Radish

Raphanus sativus

Brassicaceae

Pepper

Capsicum annuum

Solanaceae

Can you plant radishes and peppers together?

Yes. Radishes and peppers grow well together. A shared bed gave about 69% more harvest than separate beds in one field trial. That rests on two studies, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.

Why radishes and peppers work together

More harvest from the same bed. In one field trial, a bed with both crops gave about 69% more harvest than the same space split into a pepper bed and a radish bed.
Yield and economics of chilli based intercropping system (Suresha · 2007)

What to plant with radishes and peppers

Good neighbours of both, best tested first.

Sweet cornWith radishes: 40% more harvestWith peppers: 44% more harvest
EggplantRecommended by garden charts for both, not tested yet

How each one was tested, with the evidence

What to keep away from radishes and peppers

CarrotWith radishes: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
KaleWith peppers: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
Brussels sproutsWith peppers: 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

No chart mentions this pair.

Research

Good

avoidgood

1 paper found: 1 positive, 0 negative.

yield / land use

auto-classified not reviewed by a person

Yield trial

Good

0.73

0.96

Pepper gains more. Partial LER is each crop's share of the yield it would give alone.

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 (2)

Pick a card to spotlight its animation in the scene.

Radish PepperGrown together, Radish and Pepper gave more food from the same ground than apart.

Researchfield trial x1

Studies on the eco-economic efficiency of high beneficial intercropping models in upland (Wang Ying · 1998 · Acta Ecologica Sinica)

Radish PepperMedian land equivalent ratio 1.69 over 1 trial: growing them together gave 1.69 times the harvest of two separate plots of the same size.

Partial LERs (medians): Radish 0.73 + Pepper 0.96. Range across treatments 1.69 to 1.69. 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

Yield and economics of chilli based intercropping system (Suresha · 2007)

Companion plants for both radishes and peppers

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

Plant	With radishes	With peppers
Sweet corn	40% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 2 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for radishes and corn	Lures pests away, better soil and nutrient uptake and less disease44% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 5 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for peppers and corn

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).

Recommended by garden charts for both, not tested yet

Eggplant

The evidence, with sources

ResearchGood1 entry

Goodyield / land usefield trialauto-classified

Studies on the eco-economic efficiency of high beneficial intercropping models in upland
Studies on the eco-economic efficiency of high beneficial intercropping models in upland (Wang Ying · 1998 · Acta Ecologica Sinica)

Relevance 84% · effect confidence 71%

Yield trialGood1 entry

GoodLER 1.69field trial

India, 2005-2006; Additive design; median LER 1.69 over 1 treatment(s) · partial LER Pepper 0.96, Radish 0.73
Yield and economics of chilli based intercropping system (Suresha · 2007)

Plan a bed with radishes and peppers

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

Have you grown radishes and peppers 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.