Beet

Beta vulgaris

Amaranthaceae

Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Fabaceae

Can you plant beets and beans together?

It depends. The sources disagree about beets and beans. A shared bed gave about 7% more harvest than separate beds in one field trial, while garden charts disagree about it.

Why it depends

More harvest from the same bed. In one field trial, a bed with both crops gave about 7% more harvest than the same space split into a bean bed and a beet bed.
Intercropped red beet and radish with green bean affected microbial communities and nodulation by indigenous rhizobia (Ugrinovic · 2014)
Garden charts disagree. 2 chart entries recommend the pair and 1 advises against it. 1 of them cite no source. Charts pass on gardening tradition; they are not tests.
Companion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)

What to plant with beets and beans

Good neighbours of both, best tested first.

CilantroWith beets: 119% more harvestWith beans: Recommended by garden charts
LettuceWith beets: 58% more harvestWith beans: 48% more harvest
CucumberWith beets: Recommended by garden charts, not testedWith beans: 14% more harvest
GarlicWith beets: Recommended by garden charts, not testedWith beans: Draws in pest-eating insects

How each one was tested, with the evidence

What to keep away from beets and beans

KohlrabiWith beans: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
ChivesWith beans: 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

Disputed

avoidgood

3 chart entries: 2 recommend, 1 advise against.

2 cited, 1 uncited.

Research

No papers found on this pair.

Yield trial

Good

No per-crop split reported in these trials.

1 field trial. Published LERs lean high.

It's complicated

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.

Beet BeanMedian land equivalent ratio 1.07 over 1 trial: growing them together gave 1.07 times the harvest of two separate plots of the same size.

Partial LERs (medians): Beet 0.54 + Bean 0.54. Range across treatments 1.06 to 1.08. 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

Intercropped red beet and radish with green bean affected microbial communities and nodulation by indigenous rhizobia (Ugrinovic · 2014)

Tradition saysDisputed

3 gardening-lore entries, 1 without a specific citation. Lore is a starting point, not proof.

Companion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)

Companion plants for both beets and beans

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

Plant	With beets	With beans
Cilantro	119% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for beets and cilantro	No effect on pest-eating insectsField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beans and cilantro
Lettuce	58% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beets and lettuce	48% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 2 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beans and lettuce
Cucumber	No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beets and cucumbers	14% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beans and cucumbers
Garlic	No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for beets and garlic	Draws in pest-eating insectsField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for beans and garlic

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).

The evidence, with sources

Yield trialGood1 entry

GoodLER 1.07field trial

Serbia, 2010; Replacement design; median LER 1.07 over 2 treatment(s)
Intercropped red beet and radish with green bean affected microbial communities and nodulation by indigenous rhizobia (Ugrinovic · 2014)

TraditionDisputed3 entries

GoodBeet helps Bean
Beets: helps bush beans
Companion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
GoodBean helps Beet
Beets: helped by Bush beans
Companion Plants (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
Badadvises against
Beets: avoid Runner or pole beans
List of companion plants (uncited entry) (Wikipedia)

Plan a bed with beets and beans

All neighbours of beet and of bean, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.

Have you grown beets and beans 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.