Companion Planting: Pepper

Capsicum annuum

Spacing: 1 per square foot. Mature height: 1.5-3 ft.

Plant these nearby

• Basil: Reputed to repel aphids and improve pepper growth nearby, but a controlled garden trial testing this same claim on a related crop found no pest-reduction benefit from basil, and actually found higher pest counts on the basil-companioned plants — treat this pairing as unproven, not as a working pest deterrent. (source)
• Onion: Reputed to deter many common pepper pests, though this specific pairing hasn't been tested the way onion/carrot pest-masking has — treat it as garden tradition.

Keep these apart

• Bush Beans: Beans can host bacterial blights that affect peppers.

Common pairings, answered directly

Can I plant pepper next to basil?

Yes. Reputed to repel aphids and improve pepper growth nearby, but a controlled garden trial testing this same claim on a related crop found no pest-reduction benefit from basil, and actually found higher pest counts on the basil-companioned plants — treat this pairing as unproven, not as a working pest deterrent.

Can I plant pepper next to onion?

Yes. Reputed to deter many common pepper pests, though this specific pairing hasn't been tested the way onion/carrot pest-masking has — treat it as garden tradition.

Can I plant pepper next to bush beans?

Better not to. Beans can host bacterial blights that affect peppers.

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Companion planting for Pepper: which plants to grow next to it, which to keep apart, and the reason behind each pairing.

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