Strawberry Companion Plants: Plants to Pair With Strawberries

Companion planting is a time-tested gardening method that enriches and protects vulnerable crops. Farmers and gardeners plant specific crops near each other to deter pests, attract beneficial insects, and stimulate growth. Companion plants will either help a specific crop grow or will grow better beside a specific crop, and can do many support jobs in the garden:

1. 1. Repel insect pests: Cabbage worms, cucumber beetles, Mexican bean beetles, carrot flies, cabbage moths—all kinds of pests can plague gardens. Many companion plants (like marigold flowers, catnip, and rue) repel specific pests and should be planted near certain crops to keep them pest-free.
2. 2. Attract beneficial insects: Pollinators like bees and ladybugs can use a little encouragement to visit gardens and pollinate the crops. Gardeners often plant attractive plants like borage flowers to encourage pollinators to visit.
3. 3. Improve soil nutrients: When crops grow, they take up valuable nutrients from the soil, leaving the gardener to do a lot of work at the end of the season to renew the soil’s nutrients. However, there are many companion plants (like bush beans and pole beans) that add nutrients like nitrogen back into the soil, helping keep other plants healthy.

Good companion plants for strawberries also facilitate quicker growth, enhance flavor, provide ground cover and shade, and serve as markers to understand where and when you planted a crop (e.g. last frost).

The following garden plants make great companions for strawberries.

1. 1. Garlic: The pungent odor of garlic repels pests like caterpillars during the growing season.
2. 2. Spinach: Spinach and other types of lettuce can help facilitate mutual growth in strawberry patches.
3. 3. Onions: Similarly to garlic, onions discourage parasites from destroying nearby strawberries.
4. 4. Legumes: Bush beans and peas boost soil quality and nitrogen-fixing bacteria for strawberry plants.
5. 5. Asparagus: Asparagus plants pose little to no competition for space or nutrients.
6. 6. Rhubarb: Rhubarb is not only a compatible plant to grow, it’s a perfect pairing in recipes like strawberry rhubarb pie.
7. 7. Yarrow: Yarrow attracts pollinators like hoverflies to your garden.
8. 8. Fennel: Fennel has pest-repellent qualities.
9. 9. Herbs: Plant an herb garden to attract beneficial insects that help your strawberry plants grow. Herbs like borage, sage, dill, chives, coriander, thyme, caraway, and catnip make great companion plants for strawberries.
10. 10. Marigolds: Marigolds mask the sweet smell of strawberries and ward off root-knot nematodes. French marigolds in particular repel harmful knot nematodes and serve as a ground cover.
11. 11. Lupins: Lupins enrich the soil with nitrogen and attract pollinators like honeybees. Other flowers may also make useful companions for your strawberries, such as nasturtium, which draws in beneficial insects.

Aim to keep these plants out of your home garden if you are growing strawberries.

1. 1. Brassicas: Members of the Brassica genus rob strawberry plants of nutrients and steal moisture from these juicy berries. Brassicas include any vegetable in the cabbage family. Be sure to avoid cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, collard greens, kale, broccoli, turnips, and radishes.
2. 2. Nightshade: Members of the nightshade family—like tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes—may spread fungal diseases to your strawberry patch.
3. 3. Melons: Refrain from planting cantaloupe, honeydew, and other melons near your strawberry plants. Melons compromise both space and nutrients in a strawberry garden.
4. 4. Okra: Okra can spread a deadly disease called verticillium to strawberry plants.
5. 5. Roses: Depending on the climate, roses can become invasive and rob strawberry plants of nutrients.

Strawberries and basil pair well in many recipes, and they make excellent companion plants. Planting basil near your strawberry patch helps facilitate growth and repel pests.

Strawberries and tomatoes should not be planted together. Planting tomatoes near strawberries can lead to the spread of fungal disease.

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