Strawberries are listed at the top of the “ unclean Dozen ” as the green groceries that is most contaminated with pesticides . We do n’t require these awful chemicals in our gardens , and the best way to rise strawberries naturally is with companion planting .
fellow planting is the drill of growing other plant in your garden that will do good your strawberries by deterring bad bug , attracting estimable bugs , abbreviate disease , protecting the harvest and the soil , and adding beautiful variety to your hemangioma simplex patch .
Whether your strawberry plants are cozy in a greenhouse , boom in container , or live it up in your veggie garden , geminate them with plant that expand alongside strawberry can avail keep in line pests , hike up yields , improve soil health , improve pollination , and even enhance the relish of the strawberries .
There are many different crops , herbaceous plant , and flowers that get along well with them and make excellent associate plants for strawberries .
you’re able to Interplant strawberries with veg like legumes , alliums , beginning vegetables , asparagus , rhubarb , and leafy super C . herb such as basil , mint , and dill also make excellent strawberry fellow traveller ! And let ’s not forget blossom friend like helianthus , trefoil , borage , and marigolds that wager a vital role when plant in tightlipped proximity to strawberry .
However , not all industrial plant make good neighbors for your strawberry mark . Be conservative with nightshade , brassicas , roses , corn , fennel , chrysanthemums , kohlrabi , and okra , as they can be detrimental to your strawberry mark .
permit ’s learn about the best comrade plants for strawberries and what you should avoid planting next to strawberries .
Benefits Of Companion Plants For Strawberries
Nature ’s way of maintaining biodiversity can be observed in the way various species grow symbiotically together . As you watch a sea of smoke wave in the wind or a large true pine forest standing the test of meter , what looks like K of the same industrial plant is actually a huge conglobation of different species growing symbiotically together .
Monocropping is one of the most annihilating and destructive practice session of modern agribusiness . By only planting one harvest in a large bailiwick , James Leonard Farmer have open their demesne up to disease , insects , and the elements : trouble that easily take detention of one harvest that would otherwise be thwarted by different mintage .
The same thing can happen in our garden . If we have a huge strawberry patch ( and why not since these berry are so delicious ) , we are setting ourselves up for job . But we can produce other plants in our plot that would benefit , protect , and shelter our strawberry .
This is the sum of fellow cropping for our strawberries . Opting for a divers cultivation approaching rather than a single - species strawberry monoculture is a more advantageous scheme . luckily , with strawberry mark , this is simple to accomplish as numerous plants coexist harmoniously alongside them .
Why Companion Plants Are Important When Growing Strawberries
strawberry answer very well to companion plants as these soft fruits are easily affected by neighboring plants .
fellow traveler plants can have a telephone number of benefit for our strawberries , such as :
When deciding which strawberry fellow plant life to grow , recall that some of the plants list below might rise well with strawberry but wo n’t growwith each other . Check out this listto verify your companion plants are all copacetic .
Every vegetable , flower , and herbaceous plant that you turn will benefit your strawberries in dissimilar ways . Here are the best companion works to grow in your strawberry patch :
Vegetable Companion Plants For Strawberries
produce other vegetables with our strawberries is sometimes called intercropping or succession planting , because not only will the other vegetables benefit the strawberries , but they can give you a 2nd harvest as well .
Here are the most beneficial vegetables to grow with strawberries :
1: Beans
welfare : Nitrogen Fixation
Beans are a legume , and as such , they have the capability of read nitrogen from the atmosphere and adding it to the soil , through a process callednitrogen fixation . The large seeds make them easy to calculate seeds around your strawberry works to maximize place .
How To Grow As A Companion : Beans come in bush and rod ( vining ) varieties . Choose the variety that works for you and interplant them amongst your strawberries , or they can be grown in rows beside . You want the mature plants to be at least 15 cm ( 6 inches ) apart .
Make certain bush varieties are not too close to the strawberry mark or the dense bush may smother the broken grow berries . Position treillage of pole beans to not occlude too much light , but to leave good afternoon shade if postulate .
2: Peas
Like beans , pea will improve the soil by desexualise atomic number 7 . Peas are vining plants that love to mount , so even if you have a compact variety that does n’t require venture , some support would be beneficial to keep the pea plant from vining around the strawberries .
How To produce As A Companion : Peas are one of the earliest veggie you could develop , so you could plant them around your strawberries . With unvarying pick , most varieties will give rise all summer long .
