Tradition
No chart mentions this pair.
Sweet corn
Zea mays
Poaceae
Spinach
Spinacia oleracea
AmaranthaceaeCan you plant corn and spinach together?
Yes. Corn and spinach grow well together. A shared bed gave about 57% more harvest than separate beds in one field trial. That rests on a single study, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.
Why corn and spinach work together
More harvest from the same bed. In one field trial, a bed with both crops gave about 57% more harvest than the same space split into a sweet corn bed and a spinach bed.
What to plant with corn and spinach
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
BeanWith corn: 43% more harvestWith spinach: Recommended by garden charts, not tested
CilantroWith corn: 42% more harvestWith spinach: Recommended by garden charts, not tested
PeaWith corn: 40% more harvestWith spinach: Recommended by garden charts, not tested
CucumberWith corn: Fewer pestsWith spinach: Better soil and nutrient uptake
What to keep away from corn and spinach
CeleryWith corn: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
The evidence in detail
For readers who want to dig in: every chart entry, study and yield trial behind the answer above, with the numbers.
Tradition, research and yield trials
Research
No papers found on this pair.
Yield trial
Good
0.96
0.61
Sweet corn gains more. Partial LER is each crop's share of the yield it would give alone.
1 field trial. Published LERs lean high.
Good neighbours
What happens above and below ground
Each animation illustrates a mechanism a study reported for this pair. Pick a card to focus on it.
Everything at once.
Companion plants for both corn and spinach
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With corn | With spinach |
|---|---|---|
| Bean | Draws in pest-eating insects, fewer pests and better soil and nutrient uptake43% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 22 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for corn and beans | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for spinach and beans |
| Cilantro | 42% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for corn and cilantro | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for spinach and cilantro |
| Pea | Better soil and nutrient uptake40% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 11 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for corn and peas | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for spinach and peas |
| Cucumber | Fewer pestsField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for corn and cucumbers | Better soil and nutrient uptakeGreenhouse or pot trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for spinach and cucumbers |
Harvest from the same space compares a bed with both crops against the same area split into single-crop beds, counting the harvest of both crops (the land equivalent ratio in yield trials).
The evidence, with sources
- GoodLER 1.57field trialIndia, 2010-2011; NA design; median LER 1.58 over 2 treatment(s) · partial LER Sweet corn 0.965, Spinach 0.61
All neighbours of sweet corn and of spinach, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown corn and spinach together?
Tell other gardeners what happened: spacing, pests, harvest, or ask a question. Reader notes are not checked by us and do not change the verdicts on this page.