Benefits: Attract beneficial predators and pollinator insects. They are easy to direct sow in late spring alongside strawberry crowns. Corn. We know that strawberries prefer loamy, well-drained soil. Mission. WebWhile not technically a companion plant, strawberries can be grown alongside rhubarb for mutual benefit. 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. But it is especially great for strawberries because it offers a double whammy: pest protection and pollinator habitat. They are not poisonous but are not delightful either. Due to shared pests, overbearing growth habits, or a tendency to shade out low-growing plants, some crops are best kept away from your strawberries. As a result, this plant is fairly drought tolerant, especially once mature. In spite of their high price tag at farmers markets and grocery stores, strawberries are actually one of the easiest fruits to grow yourself. Borage pairs well with tomatoes, attracting pollinating bees. Companion planting is an easy way to incorporate more biodiversity into your garden while growing more robust strawberry plants. If you want to use your strawberry plants like ground cover around or near your blueberry shrubs, they will get leggy and they might not produce as much fruit as a highly managed strawberry patch. Symbiotic companion plantings can help us avoid these issues and cultivate a more resilient garden. How to Plant It: Nasturtiums can bush or vine up to 10 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide, so its best to keep these plants out of the strawberry bed itself. Strawberries: Chamomile is believed to enhance the growth and flavour of strawberries, making them a great companion. You can grow blueberries and strawberries together in the same garden, but make sure you use the right companion plants! When properly implemented, the blueberrys companion planting can provide a wide range of benefits, such as improved pest control, nutrient cycling, and improved pollination. Heres what theyve found so far: About 75% of our global food supply relies on bees and pollinators to facilitate the growth of crops. These fast-growing green onions can fit in practically any open space to repel pests and add another edible crop to the mix. Pro-tip: If you find your basil plant is thin and twiggy, consider strategically pruning it to grow into a bush. Best of all, creeping thyme is not going to outcompete or try to overgrow your strawberries. The result? However, this exotic salad plant can help repel destructive nematodes in your strawberry patch. 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!). How to Plant It: Fill openings in your strawberry beds with garlic or plant a widely-spaced double row of garlic with strawberries down the middle. Similar to nasturtiums, thyme is resistant to pests including cabbage worms, weevils, and cabbage loopers (source). Plus, thyme wont compete with blueberries for nutrients and will act as a living mulch, regulating the soil temperature and retaining moisture. They are a beautiful shrub to add to your landscaping. 1 ice cream company in the Philippines and in Asia. Contactless delivery and your first delivery is free! Radishes are among the easiest vegetables for beginner gardeners. So if your blueberry plants commonly get aphids, plant lots of dill! Keep them about 12 away from strawberry plants. First, its incredibly useful for blueberry plants as it attracts pollinators, makes a great mulch, and prevents many pests and diseases (source). how many private gun owners in america Post Business Profile. Read more. We dont recommend outright planting purslane in your garden. The roots need time to get established before the ground freezes. Dont forget to keep 6-12 between each flower and your strawberry plants. Tomatoes can actually pair well with a number of different plants in your vegetable garden, depending on what you want to grow. Then in the fall, the leaves turn burgundy and red. Try growing strawberries as companion plants for blueberries. Avoid planting basil with rue and thyme. Tyler Ziton is a Certified Permaculture Designer from Orlando, Florida with over 20 years of gardening experience. Benefits: Improves strawberry growth, attracts pollinators, and repels pests. Any way you decide to plant them, you will be happy you did! honeyberry companion plants. Mountain Laurel 10. Strawberries act like ground cover to keep the soil around the blueberry shrubs moist and weed-free. Some sources suggest that brassicas are not good companions for strawberries due to their heavy-feeding, space-hogging tendencies. They both can act as beautiful landscape plants and they can be grown together. Best of success with your new vegetable garden! Herbs Dill, fennel, coriander, mint, sage and many others are excellent companions for strawberries, helping to repel slugs and other pests. Make sure to leave a good amount of space around the roots so your plants dont compete. But did you know there are hundreds of different ypes of pumpkins you can add to your garden this season? Both strawberries and blueberries are easy to grow garden fruits that you can plant once and reap from for many years. Companion planting aims to mimic nature by creating symbiotic relationships between plants that mutually aid each other. Heres what I found. Creeping thyme is a must for any companion planting gardener. With some trial and error, I learned that the best way to make sure food was fresh was to grow it myself. In turn, your strawberries will grow much better and also your yields tend to be higher. Its also a culinary delight for autumn roasts, soups, and drying. While oaks can take a while to grow, theyre an amazing choice to use as an overstory companion plant. After bearing fruit and sending out daughter plants, strawberries take a well-deserved rest for the rest of the summer. This includes herbs from sunny Mediterranean regions The USDA partnered with Universities to create these free agriculture extension services. Wildflowers aredefinedasany flower that has not been genetically manipulated (source). In fact, they may need to be pinched off to keep the main plant more robust and bearing more fruit and some send out only a few. Lupines have deep roots that loosen soil for strawberries while simultaneously pulling up valuable soil nutrients. 379. You can expect thyme to flower from May to September. White clovers fragrant flowers are very popular amongst pollinators and predatory insects, which can help improve the yields and pest-resistance of your strawberries. Vision. Couchtohomestead.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In this article, organic gardening expert Logan Hailey guides you in your planting journey, with the steps you'll need to take in order to successfully plant, grow, and care for blueberries in your garden. To see more companion flowers, check out my other post: The Top 10 Companion Flowers for Gardens, Vegetables, & More. WebI had some strawberries escape and move in under the blueberries but they weren't very vigorous. Avoid planting strawberries with mint, cabbage, and melons. This article was last updated on 09/21/22 Read more about Cranberries < Strawberry Companion Plants. It can also be great for suppressing weeds in pathways around strawberry raised beds. