Companion planting is a great way to deter pests in our garden, specifically for summer squashes. Some plants repel pests like aphids, whiteflies, melonworms and pickleworm. Others are better suited as trap crops, attracting aphids, squash vine borerers, squash bugs and cucumber beetles so we can remove them from the garden and destroy them before they get to our zucchini or yellow squash. It's important to know which pests we're dealing with so we know which plants to use and how to use them. And I'll bet many of us have used one specific plant incorrectly as a companion plant for our area, and that includes me! Let's dig in to the best, and worst, companion plants for zucchini and other summer squashes.

Resources:

Companion planting with French marigolds protects tomato plants from glasshouse whiteflies through the emission of airborne limonene | PLOS ONE

Virginia State University College of Agriculture | Companion Planting

melonworm - Diaphania hyalinata (ufl.edu)

Can the introduction of companion plants increase biological control services of key pests in organic squash? - Lopez - 2022 - Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata - Wiley Online Library

⁠9 of the Best Companion Plants to Grow with Zucchini (gardenerspath.com)⁠