarantee.
Tune how readily constrained layouts become cautions.
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Use neutral rows for a complete pair inventory; they do not assert compatibility.
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{{ show_neutral_pairs ? 'Neutral rows included' : 'Only actionable rows shown' }}
PairSignalLevelActionConfidenceReasonCopy
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PriorityMoveApplies toWhyCopy
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CropRecognized asFamilyRoleWaterCanopyRootPlanning noteCopy
{{ row.crop }}{{ row.recognizedAs }}{{ row.family }}{{ row.role }}{{ row.water }}{{ row.height }}{{ row.root }}{{ row.note }}
Garden Bed Planner Plan a raised bed or container garden from crop spacing and root space, then estimate plant capacity, seed needs and soil volume before planting.
Crop Rotation Planner Plan crop rotations from bed history and plant families with conflict scores, capacity-aware assignments and locally grounded caution notes.
Garden Calendar Planner Build a frost-aware vegetable garden calendar with crop start dates and succession cutoffs, plus weekly workload and generic-profile warnings.
Soil Amendment Calculator Plan compost, lime, sulfur, and gypsum amounts from bed size and soil-test targets, with product-strength, package, and cost estimates.

A mixed bed succeeds or fails through water, light, space, timing, and disease pressure long before a companion chart can declare two plants friendly. Some combinations use a bed well because an early crop leaves before a larger canopy closes, a vine climbs an established support, or flowers provide food and habitat for beneficial insects. Others compete for the same root volume, demand opposite watering, shade one another, or repeat a plant family with the same pests and diseases.

Companion planting is therefore a planning practice, not a guarantee of pest control or yield. Traditional pair lists can offer ideas, but the useful question is why a pairing might work in the actual bed. A claim based on harvest timing or physical support is easier to test than a broad promise that one herb will protect every nearby vegetable.

FactorPractical questionConsequence
Plant familyDo the crops share rotation, pest, or disease concerns?Related crops may belong in the same sanitation and rotation plan even when their canopies fit.
WaterCan low-water herbs and thirsty vegetables be irrigated separately?A shared watering zone can leave one crop stressed or the other too wet.
CanopyWill a tall or vining crop shade a low neighbor?Orientation, trellising, pruning, and harvest timing determine whether shade helps or harms.
Root volumeIs there enough soil for deep roots, vines, and large plants?Containers and intensive spacing amplify competition that an open row may absorb.
EvidenceIs the claim practical, traditional, or unknown?Weak helpful claims should not override direct water, family, space, or disease evidence.

Context changes the answer. Rosemary beside cucumber may be manageable when the rosemary occupies a dry edge with separate irrigation, yet awkward in one small container. Lettuce can benefit from light afternoon shade while a sun-loving fruiting crop may lose production under the same canopy. Corn, bean, and squash can form a useful support system only when establishment timing, water, and enough ground area are also right.

The most common mistake is using a compatibility label as the planting map. Bed orientation, cultivar size, local weather, recent disease, container depth, sowing date, and actual plant condition remain outside any static pair list. A wilted plant, mildew spreading through crowded leaves, or soil that cannot stay evenly moist is stronger evidence than a favorable label.

A sound plan handles the firm constraints first: separate strong conflicts, keep disease-prone families visible in rotation records, match irrigation, and protect airflow and root room. Flowers, herbs, and classic pairings can then improve diversity or convenience without carrying more certainty than the evidence supports.

How to Use This Tool:

Describe the crops as they will share one bed, row, border, or container group rather than screening names without their growing conditions.

  1. Enter 2 to 12 distinct crops in Crops in the bed, one per line. Common aliases and singular or plural forms are combined, so duplicate names count once.
  2. Choose Planting context, Spacing model, and Watering pattern to match the real root volume, canopy contact, and irrigation zones.
  3. Set Priority lens, evidence stance, and Screening sensitivity. Conservative evidence mode filters traditional helpful notes, while sensitivity 3 or 4 strengthens same-family warnings.
  4. Read Pair screen for the strongest signal on each pair and Bed moves for the first layout changes. Check Crop profiles whenever a name is marked unlisted.

Interpreting Results:

The summary follows the strongest pair in the crop list. Separate first means at least one pair reached Separate. Rework layout means Caution is the highest level, while Use spacing care means the highest remaining level is Watch. No major flags appears when useful signals exist without a Watch, Caution, or Separate result.

  • Separate calls for another bed, container, row block, or season.
  • Caution needs a deliberate change to spacing, family grouping, water, or placement.
  • Watch depends on observation and the ability to correct crowding, shade, or moisture early.
  • Useful records a practical reason to consider the pair, not proof of a benefit.
  • Neutral means no listed signal was found or the crop is unknown. It does not mean proven compatibility.

A result cannot predict yield, prevent disease, or confirm a traditional pest claim for a particular climate, cultivar, soil, or season. Check unlisted crops against seed packets and local extension guidance, and let direct signs such as wilting, mildew, crowding, or dry soil outweigh a static label.

Crop names are processed in the browser. No garden address or remote lookup is required, but copied or exported plans still reveal what is being grown.

Technical Details:

Every distinct crop is assigned a family, height, water demand, root habit, and role when a profile is available. Each possible pair is then checked for a named relationship and for broader family, water, canopy, root-volume, and recognition rules. When several rules apply, the highest severity controls the displayed level and its action, confidence, reason, and category.

Formula Core:

The number of pair comparisons grows from the count of distinct crops, not the number of input lines.

P = n(n-1)2

n is the number of distinct crops and P is the number of screened pairs. Six crops create 15 comparisons. The 12-crop limit therefore produces at most 66 pair results.

Rule Core:

RuleTrigger and adjustmentPossible severity
Named pairA listed pair contributes its practical or traditional signal. Conservative evidence mode changes only traditional helpful signals at severity 1 to Neutral.Neutral to Separate
Fennel isolationFennel with any other listed vegetable-bed crop receives the broad isolation caution.Separate
Same familyMost family repeats begin at Watch. Nightshades, brassicas, cucurbits, and alliums begin at Caution. Disease and rotation priority or sensitivity 3 to 4 adds one level, capped at Separate.Watch to Separate
Water gapA low-water crop paired with a high-water crop is strengthened by one shared water zone, container or intensive spacing, and water-airflow priority; a dry-edge layout reduces the pressure by one level.Useful to Separate
Height gapA tall or vining crop paired with a low crop outside guild context begins at Watch. Tight or square-foot spacing and water-airflow priority can raise it.Watch to Separate
Root pressureA deep-rooted crop combined with a tall or vining crop under container or intensive spacing.Watch, or Caution in a container
Unlisted cropIf either name lacks a profile, the pair receives an unknown-evidence result rather than a compatibility claim.Neutral
SeverityLevelSummary effect
4SeparateOverrides all lower pair signals.
3CautionLeads when no pair reaches Separate.
2WatchLeads when no Caution or Separate pair exists.
1UsefulProduces No major flags when no stronger pair exists.
0NeutralProduces Screening only when every pair is neutral.

Show neutral pairs changes only which rows are displayed. It does not change pair evaluation, counts, the summary, or the recommended bed moves. Bed moves use up to the first five pairs at Watch or above, followed by verification notes for unlisted crops.

For example, basil and tomato can contribute a Useful aromatic-neighbor signal, but adding potato creates a stronger nightshade disease-family warning. Likewise, cucumber and sage receive water-pressure warnings in a shared container because high- and low-water crops cannot occupy separate irrigation zones. In both cases, the stronger physical or disease constraint controls the summary.

References: