Growing Watermelon, Onion, Tomato, Peppers in same bed? - Ask Extension
Hello, I just put up a cattle panel trellis between my onion, tomato, and pepper beds. Can I grow a watermelon to trellis up and over the trellis ...
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Growing Watermelon, Onion, Tomato, Peppers in same bed? #824989
Asked April 10, 2023, 10:42 AM EDT
Hello,
I just put up a cattle panel trellis between my onion, tomato, and pepper beds. Can I grow a watermelon to trellis up and over the trellis utilizing some growing space in my onion, tomato, and pepper beds?
I understand the watermelon can take up a lot of space which I can accommodate, however, I have read that watermelon may not be the best "companion" plant or may stall or impair growth for tomatoes and peppers. But then I have also read it is just fine to grow them all together.
Do you have any information either way so I do not waste a garden season trying?
Thank you,
Catherine Kushner
Arapahoe County Colorado
Expert Response
Hello Catherine,
There has not been a lot of conclusive research done on companion plantings and I didn’t find any research information that would support the idea that watermelon can impair the growth of tomatoes and peppers.
The main concern would be that watermelon plants have a lot of long vines with many large leaves. If they are growing on a trellis, would the leaves shade the tomatoes and peppers and prevent them from receiving enough direct sunlight? At our altitude “full sun” is considered to be about 6 hours of direct sunlight. If your tomatoes and peppers won’t receive 6 hours, they may not perform as well as you would like them to and you might want to find another spot for them.
I would also encourage you to search “.edu” websites for accurate, research-based information when researching gardening topics. (Example: Companion Planting.edu) Searching educational websites will ensure that the information is not merely anecdotal but arrived at through scientifically conducted studies. While this is not perfect, it is helpful.
See following link for more information on companion planting:
https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/lincolnmcpherson/Cornell%20Guide%20to%20Companion%20Planting.pdf
There has not been a lot of conclusive research done on companion plantings and I didn’t find any research information that would support the idea that watermelon can impair the growth of tomatoes and peppers.
The main concern would be that watermelon plants have a lot of long vines with many large leaves. If they are growing on a trellis, would the leaves shade the tomatoes and peppers and prevent them from receiving enough direct sunlight? At our altitude “full sun” is considered to be about 6 hours of direct sunlight. If your tomatoes and peppers won’t receive 6 hours, they may not perform as well as you would like them to and you might want to find another spot for them.
I would also encourage you to search “.edu” websites for accurate, research-based information when researching gardening topics. (Example: Companion Planting.edu) Searching educational websites will ensure that the information is not merely anecdotal but arrived at through scientifically conducted studies. While this is not perfect, it is helpful.
See following link for more information on companion planting:
https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/lincolnmcpherson/Cornell%20Guide%20to%20Companion%20Planting.pdf
