Okra

Abelmoschus esculentus

Malvaceae

Squash & pumpkin

Cucurbita spp.

Cucurbitaceae

Can you plant okra and squash together?

Yes. Okra and squash grow well together.

Why okra and squash work together

Garden charts recommend it. 2 garden chart entries recommend growing them together. Charts pass on gardening tradition; they are not tests.
Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011 · Lucrări ştiinţifice)
About the same harvest. In one field trial, a bed with both crops gave about the same harvest as the same space split into a okra bed and a squash & pumpkin bed.
Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011)

What to plant with okra and squash

Good neighbours of both, best tested first.

BeanWith okra: 25% more harvestWith squash: 17% more harvest
LettuceWith okra: 9% more harvestWith squash: 10% more harvest
TomatoWith okra: About the same harvestWith squash: 18% more harvest

How each one was tested, with the evidence

What to keep away from okra and squash

PotatoWith squash: 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

Good

avoidgood

2 chart entries: 2 recommend, 0 advise against.

All entries cite a source.

Research

No papers found on this pair.

Yield trial

No effect

No per-crop split reported in these trials.

1 field trial. Published LERs lean high.

Good neighbours

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.

Okra Squash & pumpkinStudies looked at land equivalent ratio between Okra and Squash & pumpkin and found no clear effect.

Partial LERs (medians): Okra 0.50 + Squash & pumpkin 0.50. Range across treatments 0.90 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

Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011)

Tradition saysGood

2 gardening-lore entries. Lore is a starting point, not proof.

Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011 · Lucrări ştiinţifice)

Companion plants for both okra and squash

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

Plant	With okra	With squash
Bean	25% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 2 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for okra and beans	Fewer pests and better soil and nutrient uptake17% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 7 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for squash and beans
Lettuce	9% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for okra and lettuce	10% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for squash and lettuce
Tomato	About the same harvest as separate bedsField trial, 2 studies. Charts: recommend.Evidence for okra and tomatoes	18% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for squash and tomatoes

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 trialNo effect1 entry

No effectLER 0.99field trial

Jordan, 2007; Replacement design; median LER 0.99 over 4 treatment(s)
Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011)

TraditionGood2 entries

GoodSquash & pumpkin helps Okra
Okra: helped by squash
Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011 · Lucrări ştiinţifice)
GoodSquash & pumpkin helps Okra
Squash: helps okra
Effect of intercropping on the performance of some summer vegetable crops grown under different row arrangements (Hadidi · 2011 · Lucrări ştiinţifice)

Plan a bed with okra and squash

All neighbours of okra and of squash & pumpkin, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.

Have you grown okra and squash 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.