Companion Planting
Are you thinking of growing cucumbers with your strawberries this season ? Companion planting has many benefits , but some fellow plants can also produce more problems . In this clause , homesteader and gardening expert Meredith Cohrs examines if planting strawberry with your cucumbers is a good idea or not .
subject matter
As someone who garden in a small surface area , I love associate planting . Companion planting is when you constitute certain fruits , vegetable , and herbs together in the same space because they profit each other . welfare includepollinator attraction(which helps increase yield),pest and disease management , flavour enhancement , weed suppression , and more .
There are sure companion pairing that are almost like horticulture carom . Think tomato and basil and the three sisters ( corn , bean plant , and calabash ) . Then there areothers that are big misunderstanding , like tomatoes and corn or onions and beans .
But there are a lot of fruits and vegetables that decrease into a pretty unfixed halfway ground . They ’re not see fellow traveller plants in the traditional good sense , but they also are n’t on any dodging tilt either . Cucumbers and strawberriesfall into this no man ’s land . So allow ’s see if we can ( or should ) plant these together .
The Short Answer
The biggest vault to successfully imbed these two plants together isaccess to sunlight . In many cases , sprawling cuke vine will effectively shade your strawberry plants lead in poor growth and low fruit yield .
The dear intelligence is that if you are very deliberate with trellising , industrial plant arrangement , and sun pic , it ’s possible to successfully plant hemangioma simplex and cucumbers together .
The Long Answer
As with many things in gardening , the devil is in the point . The refinement of where your gardening bed or containers are located , the amount of ignitor they receive ( and the photograph of that light ) , and how much space you have all playact a part in do this question for your specific spot .
When it comes to questions about whether sealed flora can be planted near each other , it ’s helpful to look at a few cardinal things : sun , soil , and water requirement . If these things line up , it ’s likely that two plant – even if they ’re not considered companion industrial plant – should do just fine together as long as they are n’t compete for food .
Both of these plants have “ well ” fellow traveller , but that does n’t stand for they ca n’t be engraft together . you may seeideal strawberry associate here , andideal cucumber companions here . But these two plants can be paired together as long as sure requirements for each plant life are receive .
Sunlight Requirements
Fruiting plants like strawberries and cucumbers postulate to be planted in an area that experience full sun , meaningat least6 hours of direct sun each mean solar day . They really prefer8 - 10 hours of sunfor maximal fruit production . As with most quick season crops , southern photograph is ideal where plants receive light during the legal age of the day but are protected from the stiff good afternoon sun .
The biggest headache withgrowing strawberriesand Cucumis sativus together is that tall , vining Cucumis sativus will eventually allow for too much shade for your strawberries to welcome adequate sun .
The one way to potentially get around this is to strategically localize your plants in such a fashion that the strawberries will be on the sunward side of the cucumbers .
This is kick the bucket to be the most successful with southerly photo since you will have the most direct sunlight to work with during the mean solar day . You will need toaggressively trellis your cucumbersto secure the vine do n’t cover the strawberry plants , but it is potential .
June - tolerate hemangioma simplex busheswill be the most successful with this frame-up . They will have flowered and raise fruit before your Cucumis sativus vines have become too big . However , other thing encounter with the plants after they produce berry .
Perennating bud are produce ( which turn into next year ’s strawberry mark flowers ) and runners are make . This process should still bump even without full sun , but both will be somewhat diminished . If you do n’t want your strawberries transmit off smuggler anyway due to distance , simply trim them off or graft them elsewhere .
Soil Needs
Both of these garden plants are heavy feeders and require anorganically rich , rich , well draining soilto thrive . Whether you are imbed in the background , in a raised bed , or in containers , aim for a rich , loamy outdoor potting soil .
About a month prior to planting , rectify the soil with compost by gently digging it in . If you have existing strawberry mark flora in place , softly drudge in compost around the substructure of the plant .
I like to make my own compost using my louse bin ( vermiculture is amazing ) , but you’re able to use any stock - bought compost for this . Look for an organic compost with worm casting for best results .
Both plants also wish somewhat acidic soil . cucumber are happiestwith apH between 5.5 and 7 , while strawberries prefer apH between 5.4 and 6.5 . It ’s a honest idea to test your soil before planting to see where matter are . If you come up that the soil is too alkaline , add a dirt acidifier at the same time as your compost . If you are implant the two together , aim for a pH between 5.5 and 6.5 .