3: Onions
Benefit : Pest Repellent
Allium cepa push back a potpourri of insects like snail and fungal spores and animals including aphid , flies , beetles , rabbits , squirrel , gophers , and even deer . Their natural stench keeps these unwanted pests away from your strawberries .
How To Grow As A Companion : Start onion plant set directly in the garden as too soon as you may in the bounce . verify you leave enough space between the onions and the bulbs depending on the variety you are growing to allow them to gain full size without interfering with each other .
4: Scallions (Green Onions)
Just like incandescent lamp onions , the strong perfume of spring onion , or green onions , will also repel unwanted insects .
How To turn As A fellow : These tall slender plant can maturate quite quickly ( 50 to 70 days to maturity ) and the slender stalks do not take up as much space as the bulb varieties so they can be interplanted amongst the strawberries .
5: Garlic
No one like garlic intimation , and most people consort that ail can be stinky . Many creatures correspond , and the instinctive oils and sulfur chemical compound of ail are a natural pesticide .
Garlic is good at repelling many unwanted hemipterous insect including strawberry spider mites , aphids , beetles , slugs , caterpillars , and there is also some grounds it can be effective at continue away deer , rabbits , gophers , and other animal .
How To Grow As A fellow : entrust about 15 cm ( 6 inches ) between each clove and strawberry plant so they do not crowd each other while growing . take off garlic in the fall to let it overwinter so it will take off in the former outpouring . It takes about 8 to 10 months to mature so it will grow nicely alongside your strawberries all summer long .
6: Beets
Benefits : Loosen Soil and Intercropping
common beet are a gravid harvest for companion planting with strawberry as they loosen the soil and provide two crops ( the beet and the very healthy cover ) .
How To get As A Companion : Some beets can grow very bombastic , so space them about 30 centimetre ( 12 inches ) from your strawberries . They can be glean as baby beets , or full - sized depending on your garden blank and preparation preference .
7: Radish
Benefits : Intercropping and Pollination
Radishes are one of the fastest growing vegetables to cultivate , and you’re able to often grow two crop in the same area each year . So , interplanted with your strawberry mark , you will have three crop in the space of one .
Or , you’re able to leave radishes to mature and they will acquire clusters of pretty blossom that bee and hummingbird love , as well as edible seed pods .
How To Grow As A Companion : Plant a row of radish about 15 curium ( 6 inches ) from your strawberry to ensure they both have enough quad to mature . Harvest when they are mature to avoid them becoming tough and woody .
If you are leaving radish to mature , constitute them at least 30 cm ( 12 inches ) from your strawberries as the radish flora grow quite large .
8: Asparagus
Benefits : Perennial Intercropping
Asparagus officinales to not directly do good strawberries , but they do not compete with strawberry in any elbow room making them an ideal copulate for maximizing payoff . Asparagus officinales root go deep around the strawberry mark ’ shallow ones , and they are usually harvested well before the strawberries need the nutrient .
How To Grow As A Companion : Strawberries and edible asparagus can be grown in the same row , or beside one another . Remember that a well - tended asparagus bed can be productive for over 20 years , so make certain you plan the bed carefully .
9: Rhubarb
Benefit : Pest Repellent and Shade
Rhubarb is sour and many creatures that encroach upon the garden find it that way , too . It fight off many louse , and deer and other furred beast will take the air mighty by it . With luck , they wo n’t stop to see if there are strawberries underneath the magnanimous leaves . They can also supply shade during the spicy summer .
How To Grow As A fellow traveler : Rhubarb is best grown from crowns . outer space pieplant at flora about 1 metre ( 3 foot ) apart . However , if you be after on letting the plants grow so they are more of an obstruction for fauna , ensure you space them farther as one plant can develop passing large .
10: Lettuce
Benefit : Intercropping
While lettuce does n’t at once cater any benefit to the Chuck Berry themselves , it is a great plant to pucker in between your strawberry plant to maximize space and better proceeds of the area .
How To Grow As A Companion : Sow lettuce seeds according to packet instructions between your strawberries . It can be produce in row or disperse amongst the crowns to make the most of the space . Be careful not to overwater as this can attract slug and other unwanted pests .
11: Spinach
Just like wampum , spinach will acquire beside hemangioma simplex and give you a second ( and peradventure a third ) harvest from your hemangioma simplex patch .
How To originate As A Companion : Sow spinach seed ahead of time in the spring or the fall after the hotness of summer has passed . This mode , you could harvest the spinach before your strawberries even blossom and again after they have stopped bloom for the time of year .
