Companion planting is a great way to bring out the best in your strawberries, while also promoting health and well-being in your garden. Whether it’s herbs or flowers, adding some of these plants to your strawberry patch can provide improved production and flavor while protecting against pests and diseases.
Here are some of the top favorite partner plants for strawberries for an extra-successful harvest this season!
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Companion Planting for Pollinators
One of the best ways to ensure that your strawberry plants get the pollination they need is by encouraging the local bug population. These beneficial insects will help spread pollen from flower to flower, increasing your yield!
Sweet Alyssum
If you’re looking for a way to help your strawberry plants thrive, planting with sweet alyssum is a great option. Not only does it make the garden look beautiful, but it also provides an essential service to strawberry plants — pollination!
Sweet alyssum is an annual that pollinates flies, attracts bees, and parasitic wasps. By attracting these beneficial insects, strawberry plants will be better able to produce more strawberries. Additionally, the white flowers of sweet alyssum can add texture and brightness to a flower bed or vegetable patch. And as a bonus, it repels rabbits!
Cilantro
Companion planting cilantro with strawberries is a great way to naturally attract more pollinators. The tiny white flowers of the cilantro plant draw in bees and butterflies. They will then happily visit your strawberry blossoms while they’re searching for nectar.
Cilantro also has feathery leaves that don’t block out the sunlight, making it perfect for interplanting with your strawberries.
Companion Planting to Deter Insects
Planting companion plants can act as a natural barrier around your strawberry patch. This discourages pests like aphids, cutworms, spider mites, and plenty of other intruders.
Chrysanthemums
Planting with chrysanthemums is an excellent way to protect your strawberry crop from pesky pests. Planting these flowers around your patch can effectively keep out spider mites, ants, and Japanese beetles.
Not only will they keep away the bugs, but they’ll also bring a lovely splash of color to your garden! Chrysanthemums have bright colors — from white and yellow to pink and purple — so adding them to your strawberry plot will give it some extra flair and protection.
Thyme
Planting thyme alongside your strawberries can help deter worms, attract helpful bugs, and encourage beneficial insects to come to your garden.
Thyme’s scent repels pesky worms that like to eat strawberries. Its sweet aroma also attracts syrphid flies — or hoverflies — which feed on aphids, caterpillars, thrips, and other soft-bodied critters that enjoy snacking on ripening berries. Planting thyme around the perimeter of your strawberry patch will create an effective natural barrier against these pests.
Companion Planting for Soil Benefit
By strategically planting companion plants in and around your berry bed, their roots can help to improve soil texture and add nutrients that strawberries need to thrive.
Spinach
Not only does spinach look pretty in the garden but also provides several benefits.
Spinach grows best when planted near strawberries. Their roots grow at distinct depths in the soil, meaning they won’t contend for the same nutrients. Moreover, spinach produces saponin. Saponin has antibacterial and antifungal properties that provide an extra layer of protection to susceptible strawberry plants.
White Clover
White clover is an excellent nitrogen fixer that helps boost soil fertility. This helps support the growth of other plants around it. Planting white clover between your rows of strawberries can also stifle weeds, allowing your strawberry plants to flourish. Plus, the gorgeous white flowers will add some stunning beauty to your garden!
Lettuce
The lettuce provides beneficial shade, keeping the strawberries cooler on hot summer days. Plus, the dense leaves of lettuce are great at blocking out invasive weeds which are always eager to take over your garden. Additionally, the protective shield of green foliage helps defend your berries from hungry birds looking for a snack.
Pro Tip: Plant strawberries and lettuce with spinach and see an increase in production for all three crops!
How About All Three?
Companion planting is all about maximizing the health and productivity of your plants. By strategically placing other plants around your strawberries, you can deter insects, fix the soil, and attract pollinators — making it a win-win situation for everyone! However, the most effective companion plants are those that will help with all three aspects.
Lupin
Not only do lupins look beautiful in a garden, but they also attract bees and butterflies that help pollinate your crops. Lupins are nitrogen-fixers, so growing them alongside your strawberries can also increase the nutrient levels in the soil, providing an ideal environment for healthy fruit production.
Plus, their pleasant aroma wards off pests like aphids that might otherwise threaten your harvest! Additionally, white lupins may even repel some birds which could otherwise damage or devour your crop.
Borage
One of the best companion plants for strawberries is borage, a beautiful blue flowering herb with a sweet, cucumber-like flavor. Not only does it add visual appeal to your garden, but it also helps enhance your strawberry crop in various ways.
Borage acts as a natural source of nutrients and trace minerals that help strengthen strawberries’ resistance to pests and disease. In addition, its bright flowers attract beneficial pollinators like butterflies and bees, which help pollinate the flowers on your strawberry plants. Furthermore, some gardeners swear by this method claiming that adding borage accompanying their strawberries makes them even sweeter!
In Summary
Planting these plants with strawberries boosts overall production in a variety of ways. Companion planting provides essential nutrients, improves soil quality, provides shade and support where needed, and also deters pests.
Do you have a favorite companion plant for strawberries? Share this article and leave a comment below!
