Bad companion plants for pumpkins mean that the plants are disadvantageous for your pumpkins if you grow them together. There are many reasons why certain plants are bad if they’re planted near or next to your pumpkins. If you want to pick the right companion plants, you should know about these bad companion plants first. Without further ado let see the bad companion in detail.

Bad Companion Plants for Pumpkins You Should Avoid

  1. Potatoes
    Some plants are great to grow along with pumpkins because they can protect and benefit your pumpkins. However, potatoes should be on the list of bad companion plants you should avoid to grow with pumpkins. Potatoes’ roots can stunt your pumpkins’ growth by consuming and depleting the soil of nutrients needed by pumpkins.

  2. Sweet Potatoes
    Not only potatoes, you need to avoid planting sweet potatoes to be a companion plant for pumpkins. They’re known to be bad companion plants because they can grow vigorously by spreading out quickly. The sweet potatoes tend to take up space and this causes them to compete with the pumpkins for more space.

  3. Fennel
    Fennel is known as a plant that has aromatic seeds that offer great health benefits to whoever consumes them. But when you want to plant fennels, make sure you don’t make them as pumpkins’ companion plants. They’re a bad pairing for most plants, including pumpkins, because they could inhibit the other plant’s growth.

  4. Zucchini
    Although zucchini is in the same family as pumpkins and watermelons, it would be a bad companion plant for pumpkins. Unlike watermelons that are compatible with growing pumpkins because they can give protection to pumpkins, zucchini is different. Growing them next to the pumpkins could increase the risk of pests and diseases occurring.

  5. Carrots
    Are carrots bad companion plants for pumpkins? The answer is a yes, because both roots can compete for nutrients in the soil making them not growing optimally. That’s why you shouldn’t grow pumpkins near root vegetables, including carrots, so that pumpkins and their companion plants grow well.

  6. Cabbage
    Cabbage is another plant that you should avoid planting together with pumpkins, because they’re as bad as carrots. Both cabbages and pumpkins might compete with each other for space, nutrients in the soil, and even for light. Pumpkins’ large leaves are also at risk of shading the cabbage plant and stunting its growth.

  7. Beets
    Beets are the same as carrots–they’re included in root vegetables grown underground. This is the reason why beets are a bad companion plant for pumpkins because both will compete with each other. Just like with carrots, pumpkins and beets could compete for nutrients making one of them cannot grow optimally.

  8. Kale
    Kale should be avoided to grow with pumpkins because they take nutrients away from the soil. It cannot be grown next to pumpkins because they could compete for nutrients for sure. If this happens, one of them or even both of them cannot grow as you expect them to be.

  9. Rhubarb
    Rhubarb is another plant that will be your pumpkins’ competitor if they’re planted next to each other. Pumpkins need as much sunlight as possible, so they can beat the rhubarb. When competing for the light, pumpkins’ vines and leaves will take up rhubarb’s space.

Bad companion plants for pumpkins list is here and you need to take a look at them carefully. Don’t force the bad companion plants to grow with your pumpkins. It can put both plants at risk of getting inhibited during their growth.