12: Purslane
welfare : Weed Suppression
It can be challenging to weed between strawberries , so why not grow an edible ground cover ? Purslane distribute quickly and chokes out Mary Jane , so keep it under command and it will fill up in the area around your strawberry . It is also healthy and spring up well in the hot summer calendar month . Purslane has also been shown to improve the yields of hemangioma simplex flora .
How To Grow As A Companion : Sow thickly to let the leaves grow in . Cut the flora back when it has get on , or blame off individual leaves as desired . Do not lease it go to seed or it will reseed itself with 1000 of cum ( which is why many nurseryman consider it an incursive grass .
Herb Companion Plants For Strawberries
Herbs are not only estimable in the kitchen , but they play a vital part in the garden and provide numerous benefits for your strawberries :
13: Basil
benefit : Pest Repellent & Growth Promoter
Basil is a versatile plant in the kitchen and the garden . Planting basil at once next to strawberries can improve plant vigor and repel pestis . Basil ’s firm smell can aid to discourage some pests that might otherwise attack strawberry mark plants , such as aphid and wanderer mites .
If left to bolt the flowers will attract pollinator and predatory bugs , but this is a waste of a perfectly delightful herb .
Tulsi , or holy basil , is a good variety that you’re able to apply medicinally or as an herbal tea leaf .
Overall planting St. Basil and strawberry together can be a great means to maximize the use of space in your garden and produce a mutually beneficial spring up environment .
How To spring up As A familiar : Basil can be grown quite succinctly if you wish well to sprinkle the seeds around your strawberries . Otherwise , growth is the herbaceous plant in rows beside the patch . you could also take cuttings from your plant to train more basil .
14: Mint
Benefits : Pest Repellent
The impregnable aroma of mint will dissuade many dissimilar types of insects , as well as ground squirrels , Gopher , and other gnawer , plus cervid and other ungulates .
Mint can , however , attract tarnished flora glitch which can be a problem for your strawberry mark if your garden is prone to them . Lemon balm is a nice variety that gives a nice raw lemony flavor .
How To Grow As A Companion : Mint can be rise directly in the garden , but the propensity ofmost varietiesto bed covering can make it a task to keep contained . Considergrowing mint in potsthat you may strategically position around your strawberries as call for . We often set the pots at once on top of mouse and rodent holes to chase them away with fairly good winner .
15: Chives
Chives are an first-class perennial version of the onions family which insects and brute include aphids , fly ball , beetles , rabbits , squirrels , gophers , and even deer do not like . Chives are listed as Zone 3 but we easily grow them in our Zone 2b garden .
How To Grow As A Companion : Grow chives instantly in the garden or a toilet . Chives fan out slowly , but if leave behind to go to semen ( the flowers are also eatable and very spicy ) , they will prodigiously ego - seed .
16: Dill
Benefits : Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects
dill weed is a beautiful umbellifer that raise tumid umbrella - shaped flush . The grandiloquent xanthous flowers will be swarming with all the good bugs you need around your strawberry such as bee , praying mantis , ladybugs , and wasps ( yes , they are an excellent marauder ) .
How To produce As A Companion : The tall , supple plants can be easy direct sown amongst your strawberries , or spring up in rows beside . dill weed is a reasonably easy works to grow and want little criminal maintenance .
17: Cilantro & Coriander
benefit : Pest Repellent & Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects
Cilantro and cilantro are the same herb , the former is the fresh leaves while the latter is the seeds . The aromatic farewell repel dirt ball while the flowers ( umbellifer - like dill ) will attract lots of good bug .
How To Grow As A Companion : Cilantro can be a tricky plant to grow , but if your climate is ripe it can make a smashing companion plant in rows beside your strawberries .
18: Thyme
Benefits : Pest Repellent , Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects , & Ground Cover
Thyme is a great herb that can be eaten , repels pest , and attracts lots of right bugs when it starts flowering . Certain varieties also grow as a primer concealment that will act as a inhabit mulch .
How To maturate As A Companion Plant : prison term can be produce in rows beside or properly under your strawberries . In some zone , thyme can be grown as a perennial
19: Catnip
Catnip not only draw in cats to your garden but many good bug once it flower .
How To develop As A Companion Plant : Catnip can be quite invasive , so plant carefully and keep an eye on it to extenuate diffuse . or else , you could grow it in pot and put them in your hemangioma simplex patch , or eat up a dope at grime level to verify the spread out solution .
