Tradition
No chart mentions this pair.
Pepper
Capsicum annuum
Solanaceae
Watermelon
Citrullus lanatus
CucurbitaceaeCan you plant peppers and watermelon together?
It depends. The sources disagree about peppers and watermelon. Growing them together gave a bigger combined harvest in a field trial, but watermelon yielded less next to peppers in a field trial.
Why it depends
Mixed results on harvest. In a field trial, results on harvest were mixed.
Plant functional diversity improves short-term yields in a low-input intercropping system (Franco JG · 2015 · Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.)Smaller combined harvest. In a field trial, watermelon yielded less next to peppers.
Component crop physiology and water use efficiency in response to intercropping (Franco JG · 2018 · European Journal of Agronomy.)Bigger combined harvest. In a field trial, growing them together gave a bigger combined harvest.
Studies on the eco-economic efficiency of high beneficial intercropping models in upland (Wang Ying · 1998 · Acta Ecologica Sinica)
What to plant with peppers and watermelon
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
RadishWith peppers: 69% more harvestWith watermelon: Bigger combined harvest
What to keep away from peppers and watermelon
KaleWith peppers: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
Brussels sproutsWith peppers: 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
Mixed
avoidgood
3 papers found: 1 positive, 1 negative, 1 mixed.
yield / land use x3
auto-classified not reviewed by a person
Yield trial
No intercropping yield trial.
It's complicated
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 peppers and watermelon
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With peppers | With watermelon |
|---|---|---|
| Radish | 69% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 2 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for peppers and radishes | Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for watermelon and radishes |
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
- Badyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedComponent crop physiology and water use efficiency in response to intercroppingComponent crop physiology and water use efficiency in response to intercropping (Franco JG · 2018 · European Journal of Agronomy.)Relevance 87% · effect confidence 30%
- Mixedyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedPlant functional diversity improves short-term yields in a low-input intercropping systemPlant functional diversity improves short-term yields in a low-input intercropping system (Franco JG · 2015 · Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.)Relevance 90% · effect confidence 39%
- Goodyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedStudies on the eco-economic efficiency of high beneficial intercropping models in uplandStudies on the eco-economic efficiency of high beneficial intercropping models in upland (Wang Ying · 1998 · Acta Ecologica Sinica)Relevance 81% · effect confidence 83%
All neighbours of pepper and of watermelon, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown peppers and watermelon 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.