Protect Your Strawberry Plants With The Help Of A Popular Herb

Strawberries are brilliant to grow at home. Easy to care for, these hardy plants come back year after year to provide you with tasty snacks in the summer and fall. But if you have strawberry plants in your yard, you may have noticed pests damaging the leaves and fruit. Strawberry plants are susceptible to a range of pests that affect their health and vitality, such as aphids, thrips, whiteflies, and mites. Some, such as aphids and cutworms, munch on the leaves of the strawberry plants, while others, like thrips, beetles, slugs, and snails, will feast on the fruit. However, you don't need to resort to pesticides to keep your strawberries safe. There are some amazing plants that work as natural pest control in your yard, and one of these is a very popular herb that's also used for cooking. 

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) may reduce some of the pests that are attacking your strawberry plants because of its fragrant smell and oils. Planting rosemary next to your strawberry bush is said to repel slugs, snails, carrot flies, and Japanese beetles. Furthermore, a study using rosemary as an intercrop with sweet pepper found a significant decrease in the population of thrips, green peach aphids, and silverleaf whiteflies. As these pests also impact strawberry plants, you can experiment with planting rosemary to protect your strawberries from them. 

Both strawberries and rosemary need to be planted in a spot that receives at least six hours of sun a day. Ensure that the soil is well-drained and has a pH of around 6 to 6.5. You may need to amend your soil to ensure that it is suitable for both plants. Once that is done, it's time to add them to your yard. Aim to plant these shrubs in April, as this is the best month for planting strawberries. Be sure to give both plants enough space for them to mature. Rosemary can reach up to 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide, while the size of your strawberry bush depends on its cultivar. If you are adding more than one strawberry bush to your yard, check out the spacing requirements for the type you have, as these can vary. For example, day-neutral strawberries should be spaced 5 to 9 inches apart. 

When it comes to watering, these two plants do have different preferences, which can cause problems. Rosemary thrives in dry soil and can develop root rot or powdery mildewif watered too often. However, strawberries need to receive around an inch of water every week during the growing season. To ensure that both plants stay happy, you may want to install a drip irrigation system, which slowly adds water to the root zone of your strawberries.  You could also plant the rosemary on a raised mound above the strawberry plant to allow water to drain away from its roots.