"Garlic is the perfect green companion for strawberry patches: tips on planting and care"

The leader of the list of the best green companions for strawberries is garlic, but there are also other options.

For example, it is believed that basil and mint (mint should be placed in a pot to avoid its spreading) enhance the taste of strawberries, while marigold attracts beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, which feed on aphids. Peas, grown on a vertical support, enrich the soil with nitrogen and improve its structure. Leafy vegetables, salads, and spinach are also recommended for strawberry beds. However, garlic is the best choice, providing many benefits to strawberries. It is truly an ideal pair, and there's no reason to ignore the benefits of planting them together, especially in the autumn.

In the fall, the strawberry beds require care: remove dead leaves and relocate transplanted bushes. To ensure good fruiting, it is necessary to leave free space at least 30-50 cm wide, or at the very least, 15 cm. But here comes an important moment. The freed space can quickly fill up with weeds, which, on the contrary, thrive in the autumn. If you don't want to give way to weeds, it is recommended to do spot planting of winter garlic directly in the strawberry bed. This will increase the yield of berries and help protect them naturally.

It has been proven that neighboring garlic deters spider mites, which are pests for strawberry plants. Scientists planted garlic next to strawberries and then counted the number of spider mites. Experiments were conducted both in open ground and in a greenhouse. The proximity to garlic reduced the mite population by 52% when strawberries were heavily infested.

Beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings, are also attracted to the scent of garlic.

The root exudates of garlic, which include sulfur, are natural soil fungicides and help prevent gray mold (botrytis).

Therefore, when preparing the strawberry bed for winter, be sure to find a place for this wonderful companion!

Choose large garlic cloves with undamaged skins and soak them overnight before planting. Fill a liter jar with water and add a teaspoon of baking soda. Stir, then place the cloves in the solution for soaking.

This soaking promotes germination and prevents rot. Autumn can be rainy, so additional protection from overly moist soils will not hurt.

Since you will be planting cloves individually, not in rows like for garlic, prepare planting holes for each clove. Dig a hole about 10 cm deep and fill it with compost in a 3 cm layer.

Before filling the hole, add more coffee grounds into the compost. Coffee grounds attract earthworms, which improve soil structure, and strawberries and garlic are best grown in loose soils.

After filling the hole, place the garlic clove with the pointed end up and cover with the remaining compost up to the top.

Do not tamp down the soil, but mulch it with a 3 cm layer of clean straw immediately after planting. This will prevent weed seeds from germinating but will not hinder the garlic. In late autumn, when preparing the strawberries for winter, add another layer of straw and shredded leaves. Note that if you use leaf compost, it should be obtained from healthy plants. Otherwise, it is better to use straw.

Next year, both crops will require early spring soil fertilization containing nitrogen, and then use foliar fertilizers rich in potassium and phosphorus.