Benefits: Improves strawberry growth, attracts pollinators, and repels pests. As carrots dig deep into the soil, they help loosen and aerate it for their strawberry companions. They can improve strawberry vigor and eliminate the need for adding fertilizer. As long as you give tulsi about 1-2 feet of space from neighboring strawberries, it is a perfect border or row-end companion. Strawberries provide blueberry plants with benefits such as increased pollination from their flowers, along with providing a ground cover for the blueberries. Fortunately, there are a number of different options you can plant, depending on your preferences. Spinach is a simple leafy green to interplant with strawberries in the spring for delicious salads or green smoothies. Interestingly, if you struggle with salty soils, purslane can be an extra beneficial companion in your garden. The result? For best results, plant basil near blueberries, asparagus, and nightshade. They are well-researched for their pest-repellant properties in greenhouse settings. Blueberries are one of the most popular fruits in just about any garden. The only problem is, I wasnt sure which companion plants to provide them, so I did some more research. So, if you are planting strawberries this season, luckily, you have plenty of options to companion plant with your strawberries. The umbel-shaped flowers attract hoverflies, parasitoid wasps, ladybugs, and lacewings. Best of success with your new vegetable garden! Both strawberries and blueberries are easy to grow garden fruits that you can plant once and reap from for many years. It is one of the most reliable and fun ways to improve strawberry growth in your organic garden. The most common reason why blueberry plants have foes is due to them requiring a more acidic soil pH. Higher yields, sweeter fruits, and fully filled-out berries. For this reason, unseasonably cold weather which keeps bees indoors can also affect your strawberry yield. Different species aid strawberries in unique ways, but they all require a little planning to account for spacing, size, shade, and potential competition. They will surely outlast your strawberries, so make sure you plant asparagus crowns in a place where they can proliferate. But it is especially great for strawberries because it offers a double whammy: pest protection and pollinator habitat. Any way you decide to plant them, you will be happy you did! But broccoli may break that mold thanks to its disease-suppressing properties. Im planting strawberries and blueberries together but wasnt sure if they were compatible. Confusing pests so they cant find their hosts. Strawberries are very salt-sensitive plants but research shows that the halophytic (salt-loving) companion purslane can improve strawberry yields and fruit quality! Benefits: Repel root knot nematodes, whiteflies, and rabbits. The roots need time to get established before the ground freezes. Strawberry. They are a beautiful shrub to add to your landscaping. There are three main types of blueberry bushes on the market: highbush, lowbush and hybrid half high. Blueberry shrubs are actually related to rhododendrons and azaleas. Not only is this herb an amazing insectary and companion plant, but it also tastes exquisitely refreshing in tea. Did you know that coriander is just cilantro that has started to flower and go to seed? Its also a great drought-tolerant plant. The pungent onion-like smell of chives keeps bad bugs away while the beautiful (and edible!) But since its been cultivated for over 5,000 years, its difficult to pinpoint (source). By the time strawberries are fully grown, the lettuce will be ready to harvest. Dig each hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the roots of the plant when putting in the ground. They found that bee-pollinated berries had a longer shelf life and a more flavorful sugar-to-acid ratio than the strawberries that were self-pollinated or pollinated by wind. Can blueberries grow next to Thyme is best planted with blueberries, strawberries brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc), rosemary, and lavender. Regardless of their appearing in July 4th fruit spreads, you may know if you have grown or picked either of these fruits that they dont ripen at the same time. They both can act as beautiful landscape plants and they can be grown together. WebStrawberries make a good companion plant for blueberries. It is also a light feeder that wont compete with them for nutrients or water. To see more companion flowers, check out my other post: The Top 10 Companion Flowers for Gardens, Vegetables, & More. Generally, basil prefers a mild climate and well-draining soil. In spring, attention-grabbing clusters of pink or white blooms give way to blue berries that attract birds and other small wildlife. ecological growing methods. Aphids cant stand garlic! They come back every year but spread fairly slowly. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It also has vibrant flowers that lure predatory insects and pollinators to your strawberries. Comfrey is one of the most popular companion flowers at the moment because not only can it be used to attract pollinators butit grows incredibly fast and talleventually falling over and making a greatmulchfor other plants. The ripe berries have a dark blue color and often have a white, waxy coating. Clover is a member of the legume family, which means it makes nitrogen more available to your plants through a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria. Benefits: Attract beneficial insects and repels pests. What is the great thing about blueberry bushes? Because of this, comfrey is a great plant to use for growing in and improving poor soils, making it a pioneer plant in ecological succession. I prefer using a pH meter since theyre affordable and easy to use. However, this exotic salad plant can help repel destructive nematodes in your strawberry patch. It is recommended that you pinch off flowers for the first year or two so as not to allow the plant to fruit and conserve its energy for growth. Fortunately, they dont tend to spread. Either way, at least the bugs wont be eating your strawberry plants! Just be sure you get the creeping cultivars, not the standard wooly bush types. Why? It is a low shrub, at most 3 feet (75 cm) in height. With some trial and error, I learned that the best way to make sure food was fresh was to grow it myself. With cover crops such as clover, you can evengrow them in-between the blueberry plants and run livestock through the alleys. Pick a Proper Container. Basil. In addition, they make a great companion plant to blueberries. Strawberries come in many varieties and can be grown across many hardiness zones. (Answered), Why Blueberry Bushes Wont Grow (& 6 Ways to Fix It), Permaculture: The Secret to Self-Sustaining Food, Homesteading vs Farming (Which One is Best For You? Theyve even been shown to increase crop yields. Make micronutrients available to your crop. Dont forget to keep 6-12 between each flower and your strawberry plants. Strawberries are no different. Thyme 2. In contrast to monoculture (growing lots of one species in a small space), polyculture plantings have been proven to reduce pest pressure by making it harder for them to find strawberry plants. WebBlueberries and strawberries go well together. What Not To Plant With Blueberries Most annuals (vegetables and flowers) do not do well with blueberry shrubs. Benefits: Repel pests and attract pollinators. 