If you have Blackberries in your garden or if you're planning to plant them, you must know what plants to grow with blackberries for the optimum use of your garden and the growth of your plants that isn't hindered by the other companion plants. Choosing the right plants to grow with blackberries for your garden can have many benefits, such as a better fruit yield, healthy plants, and easy maintenance of the garden. To find what plants you can grow with blackberries to use your garden's full potential, go through this article and discover the right companions for your blackberries.
Blackberries as Companion Plants
Blackberries don't take up much space because of their climbing nature. If you don't have a lot of space, you can still grow blackberries along with other plants that help them, flourish and yield better fruit after their first year. These plants are wonderful choices for your garden, as they're low maintenance and fulfill your everyday requirement of berries and antioxidants. They are rich in antioxidants and perfect for your daily breakfast needs.
There are many plants you can grow and use to increase the yield and health of your blackberries, some also benefiting mutually from the companionship and giving the best yield of Their own. Let's dive into the benefits of companion planting to discover the best plants to grow with blackberries to increase your harvest and make sure your garden is maintained well.
What is Companion Planting?
Companion planting refers to the practice of planting many different plants in a single space together to achieve benefits for all of the plants involved. This happens naturally and organically as plants grow close to the plants they can benefit from and grow along with.
North American Indigenous peoples used companion planting before the English settlers arrived. Corn, beans, and squash were the most notable combinations, known as three sisters, and were grown together with success and prosperity for all three crops. Looking at the plant's environmental needs, growth habits, and overall requirements is very necessary to understand the relationship between the plants and how they benefit each other.
In the three sisters' planting method, Corn works as a natural trellis for beans to climb, and the beans, I have turned, improve soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air, which benefits the Corn. Additionally, the large leaves of squash help insulate the roots of other plants, retain moisture in the soil, and reduce weed growth, thus protecting its companions.
Blackberries Are Perfect Plant Partners
Blackberries, when used as companion plants, offer several benefits to their neighboring crops. Their sprawling growth habit provides ground cover that helps to suppress weeds and reduce soil erosion. The dense foliage can offer shade to more delicate plants, protecting them from excessive sunlight and helping to maintain soil moisture. Additionally, blackberries can attract beneficial insects, such as pollinators, which aid in the pollination of nearby plants. By integrating blackberries into your garden, you create a more resilient and productive planting environment, enhancing both the health of your crops and the overall biodiversity of your garden.
Some of the Best plants as partners for Blackberries are :
Apple Trees
There are several types of apple trees you can choose from for your garden, such as full-size or dwarf apple trees. They can grow in any soil condition, making it easy for you to grow them along with other plants. Apple trees provide a dappled shade that's nice, appealing, and suitable for blackberries. The beautiful flowers welcome pollinators in your garden.
The deciduous apple trees shed leaves after the growth season, creating a natural mulch for blackberries that they benefit from during winter. The soil benefits from these leaves as they decay and provide nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, which are beneficial for other companion plants as well.
Grapes
Grapes, as vines, need the same soil conditions as blackberries, serving as good companion plants. Both blackberries and grapes are beneficial for each other. Blackberries help improve the soil, which aids the roots of grapes in spreading out. However, if planted too close, these plants can become intertwined or tangled, making them difficult to grow and manage. Therefore, make sure you keep them adequately spaced and use trellises to support their growth, allowing you to take advantage of the benefits of both plants while preventing them from interfering with each other.
Mint
Mint is a very versatile herb and a classic staple for your garden. Its strong scent helps keep pests away from blackberries by confusing them. Additionally, mint flowers attract pollinators that increase the yield of both blackberries and their fruit-bearing companions. Mint spreads quickly; a small mint plant can rapidly cover your garden. This can be problematic for other plants, as blackberries also spread. To avoid issues, plant mint at a sufficient distance from other companions, and consider using borders or keeping mint in containers or large pots to manage its spread effectively.
Lemon Balm
Melissa Officinalis, known as lemon balm, is a member of the mint family, thus making a good suitable companion for blackberries. It serves as a good ground cover, Helping to protect the roots and hold moisture in the soil.
Blackberries
When this herb blooms, it welcomes pollinators, increasing your harvest and providing a better yield. Lemon balm can be invasive. Like other herbs in the mint family, it spreads rapidly. Using borders and containers can help you manage its spread and maintain it. Lemon balm is also said to help relieve stress, aid digestion, and Improve sleep.
