Don't sow your tomatoes without these companion plants.

are a beginner-friendly vegetable, and are one of the most popular crops to grow. They often start life as seeds planted indoors and grown on a windowsill before being planted outdoors once the warms up a bit.

If you're growing tomatoes this year, you might have already planted seeds in seed trays for the indoor growing portion of their lifecycle. According to the (RHS), seeds should be sown between February and April, and the plants should be planted outside between May and June.

But one has said that you should be planting some "companion plants" before you even consider putting your tomatoes outside. Companion plants help each other to flourish by keeping pests at bay, attracting beneficial insects or improving soil health.

According to guru Jamie Walton, you should never plant tomatoes without two common companion plants.

He said: "Don't sow your tomato seeds without sowing these two companion plants as well."

The first companion plant Jamie recommended for tomatoes is marigolds. These small yellow and red flowers can be planted right alongside your tomatoes, and they work to deter pests while also attracting the insects you do want.

He explained: "Marigolds are such a useful little flower to grow in the vegetable garden. I underplant my tomatoes with them to help deter common pests with their strong scent. They also attract many beneficial insects to the garden - many of them predatory, such as lacewing and ladybirds, which help keep on top of aphid populations.

"They also add colour and beauty to the space, and they're edible too."

According to , tomatoes that are grown outdoors instead of in a greenhouse can also benefit from marigolds as they will provide some protection against parasites that would otherwise eat the roots of your tomato plant.

You should plant your marigolds within 45cm of your tomato plants and should feed and water them at the same time. If you are also growing any other vegetables or beans nearby, then marigolds can help protect them, too.

It's important to note that marigolds will not deter slugs, so you will need to take other measures to keep those pests at bay.

Tomato and basil is a pairing many of us are familiar with in cooking, but it turns out they grow well together, too.

Jamie detailed: "They enjoy similar growing conditions, so grow really well together, and they make an even better pairing on the plate. Basil's strong scent can help deter some common pests, and it's said that if you plant basil near tomatoes, it can actually help improve their flavour. So all in all, a great companion for those tomatoes."

Epic Gardening states that basil is particularly effective at repelling whiteflies, aphids and thrips from your tomatoes. And the tasty herb can even help make your time in the garden more pleasant by also keeping mosquitoes and flies at bay.

Basil is also not a heavy feeder, meaning it won't deplete the soil of the nutrients that your tomatoes need to produce flavourful fruit. Interestingly, basil's tender leaves often develop signs of diseases like powdery mildew and downy mildew before other plants do, so they can be used as an indicator that something is wrong before your tomatoes are affected.

So, if you're thinking of planting tomatoes this year, add these plants to your list, too!