Content
With the onset of spring, an active time begins for all gardeners and gardeners. They begin to spend more and more time on their plots, trying to grow as many different crops as possible, sometimes in a relatively small area. Strawberries (garden strawberries), with their juicy and tasty fruits, are usually grown by almost everyone. But not everyone knows what to plant next to strawberries so as not to harm them and grow a rich harvest of these wonderful berries.
In fact, strawberries are a rather unpretentious plant and peacefully coexist with many vegetables, fruit plants and flowers. However, some crops can have a rather negative effect on its growth and reproduction. We will tell you in detail how to choose the right neighbors suitable for strawberries.
First, let's talk a little about which plants are good precursors for strawberries and which are not. Crop rotation is the most important agrotechnical measure, with its help the soil replenishes its natural reserves. Most crops are not planted in the same place every year because they take different nutrients from the soil. Another reason for crop rotation is that different plants do not treat weeds, diseases and insect pests the same way. Strawberries have some pests, while cucumbers, for example, are completely different.
This rule does not apply only to potatoes, tomatoes and legumes - they can successfully bear fruit for many years in one place, without depleting the soil. Strawberries usually give a good harvest for 3-4 years, and then they need to be transplanted to another site. Therefore, you should know which crops will be good predecessors for garden strawberries, and which ones are better to plant after it.
Each plant has its own requirements for soil, fertilizers, etc. Strawberries love organic fertilizers, loose and well-fertilized soil, in which potassium, nitrogen and trace elements must be present in sufficient quantities. This plant has a deep root system, therefore, observing the principle of alternation, it is better to plant crops with shorter roots in front of it. Also, an important point in crop rotation is that after a disease suffered by the previous plant, a crop that shows sufficient resistance to it should be grown in this place next year.
When deciding what to plant after strawberries, experienced gardeners usually opt for root crops or legumes.
You can safely plant:
Advice
Old strawberry bushes must be dug up and must be burned to destroy pests and pathogens. Then carefully remove all weeds and dig deep into the soil.
After strawberries, it is not recommended to plant:
These plants have many diseases and pests in common with garden strawberries. They also have almost the same requirements for the composition of the soil.
The best crops that grew in the garden before planting strawberries on it are:
Bulbous flowers are also useful predecessors:
If the area of the site allows, agronomists recommend growing strawberries after black fallow or carrying out soil rehabilitation using green manure plants:
Advice
Among other siderates, alkaloid lupine is considered the most suitable for strawberries. It produces substances poisonous for the wireworm, while it is absolutely harmless to the berries, without affecting their taste and edibility.
After digging, the plants will remain in the soil. They will improve its structure, enrich it with nitrogen and have a positive effect on weed control. It is strongly not recommended to plant strawberries after potatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes.
Combined planting allows you to economically and rationally manage the area of the garden, especially if it is small. In addition, beneficial neighbors have a beneficial effect on each other, improving the condition, taste and nutritional value of the fruit. Another plus of such plantings is that the plants protect each other from diseases and pests.
There are four rules for planting plants together, which it is advisable to know and follow for every gardener.
In the case of growing in greenhouses, it is important that each of the plants is suitable for humidity, light and air temperature.
Strawberries require soft, loose soil rich in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. She also needs abundant watering and sufficient, but not too bright, lighting. Garden strawberries can be affected by late blight, therefore, plants that carry this fungus cannot be planted next to it. The most dangerous pests for berries are slugs and wireworm.
Advice
Mulching strawberry beds with coniferous (spruce or pine) needles has a positive effect on its taste.
To get a good, bountiful harvest, you need to select neighbors for strawberries, observing the above recommendations and rules of crop rotation.
The best root vegetable neighbor for a garden strawberry is root parsley. Planted between berry bushes, it will scare away snails and slugs. Also a good combination is strawberries and carrots, just don't mix them with parsley, you need to choose one thing. But both carrots and parsley coexist well with garlic or onions.
You can also plant next to strawberries:
It is better to choose varieties for planting, the fruiting time of which coincides with this time for strawberries. Radishes can be planted directly in the aisles, for this they leave a distance between the rows of 50-70 cm. And it is better to place radishes or beets in neighboring beds, but not by combining them with each other, but by choosing one of the crops.
