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Blueberries bring a delightful trio of benefits: they blossom in the spring, bear fruit in the summer, and show off vibrant fall foliage. These charming shrubs add beauty to your garden and also reliably deliver delicious berries year after year. Thanks to their manageable size, blueberry bushes are one of the easier edible perennials to grow, although they do grow at a slow to moderate pace.
However, when it comes to growing blueberries, it’s important to choose your plant neighbors wisely. While some plants can enhance their growth and boost your harvest, others can hinder progress by competing for nutrients or introducing diseases to your garden.
Choosing the wrong companions can make a big difference in your gardening success. Here’s a list of 15 plants you should avoid planting near your blueberry bushes to keep them thriving.
Mint
Mint’s aggressive growth can quickly overwhelm nearby plants, including blueberries, leading to competition for nutrients and space. Its invasive nature can also reduce air circulation around blueberries, potentially increasing susceptibility to diseases.
Peppers
While peppers thrive in warmer soil, they are not suitable companions for blueberry bushes due to their differing soil pH needs. Peppers prefer less acidic soil, while blueberries thrive with this type of soil.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes, like peppers, require a less acidic soil environment compared to blueberries. Since tomatoes are heavy feeders, they can deplete the soil of nutrients that blueberries need, potentially stunting their growth.
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Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts can be detrimental to blueberries as they absorb a lot of nitrogen, which blueberries also heavily depend on. Brussels sprouts prefer a more alkaline soil pH, which contrasts with blueberries’ acidic preference. This mismatch can lead to nutrient competition and poor growth for the blueberries.
Broccoli
Due to its vigorous growth and large nutrient uptake, broccoli competes with blueberry bushes for nutrients and water. Additionally, its preference for a slightly more alkaline soil can disrupt the acidic conditions needed by blueberries. Planting broccoli near blueberries can hinder the growth and fruiting of the bushes.
Cantelope
Cantaloupe’s extensive root system and preference for a neutral pH can disrupt the acidic soil environment needed by blueberries. This competition for nutrients and water, along with different soil pH needs, makes cantaloupe a poor companion for blueberries.
Watermelon
Watermelon, requiring a lot of space and nutrients, can overshadow and outcompete blueberries for essential resources. The vast difference in their growth requirements makes co-planting them problematic, often to the detriment of the blueberry bushes.
Dill
While dill attracts beneficial wasps, it depletes the soil of nutrients when it goes to seed, which can negatively affect blueberry growth and fruit quality.
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Cabbage
Cabbage thrives in well-drained, nutrient-rich soil with a neutral pH. However, these conditions are not ideal for acid-loving blueberries, potentially leading to poor growth.
Walnuts
Walnut trees produce juglone, a chemical that inhibits the growth of nearby plants, including blueberries. Their extensive root systems also compete heavily for water and nutrients.
Eggplants
As members of the nightshade family, eggplants prefer warmer, less acidic soils, which can clash with the acidic conditions blueberries require, resulting in mutual stunting of growth.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower competes with blueberry bushes for nutrients and water due to its heavy feeding nature and different soil pH preferences.
Kale
Kale’s high nutrient demands and preference for a more alkaline soil pH can make nearby soil conditions unsuitable for blueberries, inhibiting their growth
Sweet Corn
Corn consumes a lot of nitrogen, promoting excessive foliage growth in blueberries at the expense of fruit production.
Potatoes
Potatoes share a high demand for nutrients and have different soil pH requirements compared to blueberries. This can lead to intense competition for soil nutrients, adversely affecting blueberry growth and health.
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