Should You Grow Strawberries And Blackberries Together In The Garden?
Having your own garden can be compared to solving a jigsaw puzzle. You have to think hard about what produce can go where and if two plants are really fit for being placed together. Once you have everything plotted out (and tend to it with a lot of love), you can have a thriving space that's flourishing with all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
When it comes to classic fruits, no patch of soil or array of planter boxes is complete without strawberries or blackberries. After these sweet gems ripen, you're in for a summer of delicious treats (and likely longer with strawberries starting in spring and blackberries stretching into fall). While some fruits go hand-in-hand in the garden, others don't make for happy combinations in a garden layout. Fortunately, with these two, you can expect plenty of benefits when planting them near one another. Here's why strawberries and blackberries make great garden companions and a few ideas on other plants that work well with these fruits.
Why strawberries and blackberries grow well together
There are a few care requirements worth understanding to successfully grow and care for strawberries and blackberries. Once you have these down to a T, you can get familiar with the concept of companion planting. This involves combining or placing plants near one another to result in a relationship that's beneficial for both. This can look like pest prevention, nutrient sharing, or pollinator attraction.
Luckily for these two spring-to-autumn fruits, they can work beautifully as companions. The first benefit of pairing these two is that although they're known for spreading and growing quickly (sometimes to the detriment of surrounding plants), they're each strong enough to compete against the other. They also provide some mutual protection. The upward growth of blackberry brambles can give some cover to strawberries from pests and sunburns, whereas strawberries offer ground cover to blackberries, cooling and protecting their roots. They have some similarities in their care requirements, like when it comes to sunlight amounts. They're also both essentially celebrities in the eyes of pollinators, with their combined attractive power meaning more fruit for both. All around, this combination is a pretty big win for both plants and gardeners.
Other good growing companions for strawberries and blackberries
Aside from this easy breezy friendship, there are also other companion plants that work with strawberries and blackberries, which can help you best plan out your garden space. When it comes to finding other garden pals for your strawberry plants, you have numerous options. Perhaps you'd like to introduce vegetables alongside these fruity blooms? Onions, asparagus, and lettuce are a few veggies that can have a mutually symbiotic relationship with strawberries. For example, onions will ward off slugs, which are known to get to those ripe berries before you do. The tall stalks of asparagus also offer some protection.
As for blackberries, crops like sunflowers can serve as the perfect companion plant. These attract extra pollinators and gatekeep pests from swarming these thorny vines. Herbs like chives, lemon balm, mint, and thyme are also great considerations to place next to your blackberry plants. With a little extra thought, you can craft a garden that helps your strawberries and blackberries thrive together, allowing them to produce plenty of tasty fruit all season.