20: Sage
benefit : Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects , & Improves Flavor
Sage has in truth beautiful flower , and many gardener have found that sage improves the relish of strawberries growing nearby . While there is no real science to back this up , the best and most natural part of gardening rarely are .
How To Grow As A Companion : Sage plants can grow quite large , so ensure they are about 60 cm ( 2 foot ) from your strawberries . In zone 5 plus climates , salvia can be maturate as a perennial .
21: Caraway
A relative of Petroselinum crispum , caraway also produces umbrella - shaped flowers that pull in undecomposed insects . Bear in mind that carraway is a biennial so will not flower the first class . It is hardy to Zone 4 , so if you live in a cold climate , you might not have success with flowering .
How To Grow As A associate : The industrial plant can become quite big , so make certain they are about 60 cm ( 2 infantry ) from the strawberries so they both have room to grow . Because they are a biennial , make certain your plan where you originate them as they will be there for a while .
Floral Companion Plants For Strawberries
Many people have a hard metre grow flower in their productive garden , and I must concede that I used to be this way myself . However , the benefit of take flowers in our fruit and veg garden go far beyond aesthetics .
These flowers are great companion plant for strawberry .
22: Sunflowers
Many mass say sunflowers should not be grown with strawberries because they will cast too much ghost , but this can be easily avoid by measured planting . Besides , the wads of in force bugs that drove to a exclusive sunflower at one time will do far more for your strawberries than a few hours of tincture each solar day .
Make trusted you uprise sunflowers with an early maturing , June - pay strawberry so all your cherished berries have been harvested before the hungry birds issue forth for the helianthus seeds .
How To Grow As A Companion : Plant sunflowers as early as you may in your climate so they have enough time to ripen and mature . Space your sunflowers 30 cm to 45 cm ( 12 - 18 inches ) aside depending on the variety , and imbed them on the north or west side of your strawberries to avoid overshadowing the berries .
questionable excellent pollinators but implant in the wrong spot will provide too much spectre .
23: Alyssum
This dumb carpet of flowers will draw uncounted pollinators and other respectable bugs to your strawberry . It is a great living mulch and green manure crop , depend on your demand , and thewhite or majestic flowerswill bloom from late natural spring right through to the fall .
How To Grow As A fellow traveler : Alyssum can be originate as a moulding around your strawberries , or undersown for a ground cover .
24: Clover
welfare : Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects , & Nitrogen Fixation
Another great groundcover for strawberries , clover is an incredibly audacious plant that attracts pollinator and hunting glitch . Since it is a leguminous plant , it fixes nitrogen into the soil like beans and peas .
There are yearly and perennial available depending on the long full term goals of your clover , though the annuals will consistently reseed themselves if left to mature .
How To Grow As A associate : Sow clover around your strawberries as a inhabit mulch ( though you may require to keep it trimmed as it can become quite fast-growing when it is large ) , or rise it as a lodger works to draw in good bugs . It can also be till under with your strawberries as part of your berry patch regeneration architectural plan .
25: Marigolds
welfare : Repel Nematodes , & Protect From Hungry Animals
Marigold ’s firm musky smell out overpowers the sweet sense of smell of strawberries so that athirst fauna will pass right by . They also beat back a declamatory number of forged glitch .
Marigolds also protect the roots of the strawberries by repulse harmful roundworm ( defective soil domicile worms ) that destruct the rootage of plants . Gallic marigolds , in particular , are very effective at rid the soil of root word knot nematodes .
How To Grow As A Companion : Marigolds can be a variety of unlike sizes , but they work well planted as a border to your strawberries . In a large berry patch , embed a marigold every metre or so ( 3 feet ) along your strawberry row .
26: Borage
benefit : Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects , meliorate Berry Flavor , Resist Disease Borage is in reality a Mediterranean herb with medicinal lineament , but most people grow it as a blossom so it is included in the floral companion plants .
Borage can provide a number of well benefit for your strawberries . First , the unique prime pull pollinators and hungry predator bug , plus it helps strawberries fight off certain diseases .
Many nurseryman also arrogate that borage makes strawberry mark savour sweeter . One reason for this is that tailwort is known to draw nutrients from deeply down with its click tap root where the shallow - root strawberries can then access them and grow better .
As extra bonus , the leaves and flowers are eatable , and tailwort has been found to be deer resistant so maybe it will help protect your strawberries , too .
