Strawberry Companion Plants For Your Garden

Get the best vitality of your strawberry patch by introducing key companion plants. This guide will help you select plants that enhance strawberry health and flavor and naturally manage pests, ensuring a bountiful harvest. 

The strawberry companions are covered with herbal, floral, and vegetable companions to create a thriving, integrated garden.

Floral Companions 🍓

Borage

Borage enhances strawberry flavor significantly, making it a great strawberry companion plant. Known for attracting pollinators like bees and butterflies, it contributes to an effective pollination process in the garden. 

Borage's blue flowers not only add aesthetic value but also improve soil fertility as they decompose, providing essential nutrients that support strawberry health.

French Marigolds

French Marigold is celebrated for its natural pest control abilities, particularly against root-knot nematodes and other garden pests. Its bright, colorful blooms emit a strong scent that deters many common pests, protecting nearby strawberries.

Additionally, French Marigolds enhance garden biodiversity and aesthetic appeal, making them excellent companion plants for strawberries.

Phacelia

Phacelia, used as a mulch crop, is beneficial for its soil-enhancing properties around strawberry plants. Its lush, fern-like foliage and vibrant purple flowers attract beneficial insects, thus boosting pollination. Phacelia's rapid growth helps suppress weeds, maintaining the ecological health and beauty of the strawberry bed.

Sweet Alyssum

Sweet Alyssum acts as a living mulch, attracting beneficial predators and pollinators with its dense, honey-scented flowers. This plant significantly improves the growing conditions for strawberries by conserving moisture and suppressing weeds, while its low-growing, prolific blooms enhance garden aesthetics and support biodiversity.

White Clover

White Clover excels in nitrogen fixation, directly enriching the soil to enhance the growing environment for strawberries. Functioning as a living mulch, it develops a dense carpet that effectively suppresses weed growth and retains soil moisture, thus reducing the frequency of watering needed.

Yarrow

Yarrow attracts beneficial predators and pollinators such as ladybugs and hoverflies, crucial for controlling pest populations. Its aromatic flowers also repel certain pests, providing natural pest management.

Yarrow enhances the garden's visual appeal with its vibrant, feather-like foliage and clusters of small flowers, making it a preferred choice for its functionality and beauty in strawberry gardens.

Herbal Companions 🍓

Strawberry companion plants are a powerful option that will add a beautiful aroma to your home garden.

Basil

Basil enhances strawberry growth by repelling pests with its strong scent and attracting beneficial insects. Planting basil near strawberries not only improves berry production by reducing pest infestations but also enhances pollination. The aromatic leaves of basil add culinary value, making it a practical and aesthetic addition to strawberry patches.

Caraway

Caraway attracts predatory insects, thus enhancing pest control around strawberry plants. Its deep roots aerate the soil, improving nutrient uptake for strawberries. Caraway's feathery foliage and small flowers add textural interest to the garden, increasing its biodiversity and visual appeal.

Catnip

Catnip effectively repels pests and attracts beneficial insects, serving as an excellent companion for strawberries. Its strong scent acts as a natural deterrent against various insects, while its small, white flowers appeal to pollinators. Catnip also enhances the garden's visual landscape with its soft, green foliage.

Coriander

Coriander repels a variety of pests while attracting beneficial insects with its delicate flowers. Its strong aroma effectively protects strawberry plants from common pests like aphids and spider mites. Coriander also offers culinary benefits, adding flavor to dishes and value to the garden.

Creeping Thyme

Creeping Thyme acts as a living mulch, covering the ground around strawberry flowers
to suppress weeds and retain soil moisture. Its aromatic properties repel numerous garden pests, assisting in maintaining strawberry plant health. The herb also adds a fragrant element to the garden, enhancing the sensory experience.

Dill

Dill attracts predatory insects such as wasps and ladybugs, which aid in pest management within strawberry fields. Its tall, feathery fronds also attract pollinators, improving strawberry pollination and yield. Dill's delicate architecture enhances the visual structure of the garden, providing both functional and aesthetic benefits.

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm repels pests and attracts pollinators, making it an ideal companion. Its lemon-scented leaves deter unwanted insects while its small, white flowers are favored by pollinators, boosting pollination and fruit production. Lemon Balm's bushy growth fills garden spaces, adding lushness to the landscape.