Fertilization Needs
Fertilizing will be important throughout the growing season since the plants will be competing for primal nutrient in the soil . If you have added anorganically productive compostto your ground at the beginning of the time of year , you could probably skip the addition of fertilizer at the sentence of planting . If you did n’t do that or simply do n’t have compost available , you ’ll need to turn to a fertiliser .
Strawberry plant life ask quite a act of nitrogen in early spring and again in former fall as the plants are growing and sending out runners . Once the plants bug out flowering and setting fruit , a balanced fertiliser suits their need o.k. .
Cucumbers , on the other hired hand , demand onlymoderate grade of nitrogenalong with higher levels of P and potassium to optimise fruit output ( search for an constituent works food with the first numeral lower than the last two like 3 - 4 - 6 ) . A fertilizer with too much nitrogen will result in a flora with too many leaves and not enough flowers or fruit .
The timing of plant maturement may be our save grace here , and once again , the June - endure hemangioma simplex may be the solution to the mismatched fertilizing trouble . Since June - bearing works bear fruit early in the summer , you actually need to avoid an extra inflow of nitrogen in the bounce since it will upgrade folio growth over yield yield .
Even if you do n’t implant June - bearing plant , you ’ll probably be ok as long as youuse a good compostrather than plant food early in the time of year . Once both plants have grown and are setting efflorescence and yield , their nutrition needs are more nearly adjust .
Watering Requirements
The good news is that both plant need about the same amount of weewee per week – about 1 - 2 inches . For cuke andstrawberries plant in levy bedsor containers , you ’ll have to pay more attention to dirt moisture than you do when plant in the ground since the filth dry out out more promptly .
You require the grime to be moist but not wet . The expert way to determine if your cucumbers need water is to stick your finger in the dirt about 2 - 3 inches . If the territory is juiceless , it ’s time to water . If it ’s still moist , give it another day .
The most important considerateness to watering these two plant together ishow you do it . You ’ll want to utilize a drip arrangement or soaker hose if at all potential and debar overhead sprinkler . If neither of those is an option , a slow - flow hose should work exquisitely as well . Strawberries are susceptible to waste in overly swampy condition and this is more of a peril if the folio are besotted after every watering .
body of water slowly and profoundly . Most plants do n’t like a deluge of water and these flora are no dissimilar . Think about the difference between taking a decent sip of water supply from a glass vs someone open a flame hydrant for you . In an ideal situation , you’re able to set up a drip organisation before planting .
This will deliver water to your plants in a consistent and manageable way . If you do n’t have a drip instal , do n’t concern . you could simply release your hose on the lowest mise en scene and just let it slowly stream into the soil . It may take a little longer than you need it to , but you ’ll be happy about the conclusion results .
Water the etymon , not the leaves . A common mistake with new gardeners is to irrigate the top of the plant rather than the soil underneath . This can really cause a lot of problem with yourplants include the spread of fungal disease ( do from wet filth splashing on the undersurface of the lower leaves ) , powdery mildew , leaf burn , and attracting pests .
Always aim to slow water the soil either with a drip mould system or low-pitched flow hosepipe . Add mulch to the al-Qaida of your works to maximize water system keeping , keep your soil at a consistent temperature , and minimize water splash back . Remember to always water your cucumbersin the morningand not during the heat of the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. !
Our Recommendation
The most common reason I see for hoi polloi embed strawberry with cucumber is gardening in a belittled space and the desire touse strawberries as a ground coverin the garden .
If you have a small space and want to imbed them together , I say go for it . If you’re able to supervise the sun exposure right , both of your plant will belike develop and produce fruit just fine . Even if your strawberries do twist up somewhat shaded from your growing cukes , you ’ll still be able-bodied to enjoy some of that sweetness even if the issue is n’t as high as it could have been .
If your thought was to use strawberries as ground get over around your other vegetables , I would urge using something else . drop behind nasturtiumsormarigoldsmake great ground cover and appreciate the shadiness thrown by your vining cuke . They will also allow extra companion plant welfare like pollinator attraction and pestilence reduction .
If you have mess of blank in your garden , I would recommend keeping the two plants apart . strawberry grow groovy in container and hanging basket , or can thrive produce on a hillside in your yard that ’s too steep for anything else .
The bottom line of descent is that if you require toenjoy maximum yieldfrom both your strawberry mark and cucumber plants , your strawberry will be more generative if set apart .
Final Thoughts
strawberry and Cucumis sativus are both hallmarks of summertime horticulture . Whilethey can certainly be grow togetherif space is an issue , you ’ll enjoy more of that summer strawberry sweetness if your plants enjoy continuous sunshine . But no matter what , you ’ll get to enjoy the fruit of your own garden this class . well-chosen planting !
