Plant This Easy To Grow Veggie Near Your Peppers And Watch Them Flourish

On the list of the best companion plants for peppers, beans feature high on the tally. It turns out that there are numerous reasons to plant beans and peppers together, but the biggest benefit to peppers is beans' tendency to fix nitrogen in the soil, resulting in lusher, healthier pepper plants and better yields than ever before. Peppers are considered heavy feeders because they require a robust amount of nutrients to keep them fed and thriving. Beans help alleviate some of that nutrient load for gardeners with the nitrogen they infuse into the soil. As a bonus, bushy beans act as a natural parasol for pepper plants, resisting sun scald. There's also some evidence that the beans deter pests that might otherwise plague peppers, like aphids.

Social media is rife with myths that peppers and beans as a duo belong on the roster of veggies that you should never plant together in your garden, but the issues with which commenters take exception aren't actually valid. It's true that climbing bean plants can choke out pepper plants, but bush beans are excellent companions and also yield delicious beans that make great additions to both your garden and your dinner table! There are a number of bush beans, offering tons of culinary variety, and, since they mature for harvest all at once, they are ideal for home canners who enjoy putting up produce for the fall and winter. As for your fat, juicy peppers, all you need to know once you grow them is Gordon Ramsey's indispensable tip for cutting bell peppers!

Companion planting is a time-honored method through which symbiotic plant species are planted next to one another and allowed to share nutrients and benefits. In the case of peppers, they receive shade, insect protection, and nitrogen from the beans — making them good companions for one another. Is companion planting the real deal, or just hype? Social media reports seem to say positive things about peppers and beans together.

"My green beans and peppers are next to each other," reports one Facebook user. "I bought 1 pound of bean seeds, have canned 30 pints, froze 12 bags, given away gallons and eaten several times off them so far. I bought 6 bell pepper plants,and have picked probably 10 pounds of peppers of[f] them. I would say they can be together." On another Facebook post, in which verdant, healthy plants are depicted, the author said: "Peppers and Beans together = great companion plants." 

It's important to note that even the most effective companion planting can only take you so far. Correct watering, fertilizing, plant spacing, and several other variables all contribute more to the health of your garden members than their neighbors. If anything, planting beans with peppers might have no visible effects at all — but, if you're diligent with taking good care of both, you might just see benefits in the forms of bigger, heartier peppers.