Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum

Solanaceae

Squash & pumpkin

Cucurbita spp.

Cucurbitaceae

Can you plant tomatoes and squash together?

Yes. Tomatoes and squash grow well together. A shared bed gave about 18% 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 tomatoes and squash work together

More harvest from the same bed. In one field trial, a bed with both crops gave about 18% more harvest than the same space split into a squash & pumpkin bed and a tomato bed.
Mixed cropping of vegetables to improve organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production in small farmer systems (Reynafarje · 2016)
Garden charts recommend it. 1 garden chart entry recommends growing them together. Charts pass on gardening tradition; they are not tests.
12 Evidence-Based Companion Plants for Tomatoes (2021 · Growfully)

What to plant with tomatoes and squash

Good neighbours of both, best tested first.

BeanWith tomatoes: 18% more harvestWith squash: 17% more harvest
OkraWith tomatoes: About the same harvestWith squash: About the same harvest
OreganoRecommended by garden charts for both, not tested yet

How each one was tested, with the evidence

What to keep away from tomatoes and squash

RosemaryWith tomatoes: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
PotatoWith squash: 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

Tradition

Good

avoidgood

1 chart entry: 1 recommend, 0 advise against.

All entries cite a source.

Research

No papers found on this pair.

Yield trial

Good

0.36

0.82

Squash & pumpkin 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.

What is going on (1)

Pick a card to spotlight its animation in the scene.

Tomato Squash & pumpkinMedian land equivalent ratio 1.18 over 1 trial: growing them together gave 1.18 times the harvest of two separate plots of the same size.

Partial LERs (medians): Tomato 0.36 + Squash & pumpkin 0.82. Range across treatments 1.18 to 1.18. Medians are taken separately, so the parts need not add up to the median LER. LER above 1 is biased upward by publication bias.

Yield trialfield trial x1

Mixed cropping of vegetables to improve organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production in small farmer systems (Reynafarje · 2016)

Tradition saysGood

1 gardening-lore entry. Lore is a starting point, not proof.

12 Evidence-Based Companion Plants for Tomatoes (2021 · Growfully)

Companion plants for both tomatoes and squash

Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.

Plant	With tomatoes	With squash
Bean	18% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 2 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for tomatoes and beans	Fewer pests and better soil and nutrient uptake17% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 7 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for squash and beans
Okra	About the same harvest as separate bedsField trial, 2 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for tomatoes and okra	About the same harvest as separate bedsField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for squash and okra

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).

Recommended by garden charts for both, not tested yet

Oregano

The evidence, with sources

Yield trialGood1 entry

GoodLER 1.18field trial

Peru, NA; Additive design; median LER 1.18 over 1 treatment(s) · partial LER Squash & pumpkin 0.82, Tomato 0.36
Mixed cropping of vegetables to improve organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production in small farmer systems (Reynafarje · 2016)

TraditionGood1 entry

GoodSquash & pumpkin helps Tomato
Tomatoes: helped by squash
12 Evidence-Based Companion Plants for Tomatoes (2021 · Growfully)

Plan a bed with tomatoes and squash

All neighbours of tomato and of squash & pumpkin, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.

Have you grown tomatoes and squash 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.