Why Melons Do Not Belong Alongside Cucumbers In The Garden

Some plants make great garden companions, helping each other thrive when grown in close proximity. For example, parsley is an ideal companion for tomato plants because it attracts lacewings that prey upon bugs that infest tomato plants. The opposite is also true: Some plants make gardening harder when they're planted side by side. One not-so-great pair is cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) and melons such as honeydew and cantaloupe (both Cucumis melo). The main problem is that these plants are targeted by many of the same pests, increasing the likelihood of an infestation that could harm your harvest and take considerable effort to fix. Additionally, cucumbers and melons tend to compete for nutrients and other resources when planted near each other.

Cucumbers, cantaloupes, honeydews, and watermelons are all classified as cucurbits because they belong to the same plant family. Since they're closely related, it's not surprising that they attract a similar lineup of garden invaders. This list includes cucumber beetles, squash bugs, melon aphids, pickleworms, and whiteflies. In addition to killing many cucurbits by feasting on every part of them, cucumber beetles spread bacterial wilt, which can also ruin your crop of cantaloupes and cukes. Pickleworms are little caterpillars that can cause big problems for cucurbits. Swarms of them will take over the plants' flowers, and they can even drill their way into your crops. Holes in your cucumbers or melons are a sign that pickleworms may be active in your garden. Unfortunately, the fruit can't be rescued at this point. It's better to take the prevention route, planting cucumbers in different parts of your garden — or in different gardens entirely.

Melons and cucumbers are also problematic partners because they tend to fight each other for sunlight and water. The same goes for nutrients, as both are heavy feeders. When your soil isn't fertile enough, these plants will make fewer cucumbers and melons. Plus, they may develop problems such as blossom end rot, which is linked to calcium shortages. Even if a soil test shows that your garden is rich in nutrients at the start of the growing season, planting multiple heavy feeders in the same spot can deplete these resources quickly, increasing how much fertilizer your garden needs.

Though melons and certain herbs make bad cucumber companions, several plants make terrific neighbors for these crunchy summer veggies. If you'd like to grow another vegetable near your cucumbers, try radishes (Raphanus sativus). As the plants develop, they emit a sulfur-containing substance that wards off cucumber beetles and whiteflies that transmit a variety of cucurbit-harming viruses. Sweetening the deal, radishes aren't heavy feeders, so they don't give cukes much competition for nutrients. Radishes thrive in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 11, an area that covers most of the United States. Want to grow an herb near your cukes? Consider dill (Anethum graveolens), which you may need anyway if you're planning to turn your cucumbers into pickles. Its blossoms drive away the aphids and mites that can bother cucumbers. Dill also appreciates nearly the same growing conditions as cucumbers, so it's easy to cultivate these plants close to one another.