Companion imbed for blackberries aids the fruiting shrub in several ways . Depending on the plant take , blackberry companions can help repel pests , deter disease , attract bee for better pollination , accumulate nutrients in the soil and stop competitive weeds . blackberry themselves make full companions as well , when planted near crop such as grape . Do n’t draw a blank , too , that sometimes what you found before your main crop can be just as authoritative as what you constitute beside them .
Tansy
Perhaps more than any other plant mention in connection with blackberry , scented fern is ofttimes recommended as a blackberry fellow traveller . The yellow - bloom herb possesses a reputation as an peculiarly good ally of blackberry bush , grapes , cucumber vine and rose . Because its leafage contain a potent mix of camphor , borneol and thujone , tansy repels and in some case kills all fashion of " chompers"–striped cucumber beetles , mouse , ants , rainfly , Nipponese beetles and many flying insects . Do not constitute tansy too close to blackberries , as it spread aggressively .
Garlic
Strong - smelling ail famously protects roses from aphids , but in fact all penis of the roseate kinsfolk , including blackberries , benefit when garlic develop nearby . Garlic not only repels aphids , but also beetles , rock drill , spider mites and weevils . produce ail between blackberry rows , between President Bush or about a metrical unit in front of a blackberry border .
Grapes
While grapes do n’t specifically serve blackberries , blackberries decidedly come to the aid of grape when the two grow in jump rowing . A kind of louse prognosticate grape leafhopper bewilder a serious menace to grape crops . But blackberry shrubs host the mortal enemy of the grape leafhopper – a leech that attack and kills the grape leap hopper .
Other Beneficial Herbs
Several flowers and herbs fight disease and repel insect for a wide variety of food crop , including blackberries . famous example let in borage , marigolds , chives , geraniums and ruefulness . Bee balm and other blossoming herbaceous plant aid pull bee , which aid in blackberry pollination .
Between-Row Crops
The second twelvemonth after blackberry plant become install , sow in an one-year diverseness of oats in the fall . The oats contend with the blackberry for water and nutrients . This seemingly counter - intuitive method acting actually aid " indurate off " the blackberry ’s root in cookery for the wintertime , accord to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service . For a permanent cover that will suppress weeds and control wearing , the wing service advocate a bluegrass - Festuca elatior grass mix .
“Guild Members”
In " Gaia ’s Garden , " author Toby Hemenway discusses an expanded idea of fellow traveler planting , this clip necessitate several plants which become interdependently good . In the community in which Hemenway places blackberries , this guild include white oak Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for wildlife , leafage mulch and stack away large man-made lake of wet in stain ; hazelnut for food ; serviceberries , thimbleberries and blackberries for edible fruit ; strawberries for yield and as a mulching ground cover ; and unfermented cicely and American vetch to bring N to the soil and repel pest .
Cover Crops
A good pre - planting strategy for blackberry involves sowing oats , millet , buckwheat or rye to the next blackberry patch . These crop help tot up humus and nutrient to the dirt when allowed to rise for one year , and then tilled in a few months before plant the blackberries . To rid the soil of white grub and weeds , plant and harvesting wheat or corn the yr before planting blackberries .
