By choosing crops that complement each other, you can repel pests, attract bees and use your garden plot more efficiently. And if you pick the right neighbours for strawberries, you can even improve their flavour by boosting the nutrients they need in the soil.
Good neighbours for the berry are thyme, garlic and borage — the cucumber herb. Its dark-blue flowers attract bees and wasps that prey on strawberry pests. Borage also helps raise the concentration of trace elements in the soil that benefit the berry.
Asparagus, beans, peas, onions, spinach, lettuce, horseradish and rhubarb are also good next to strawberries. Legumes improve the soil by enriching it with nitrogen; strawberries are comfortable next to asparagus because they don't compete for nutrients, and pungent onion and garlic repel pests.
Marigolds among strawberries are very useful — they drive pests away. And not only from the berry: they also do a great job protecting cucumbers, beans, lettuces and other crops.
What you shouldn't plant next to strawberries
There are such crops too. They include:
- Cauliflower and white cabbage, broccoli;
- Fennel;
- Potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines;
- Melon;
- Bell pepper;
- Mint.
Brassicas will compete with strawberries for nutrients, while nightshades — attract pests and infect the berry bushes with fungal diseases, reports Homes and Gardens.