Hyssop
Blackberry lovers consider hyssop the perfect companion plant for blackberries. It's a tall-growing herb that produces many flowers, making it attractive to pollinators and suitable for companion planting. Hyssop helps protect your blackberries from pests such as cabbage moths and flea beetles, as these pests are drawn to the hyssop and leave the blackberries alone while feeding on it.
Bee Balm
Bee balm has many names, such as the popular and common wild bergamot, and is another member of the mint family. It's grown for its aesthetic appeal and beautiful looks, enhancing the beauty of one's garden. Most often, it has a history of being used as a medicinal as well as a culinary herb. This plant has benefits similar to those of other members of the mint family. Its aromatic and bright flowers attract pollinators, making it suitable for companion planting. Giving it borders will help you keep it in your garden without worrying about its spread.
Borage
Borage, known widely as starflower, has been used as a treatment for eczema and arthritis. This plant is a great source of vitamins A, B, and C. Borage attracts pollinators, making it suitable for companion planting and a perfect choice to grow with blackberries. Its beautiful blue-colored flowers are inviting and irresistible to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. It can also become invasive, so keeping it in pots or allocating borders is necessary.
Tansy
Tansy works hard as a companion to blackberries. The flowers attract pollinators, and the plant has many qualities that aid blackberries. This plant works as a nitrogen fixer; it takes nitrogen from the soil and makes it available for other companion plants to use. Tansy is perfect for companion planting because of its qualities. High in the compound camphor, it repels insects and pests with its strong smell, thus helping to protect blackberries from pests and insects that could harm them and affect your harvest. However, it can be toxic to pets and children, making it unsuitable for gardens in houses with pets or kids.
Chives
Chives act as wonderful companions for blackberries as they prevent pests. Although blackberries aren't vulnerable to insects, they aren't invincible either. Chives, like other allium family plants, are rich in sulfur, a natural and organic pesticide. You can grow chives as a garden fence to protect your edible fruit-bearing plants from damaging pests, as well as animals such as deer and rabbits, which do not like the scent of chives.
Thyme
Thyme is another wonderful companion for blackberries. Its flowers attract pollinators like honeybees, which bloom from May to September, making thyme very suitable for companion planting. It also prevents the plants and soil from insects and attracts ladybugs, which feast on aphids, benefiting the garden. This perfect and versatile herb is also good for cooking use.
Hazelnut
Hazelnuts have attractive bushes that produce delicious and beautiful seed pods full of nuts in late summer. This pleasant-to-the-eye plant doesn't compete for nutrients with its companions, such as blackberries. It provides plenty of organic mulch to aid in acidifying the soil, which helps blackberries grow in a favorable environment.
Blueberries
Blackberries and blueberries share a simple and symbiotic relationship, having similar needs such as environmental conditions, soil, and maintenance. While they compete for some nutrients, their similar requirements make them suitable companions for Blackberries if managed well. Proper spacing, mulching, and using acidic fertilizers can help both plants thrive in a companion planting without competing. Common pollinators aid in the growth of both plants, increasing yield and harvest. You can make them companions to save space in your garden and use your resources to their full potential. Placing them nearby ensures a long, productive, and better harvest.
Garlic
Garlic is a member of the allium family; thus, it produces potent sulfur that keeps pests and animals away from destroying its companion plants, such as blackberries. Aphids, mealybugs, maggots, deer, and rabbits aren't fond of its smell, making garlic suitable for companion planting. It helps its companions grow in a safe, pest-free environment. Garlic, with its antifungal and antibacterial properties, keeps fungus and bacteria away from the soil and other plants, providing a suitable environment for their growth.
Many plants can be grown with blackberries to enhance growth, yield, and harvest while maintaining a low-maintenance garden. These companion plants also help keep each other healthy and protected.
Some suitable companions for blackberries include:
Serviceberry
Thimbleberry
Roses
Sunflowers
Beans and peas
Strawberries
These plants create a thriving environment for blackberries. If you already have blackberries in your garden, research how to best integrate these companions to ensure they flourish together.
Be aware that some plants may harm animals and children, so conduct thorough research before adding any new companion plants, especially in areas frequented by kids or pets.