How To mature As A Companion : Under the right conditions , a tailwort plant life will grow 60 cm ( 2 feet ) grandiloquent and 30 cm ( 1 foot ) wide , so ensure you implant them far enough out that they wo n’t crowd the strawberries . Direct inseminate the seed in the bound so the works has time to mature and bloom .
27: Yarrow
Yarrow is a intrepid plant that grow dotty in a raft of climates . We see yarrow popping up all over our Zone 2b farm , and we never pull it out because of its beneficial qualities .
Good bugs love yarrow , in particular hoverflies , which are both pollinators and predators ( they are rapacious eater of aphid ) . They typically come in yellow and blank flowers and both are great for the strawberry .
It can also be used in herbal remedy when your strawberries are done producing .
How To Grow As A Companion : Yarrow can grow to be very magnanimous , over 1 meter ( 3 metrical unit ) grandiloquent , with a decent spread , so position your yarrow so they wo n’t block too much sunlight , and so they are 30 cm to 60 cm ( 1 - 2 feet ) from each other and your hemangioma simplex .
They are often start indoors and transplanted alfresco , but they can be direct sow in well prepared seam .
28: Lupins
welfare : Nitrogen Fixation , & Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects
Like other legume , lupins advertize the development of nitrogen - fixing bacterium which taint their antecedent and add nitrogen to the soil .
The towers of beautiful flowers are a great beneficial insect attractant , but think back that lupins are toxic to people and brute so plant judiciously if tyke and pets frequent your strawberry mark piece .
How To produce As A Companion : Lupins can produce up to 1 measure ( 3 feet ) tall , and usually work better as a border planting to hemangioma simplex . They make out in many colour so they can make a really attractive accent .
If interplanted with your strawberries , check that to leave at least 30 cm ( 1 foot ) space between the plant so they do n’t crowd the Chuck Berry .
29: Nasturtium
Benefits : Attracts Pollinators and Predatory Insects , & Pest Repellent
Nasturtiums draw in slews of germ , both near and uncollectible . For example , aphid are drawn to these pretty little bloom ( which keeps them off from your strawberries ) and hoverflies also like nasturtium which tip on the aphids .
As an sum up incentive , nasturtium flower are edible and make a gracious add-on to summer salad , or an edible decoration to hemangioma simplex and icing cream .
How To Grow As A comrade : Nasturtiums are generally eitherbushy or vining , and both can grow to impressive sizes . They are best rise on the side of your strawberries and create a courteous vertical background to your crawling strawberry mark
30: Phacelia
Benefits : Attracts Pollinators , & Soil Health
Phacelia are an ornamental heyday in the borage kinsfolk . They are becoming increasinglypopular in organic agricultureas a pollinator and cover crop that improve dirt health .
Phacelia are one of the chief plant life for honey bee yield , and they will appeal drone of pollinators and other good insects to your strawberries .
Phacelia have also been found to help balance adept and bad nematodes in the soil by draw beneficial one and warding off bad nematodes and their roots add copious amount of organic subject . Also , its abundance of plant matter creates a winter - putting to death screen crop around your strawberries .
How To rise As A Companion : Phacelia can acquire very large so they are usually best imbed outside your hemangioma simplex darn but still close enough that the strawberries will still do good from the companion .
What NOT To Plant With Strawberries
Just as there are good plant that help your strawberries , there are also bad plant that will blockade your strawberries .
Here are some plants to avoid near your strawberries :
Conclusion
Nature is a wonderful and various system that mass only have a vague understanding of . While the scientific discipline - based agriculture community is starting to “ try ” the welfare of companion planting ,
the benefits of growing two or more good species together have been make out since humankind first put seeds in the ground . Many of the values of fellow planting are honest-to-god wife tale , or based on the gardener ’s personal experience , and this is usually of far more value than the statistic that come from a lab .
I hope companion planting brings you as many benefit , and pleasure , as it has to countless other avid gardener .
write By
Margie and Arkansas aboriginal has an extensive background knowledge in gardening and landscape gardening . For the last 40 year , Margie has visit the Colorado Rocky Mountains her habitation . Here she and her husband of 36 years raised three kids and owned a successful landscaping company . Margie has a CSU Master Gardener documentation . She narrow in garden design & installation , perennial gardens , greensward grasses & weeds , flower container , and the overall sustainment of allHOA , commercial and residential accounts . She and her married man now shack in Denver and are excited about the fresh experience ’ metropolis animation holds .
