Companions For Growing Organic Strawberries

Imagine growing your own organic strawberries that does not require herbicides, pesticides or even organic chemicals.

I have written some very detailed descriptions on how to grow healthy organic strawberries in a recent article at  Thyme Square Garden. I discuss the best soil, varieties, planting times, mulching and pests and diseases. I also just  begin to touch base on creating the environment for growing them.

Since every different region of the country will have its own set of specific problems to address, there are some things that work in any garden in any zone. I grow in zone 8b on the Gulf Coast of the Southeast Texas region. Some things I describe may not be a situation for Northern Gardens, but the companions will be the same.

The best place in the garden that I have found for growing berries is directly in the herb garden. Berries surrounded by native Wildflowers, herbs and a few other essential garden aids will have everything beneficial that nature can provide.

1. Thyme, a remarkable herb that has a wonderful relationship with berries. I have noticed that when thyme is growing near it seems to stretch itself towards the berry plants as though to embrace and protect it. In the south we have a tendency to have pill bugs or sow bugs that enjoy eating holes in the fruit, but where the thyme grows there is none to be found.

2. Borage, another wonderfully flavored herb with a light flavor of sweet cucumbers will attract more honeybees than you could hope for when it is in bloom. The tiny and delicate periwinkle blue flowers are hosts to many pollinators. One year I grew it directly in the strawberry beds but found that in my garden area the borage gets huge and blocks sunlight for the berries to produce and ripen. So now kept on the outer borders of the herb garden it serves its purpose perfectly. Since borage enjoys cool climates it is one of our popular spring herbs to enjoy and readily reseeds itself every season. It has been long said that borage will help your strawberries in becoming more disease resistant.

3. Sage always grows in the herb garden and when mature it produces the most gorgeous short purple spikes. Sage is another defender, aiding in warding off harmful pest.

4. Heirloom Marigolds should embrace your strawberry beds and placed throughout the herb garden. The old fashion varieties of heirlooms, like the French Sparky and Jester has a much stronger scent than hybrids, thus repelling harmful insects more efficiently. Actually the herb Mexican Mint Marigold is beneficial as well for warding off many harmful pests. I always recommend that when initially planning the placement of new strawberry plants to try and grow marigolds in those areas the year before. Marigolds will eliminate harmful nematodes from your soil that might infest the roots of your strawberry plants. They are an excellent choice to add to the garden every year for a whole host of benefits.

5. Onions are planted throughout the strawberry beds in the early months of winter in our area. I usually plant mine right after the New Year and they are harvested near Easter time. Onions ward off many harmful insects that might want to migrate to my strawberry patch. The bad bugs have very little opportunity of being successful with all of the defending companions planted throughout the herb garden.

6. Bush Beans are another favorite companion to the strawberry patch. I usually reserve growing beans until the end of June when the strawberries have finished producing in our area. The beans will shade the strawberry plants in the hottest parts of the summer, keeping the soil cool for plants to survive the brutal triple digit temperatures. The beans also add a whole lot of nitrogen back into the soil keeping the berry plants healthy and nourished.

7. Lettuce and Spinach also enjoy the company of strawberry plants. These can be grown in the earl y spring months and again in the fall in my region. There is also a special summer spinach that grows well in the hot months called New Zealand that will also act as a ground cover to keep the soil cool.

Bad additions to your strawberry patch would be things from the cabbage family like broccoli and Brussels sprouts for example. Also be very sure to never ever plant new strawberry plants where Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants and Potatoes have grown the previous season. This would increase the chances of your berries catching the virus Verticillium Rot.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Growing Your Own Organic Strawberries

Most of us are figuring out that keeping up with the prices of organic foods is incredible. Then it is not just the prices, but where they are being imported from.

Most likely the organic strawberries are not grown in the US because the demand for organic has grown dramatically and we simply are not producing enough organic.

 So when the money belt is tight, do you break down and buy conventionally grown which is most likely immersed in Methyl Iodide/Atrizine and pretend you don't know, or do you quit eating them altogether?

 I say grow your own! It's that simple! I will never give up my precious sweet strawberries. And besides that, you have really never tasted a sweeter berry than one that comes from your garden.