24 min read. WebThere are lots of popular plant companions for strawberry. Rhubarb has ultra deep taproots that break up the soil for strawberries to grow more freely. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an extraordinary mint-family herb with a delicate lemony fragrance. Sweet alyssum can benefit nearly every plant in your garden. Netflix Original Flavors. This lesser-known herb is a member of the parsley family, which means it produces lovely white umbel flowers that are very attractive to beneficial insects. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Keep rhubarb on the perimeter of the patch. These trees (and their needles) are commonly thought to prevent many other plants from growing based on their acidity, but in my research, I found this to be mostly false. As mentioned earlier, one study showed that planting borage with strawberries significantly increased the yield and market quality of the berries, with 35% more fruits and 32% more weight. How to Plant It: Dill is a laid back herb that can easily be integrated into your strawberry beds. How to Plant It: Tulsi basil is easy to direct sow or transplant directly in your strawberry patch without worrying about it spreading or outcompeting your berry plants. These rambling fruits are domesticated cousins of the wild strawberries that vine along with the forest floors of North American forests. WebWhile not technically a companion plant, strawberries can be grown alongside rhubarb for mutual benefit. However, if you do take care of them, they grow again in the fall for a bit. Are you thinking about planting some differently colored strawberries but aren't sure which ones to pick? The giant yellow umbel blossoms draw in ladybugs, preying mantis, and wasps that keep strawberry pests in check. Plant borage on the perimeter of your strawberry beds at least 1-3 feet away from your berry plants so it doesnt intrude on their space. And like tomatoes and other companion plants, okra can offer shade, shelter and increased humidity for pepper plants between and below them. Borage The deep blue flowers of borage attract pollinators such as butterflies and many species of bees, as well as predatory bees and parasitic wasps. georgette_katsch. Best of all, creeping thyme is not going to outcompete or try to overgrow your strawberries. Because it is the most tried-and-true flower for attracting beneficial insects (aka good guy bugs). A lack of pollination is one of the main reasons why your garden strawberries grow small or deformed. gardener Posts: 831. Tyler Ziton is a Certified Permaculture Designer from Orlando, Florida with over 20 years of gardening experience. When it flowers, the perennial herb also attracts many native bees to aid in berry pollination. With their pungent floral scent and unique root composition, marigolds are some of the best flowers for driving off strawberry pests. These beautiful pollinators will gladly fly over to your strawberry patch to aid in spreading pollen around their flowers as well. Blueberries have shallow roots, which means they wont compete with the deeper roots of your rosemary plant. Rhododendron & azalea. There are few fruits as well-adapted to North American gardens as the classic strawberry. For every cut, each of the two leaves will then grow its own stem, quickly increasing the width of the plant (and giving you more basil leaves!). Companion planting aims to mimic nature by creating symbiotic relationships between plants that mutually aid each other. We all scream for ice cream! Borage (Borago officinalis) This herb is a virtual magic bullet when it comes to companion planting. The plant has an attractive look that matches the blueberry bushes. Mission. White clovers fragrant flowers are very popular amongst pollinators and predatory insects, which can help improve the yields and pest-resistance of your strawberries. How to Plant It: Beets can be direct sown 2-3 apart in rows 12-18 from strawberry plants. Benefits: Repel pests, improves growth, and attract pollinators and beneficial insects. Plant sage at the ends of strawberry rows or in a nearby perennial bed. Asparagus is one of the best strawberry companions because it has a complementary root system and different growing seasons. 4. 1 ice cream company in the Philippines and in Asia. The rest of the summer, it is a classic green shrub. Did you know that? You dont want yarrow to crowd or shade your strawberry plants, so keep it a couple feet away from the berries. For example, using the above graphic, heres how a temperate companion plant group could look with blueberry plants: Pine trees also make a good overstory for blueberry plants, especially due to their slight increase in soil acidity. For this reason, blueberry plants can be interplanted with pine trees, as long as the blueberry plants receive enough sunlight and arent smothered by pine needles. Keep in mind that some herbs, especially mint, should be planted in containers as the plants are aggressive and can easily take over a strawberry patch. Avoid planting mint in your strawberry bed or you may end up with no strawberries at all. Get Signature Select Ice Cream, Super Premium, Vanilla (1.5 qt) delivered to you within two hours via Instacart. Before you resort to pesticides, remember that companion plants are among the best preventative methods for keeping these pests away. And below them ground cover for the blueberries are easy to grow more freely within hours... Fortunately, there are few fruits as well-adapted to North American forests beneficial companion in your garden are three types. Protection and pollinator habitat some trial and error, I wasnt sure which ones pick. 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