Companion planting
seyfades
Posts: 146
I was planning on growing all my vegetables and strawberries in pots, but I have just been give a section of our garden to use which I have built 4 side by side raised beds in to make it easier for sectioning. My intention is to grow my strawberry plants in 2 and to put my potato grow bags another and brassicas in the last bed.
However, I read somewhere that potatoes and strawberries should not be grown together, is this true?
Will the fact that I'm growing my potatoes in bags instead of ground make any difference to the proximity of both plants?
Can I plant my brassicas near either plants?
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Hi Seyfades,
The reason why it is not recommended to plant strawberries and potatoes together is that they are both susceptible to a soil-borne fungal disease called Verticillium wilt.
The fungus enters the plant via the roots, then grows up through the xylem (water-conducting tissue), causing wilt due to the fact that plant can no longer take up water.
Potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, strawberries, cucumbers, squashes and many ornamental plants are most commonly affected and are not normally planted in close proximity to each other in order to avoid problems.
This is why you get 'crop rotation', where related groups of vegetables are grown in different parts of the garden each year in order to avoid pest and disease problems. See the RHS website for more details of crop rotation https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=124
It's not recommended to plant strawberries in close proximity to Brassicas either.
However, the fact that you are using separate, individual raised beds means that as long as you grow each species in different beds, you don't have to worry about this. And if you are growing your potatoes in bags, the soil will be kept separate anyway, so again, no need to worry.
The Permaculture Research Institute website has some interesting information on beneficial and negative companion planting http://permaculturenews.org/2011/12/02/companion-planting-information-and-chart/
Pbff; Thank you for the detailed information