 The question you will have to ask yourself is how serious are you about growing your own strawberries. Is it just going to be a hobby in a pot or are you wanting to grow enough to make some homemade jam, pies, tarts, summer drinks?

Do you want enough to last throughout the year? If this is the case than I can help you get going. As much as I love and appreciate a good looking strawberry pot, I really love pulling down whole organic strawberries from my freezer even more.

One of the nice Big clumps I've dug up to divide Crowns

The beautiful thing about strawberries is that when growing methods are used properly they produce an amazing amount of runners.

Tiny stems that shoot out of each plant and producing new little plants at the end of them. Then each new plant begins with one main crown in the middle.

After the first year a single plant will have formed several crowns. The crowns can also be divided for establishing new plants.So even if you start with a few plants the first year, by the next fall you will have plenty of plants from your humble beginnings.

Here are some tips to get you started.

1. SOIL; prepare your beds.You need a very well drained slightly sandy loam a little high on the acid side. Usually a PH of around 6 to 6.5 works well.

Your beds also need to be rich in organic matter. A lot of composted pine needles mixed in your organic matter seems to help with the PH levels. If at all possible try to plan on growing your strawberries in a well established bed.

 2. VARIETY, is very important. Do a little research to find out exactly what grows best in your garden zone.

What has done the very best in my garden in Southeast Texas is the EVERBEARING SEQUOIA. It is the only type that I grow now after trying a few others as an experiment.

If I had to choose a second variety it would be the Quinault. The everbering is a perennial evergreen plant. It has stood many different tests in climate from hard freezes to extraordinary heat waves and record breaking droughts.

3. The Correct PLANTING TIME is vital. In Southeast Texas and many Gulf Coast areas everbearing strawberries must be planted in the fall for spring berries. This really gives them a jump start to getting well established. A good root system will play an important role when the temperature begin to soar.

4. MULCHING and more mulching. Keep your plants free from bare ground. This will help protect them from soil born diseases. More importantly it helps protect the root system since they are shallow. It helps keep them warm during the cold spells and cool and moist during the hot and dry periods.

More so, as the plants begin to bare fruit it is by far best to never let them lay on bare ground. Just remember to never take the straw out of strawberry. Be Cautious and never cover the center crowns of your plants. Try not to water that area as well.

5. PESTS AND DISEASES to watch for in my area are mainly the fire ants that find their way into the beds and rollie pollies or better known as pill or sow bugs that will find their way to the fruit and eat holes in them.

The quickest way to get rid of a fire ant mound with the least amount of damage to your plants is simply find another mound on the other side of your property, shovel part of it up into a bucket and take them to your strawberry bed. Dump it on top of the hill and the ants will fight and kill each other to the death.

If your just not into fire ant wars I do have a few other organic methods that you can read about in a previous post. 

As far as the pill bugs go, this is why it is important to keep your plants surrounded by a nice layer of mulch like straw or hay. Even pine needles have worked great for us. Pill bugs are actually wonderful for your organic garden. Their job is to help break down the organic matter.

The only plants that have problems with them are strawberries and cantaloupes. They will get into the lettuce and other leafy greens, but they do no damage to the plants.

Keep your strawberry plants clean and free of dead or dying debris. I keep all the dead leaves and stems cleaned off from the bottom of each plant.

The most important disease to be aware of is Verticillium Rot. Be sure you don't chose areas in the garden for your new strawberry plants where you had Tomatoes, Peppers, Potatoes or Eggplants previously growing. .

6. Last but not least is to be sure to create a bit of an environment with partial shade for your plants around the end of June.

The everbearing strawberries with start to become exhausted with producing fruit by this time and the temperatures will begin to soar into the high 90's and even triple digits. We do this by propping up some trellises over the beds.

The trick is to try and keep the soil on the cool side. I have been know to plant cucumbers on the trellis and let them climb on up for even more denseness. The plants will start becoming busy making runners for transplanting in the fall again.

Visit me for an article at Natural Family Today where I describe how to create the best environment for growing organic strawberries. I'll discuss the best companions and combinations for growing in a natural habitat.

Happy Gardening!!

Pammy