Mint

Mint is known for its strong scent, which effectively repels many pests harmful to strawberries. To prevent it from overtaking other plants, mint is best planted in containers. Its vigorous growth provides a lush green backdrop to the strawberry patch, enhancing its visual appeal.

Perennial Chives

Perennial Chives deter pests and attract pollinators with their onion-like scent and attractive purple flowers. They are ideal for planting along the borders of strawberry beds to create a protective barrier against insects while also enhancing the visual appeal of the garden.

Sage

Sage repels many common garden pests with its aromatic leaves and may also enhance the flavor of strawberries when planted nearby. The strong scent acts as a natural deterrent for insects, and its gray-green leaves provide a beautiful contrast in the garden, enhancing the visual landscape while supporting the health of the plants.

Tulsi (Holy Basil)

Tulsi (Holy Basil) repels pests, growing strawberries alongside improves by attaching beneficial insects with its aromatic leaves and flowers. This plant enhances the overall vigor of the garden, supporting robust plant growth and contributing to a healthier, more productive strawberry patch.

Vegetable Companions 🍓

When considering companion plants, vegetables are not at the top of the list. They belong in the versatile options that perform double duty.

Asparagus

Asparagus complements strawberries by utilizing different soil layers, minimizing root competition. This perennial vegetable provides shade and helps moderate the soil temperature, creating a more favorable environment. Asparagus's tall ferns also offer protection from strong winds and aid in maintaining soil moisture levels.

Beets

Beets are beneficial companions for strawberries as they help aerate the soil with their deep-growing roots. This improves soil structure and drainage around strawberry plants, promoting healthier root growth. Beets also loosen the soil, facilitating easier access to nutrients for strawberry roots.

Broccoli

Broccoli may enhance the overall health of strawberry gardens through its bioactive compounds with antifungal properties. Planting broccoli can create a more disease-resistant environment, potentially reducing the occurrence of fungal infections. Broccoli's large foliage also provides beneficial shade to strawberry plants during warmer periods.

Bush Beans

Bush Beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which is highly beneficial for strawberries. This legume enhances soil fertility and structure, boosting the growth and vigor of strawberry plants. Bush beans' compact growth makes them suitable companions in space-efficient gardens.

Carrots

Carrots aid strawberries by loosening the soil, which enhances air and water penetration. Carrot roots break up compact soil, improving conditions for strawberry root development and leading to healthier plants and potentially larger yields.

Garlic

Garlic acts as a powerful repellent against pests, protecting strawberry plants with its strong scent. Planting garlic around the perimeter of the patches can maximize yield by minimizing pest damage. Moreover, garlic's robust roots can help improve soil structure, promoting better growth conditions for strawberries.

Lettuce

Lettuce is an ideal companion for strawberries due to its shallow root system, which avoids nutrient competition. Lettuce covers ground quickly, suppressing weeds and maintaining soil moisture. Its rapid growth cycle enables multiple harvests, providing efficient use of space in the garden.

Purslane

Purslane effectively covers the ground, acting as a living mulch that maintains soil moisture and suppresses weed growth. It thrives in poor, compacted, and saline soils, making it a valuable addition in challenging growing conditions. Purslane's edible succulent leaves add nutritional and culinary value to the garden.

Radish

Radish is a quick-grower that can maximize space usage among strawberries. Its fast-developing roots help break up the soil, enhancing aeration and drainage. Radishes also deter soil pests with their peppery roots, contributing to natural pest control.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb provides multiple benefits when planted near strawberries. Its large leaves offer shade, which helps maintain cooler soil temperatures and reduces water evaporation. Rhubarb's deep roots improve soil structure and drainage, benefiting neighboring strawberry plants. The visual contrast between rhubarb's green leaves and red strawberries also enhances the garden's aesthetics.

Scallions

Scallions naturally repel various insects that might target strawberry plants with their strong aroma, serving as an effective pest control solution. They are easy to grow and do not require much space, making them suitable for intercropping with strawberries. Their upright growth also helps maximize vertical space utilization in the garden.

Spinach

Spinach growing alongside strawberries enhances yield from the same planting space. Its broad leaves provide light shade, helping to conserve soil moisture and protect berries from harsh sunlight. Spinach's non-invasive roots are compatible with the shallow roots of strawberry plants, making this pairing both agronomically and nutritionally beneficial.