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, it's a tiny ad: Explore the possibilities: Permies.com where you can work from home, on the road and on the farm Some evidence even shows that it can be as effective as synthetic DEET for repelling mosquitoes and other pesky flying insects. And I still do too, even though Ive since returned to my home state of Montana. Flowers are the most effective and beautiful ways to interplant in the garden. Blueberries are one of the most popular fruits in just about any garden. They have playful lily-pad shaped leaves and beautiful They bloom spring through fall and have a spicy fragrance that makes a dazzling garnish for summer salads and also attracts beneficial insects. 5. Strawberries Did you know that coriander is just cilantro that has started to flower and go to seed? The pungent smell of alliums like garlic is enough to keep a wide range of insect pests at bay. Also known as starflower, borage is an annual herb native to the Mediterranean. Both fruit shrubs thrive in full sun and somewhat acidic soil. One of my most successful garden experiments involved growing creeping thyme as a living mulch beneath my strawberry plants. There is significant evidence that companion plants work synergistically to reduce pest pressure and keep your crops healthy. Cookie Dough Chunks. (Nestle Ice Cream would be a distant second, ahead of Magnolia.) How to Plant It: While it has a bad reputation for aggressively spreading, mint can make a great companion. When it flowers, caraway also attracts parasitic wasps and flies that eat strawberry pests. How to Plant It: Broccoli needs plenty of space (at least 18-24) and grows fairly large leaves that may shade out strawberries. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Have you ever thought about growing companion fruits? In this article, organic gardening expert Logan Hailey walks through her top tips for growing your strawberries in raised garden beds this season. Selectas beginnings can be traced to the Arce familys ice-cream parlor in Manila in 1948. In the 6th year of its life is when a blueberry bush is really ready to give out its fruit. Rhubarb may not be the best for small gardens, but it is certainly a fun perennial to have on hand if you have the space. The rules for this aspect of companion planting have to do partly with different plants' needs: some herbs like more water than others. This flower also releases compounds into the soil that suppress nematodes. Basically, you create a eco-system of checks-and-balances to protect your precious strawberries from multiple angles. Last updated: July 7, 2022 | For those of you who didnt know how these plants grow, or who need to brush up on it. WebYes, strawberries and blueberries are ideal companion plants, they can be grown together and one of these is because they can both be useful and they are beautiful landscape plants. However, they will produce fruit for many years. Instead, keep it contained in a nearby planter or herbal border. Avoid planting thyme near basil. Thyme. It will take some time to allow the plant to grow and establish itself. In addition, they make a great companion plant to blueberries. They need to be pollinated in order to set fruit. Benefits include pollinator attraction (which helps increase yield), pest and disease management, flavor enhancement, weed suppression, and more. Plants that compliment blueberries include: Evergreen Trees: Most types of evergreens including but not limited to evergreen shrubs, spruce, pine trees, yew, fir, and juniper make great companion plants for blueberries. In this article, we take a deeper look at 91 different pumpkin varities to help you find the perfect pumpkin cultivar for your home garden. Because French marigolds tend to stay fairly compact, you dont have to worry about them competing with your strawberries for light or space. 3. How to Plant It: Keep bush beans about 3-4 apart from each other and 4-6 away from your strawberry plants. The male parts (stigma) form a ring on the outside of the flower, while the female parts (pistils) hang out in the center. gardener Posts: 831. The biggest pest will be birds, so you will need to invest in some netting to keep them out once the plants begin bearing fruit. It is a low shrub, at most 3 feet (75 cm) in height. At the same time, you get the bonus of more food from a smaller space. Fern 4. Benefits: Ground cover and salty soil aid. I really appreciate your help. How to Plant It: Chives are great for sowing around the perimeter of perennial strawberry rows. Apple Trees : Planting chamomile near apple trees can help attract beneficial insects that control pests like aphids, which can damage apple Thyme is native to Eurasia, with a history dating back to 2750 BCnoting that thyme can be dried and mixed with pears, figs, and water for a topical medical paste (source). These plants can grow up to 4 feet tall when in full bloom and tend to spread 1-2 feet wide. As a strawberry companion, lettuce grows low enough to enjoy a little shade from strawberries. 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. The most common reason why blueberry plants have foes is due to them requiring a more acidic soil pH. In this article, we will discuss the best companion plants for blueberry bushes, and how they can benefit your crop. Looking for a few companion plants for your tomato garden? Get the free ebook that shows you how to maximize your garden's productivity simply by planting the right combinations. How to Plant It: Dill is a laid back herb that can easily be integrated into your strawberry beds. If youre craving strawberry-basil lemonade, mojitos, or a summer balsamic salad, you must plant basil in your strawberry patch! Benefits: Loosen soil and provide light shade during hot summer days. At our home, we often use thyme in our bone broths and roasts. The asparagus will help condition the soil and maximize your yields from the space. They can improve strawberry vigor and eliminate the need for adding fertilizer. How to Plant It: Though the star-like blue flowers of borage are quite small, the plant itself can grow very large. You can always ask us here at Couch to Homestead, but you should know the other resources available to you! One of the most coveted summer berries, strawberries are decadent in breakfasts, smoothies, and desserts. To make both berry plants happy, aim for a soil pH of around 5.5. Rhododendron & azalea. Theyve even been shown to increase crop yields. Keep in mind that blueberry plants prefer a soil pH of 4.5-5.5, which is more acidic than what most plants can tolerate.