Among bulbous plants, strawberries get along well with garlic and onions. Just do not plant them next to each other, since onions and garlic have common diseases and pests. In terms of health benefits, garlic is especially worth noting.It scares off the fungus-causative agent of late blight, and the berry is very susceptible to this disease, especially some varieties. The above-mentioned root parsley is excellent "friends" with garlic.
Strawberries and onions also coexist well. If you also plant carrots nearby, these crops will scare away pests from each other, and at the same time protect the strawberry beds. Onions as a neighbor also promotes the rapid growth of berries and the multiplication of strawberries, eliminates the problem of rotting bushes.
From green crops, the berry goes well with plants such as:
The main part of green crops is unpretentious and does not impoverish the soil. They have no pests in common with strawberries. And with the right planting scheme, they can create some darkening - in the southern regions, where there is active sun, this will be very useful. According to experienced gardeners, greens accelerate the growth of strawberry whiskers, which is important for vegetative propagation. In addition, green crops do not require special care, and herbs (coriander, basil, thyme, anise, tarragon, etc.) repel many pests.
Plants of the legume family occupy one of the leading positions in the list of neighbors useful for garden strawberries. These are peas, various varieties of beans and lentils and other crops. Thanks to their root system, they "loosen" the soil and supply it with nitrogen, which is beneficial for the berries. Bean beds can be positioned so that the strawberries are slightly shaded and receive not direct, but diffused lighting.
However, legumes, due to the production of nitrogen, can increase the acidity of the soil too much. To avoid this, fertilizers containing alkali can be used. And you will have to deal with weeding more carefully, because many weeds also very willingly grow next to legumes.
In addition to vegetables and herbs, strawberries perfectly coexist with flowers, especially with such as tulips and irises. According to experienced gardeners, they are able to increase the yield of garden strawberries several times, contributing well to its growth. This applies to the greatest extent to the varieties of remontant strawberries. In addition, irises and tulips help the thermophilic plant cope with cold winters more easily.
In addition to them, you can plant other flowering plants next to the strawberry garden (or right on it):
These flower crops also have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of garden strawberries.
Flowers such as marigold... With their properties, they scare off many pests:
In addition, these flowers protect against fusarium, which is very important for strawberries.
Advice
You can plant marigolds not only in the beds and in the aisles, but also around the entire garden perimeter. It is also useful to scatter finely chopped stalks of marigolds in it during the spring digging of the soil.
Favorable for strawberries and neighborhood with various trees and shrubs. Good for berries ate, pines, sea buckthorn, grapes, etc. The main thing is that the trees do not strongly shade the beds.
Important!
In no case should strawberries be planted next to a birch, it tolerates such a neighborhood very badly. So much so that you may not see any harvest at all, having ruined all the berries.
For some reason, some gardeners have a deeply rooted opinion about the almost absolute unpretentiousness of strawberries and the ability to plant them with a variety of plants. This statement is partly true: you can plant anything and with anything. The only question is how this will affect the harvest, and simply the survival of the plant.
Here is a list of plants next to which agronomists strongly do not recommend planting strawberries:
The worst neighbors for garden strawberries will be the crops of the nightshade family: tomatoes and potatoes, especially the latter. In addition to the fact that he consumes the substances necessary for strawberries, he is a carrier of late blight. Such a neighborhood very quickly (in 1.5-2 months) can destroy a strawberry garden.
Also, garden strawberries do not get along with plants of the carnation family. And sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke deplete the soil for a long time and can harm not only strawberries, but also other plants, especially when you consider that the husk of sunflower seeds is poisonous. Planting these plants near strawberry ridges is not recommended categorically.
This also applies to raspberries, which many summer residents often try to plant next to strawberries - and it is completely in vain, since raspberry bushes shade strawberry beds and dramatically dry out the soil. From this, garden strawberries often cease to bear fruit altogether.
Cabbage is an unwanted neighbor because it needs the same nutrients as strawberries. In addition, she needs constant and abundant watering in much larger quantities than garden strawberries. These incompatible crops should not be planted in the same area.
Every strawberry gardener always hopes to get a bountiful harvest of these delicious, wonderful berries. Today we told you about which plants will contribute to this, and which will only bring harm. Taking into account the local climatic features, not forgetting about the correct crop rotation, as well as providing careful care for the plant (timely watering, fertilizing and removing weeds), then the grateful berry will surely please the owner with a rich harvest.
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