Raspberries, or Rubus idaeus, grow in USDA zones 4 to 8 and prefer colder regions than dry and tropical locations. When growing raspberries, it’s worth noting that there’s a short list of plants you should avoid.
If you’re curious as to what not to plant with raspberries, here are six of them.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a bit difficult to grow as they have a strict preference in terms of soil, watering, and light. You’ll also have to look out for numerous pests, including worms, devouring insects, and fungal diseases such as blight.
Blight in tomatoes can spread and quickly kill your raspberry plants. Even a smidge of blight is enough to cause slowed development and lower fruit quality in raspberries.
Chili Plants
Pepper and chillies can certainly add color to your garden, but you’d want to keep them away from your raspberries. It’s a matter of preventing and reducing the risk of diseases getting to your fruiting plants, something that chillies can’t help with at all.
Peppers like a warm environment, and they’re prone to a number of viruses and fungi. Having these diseases spread to your raspberry means they won’t be as healthy or produce as much fruit. Therefore, it’s best to keep away from peppers as much as you can when planting raspberries.
Eggplants
Grouped together with potatoes and tomatoes in the ‘do not plant with raspberries’ list, eggplants are susceptible to blight and other fungal diseases that can prove to be detrimental or even fatal to raspberry plants.
The fungus in eggplants also tends to spread or stay in the soil for a long time until they’re treated. Prevention is still better than the cure when you’re aiming for a bumper crop of raspberries, so heed our advice and don’t plant eggplants near your raspberries.
Potatoes
Potatoes are usually considered staple crops in any vegetable garden, but they’re not welcome when you’re trying to grow raspberries. Unfortunately, potato plants can catch blight, which has a high likelihood to decimate your raspberry plants.
Potatoes are not a good companion plant for raspberries since they don’t benefit from having them nearby. The potatoes tend to do more harm than good, and it’s best to stay away from planting potatoes when you’re growing raspberries.
Strawberries
Since they both technically belong in the ‘berry’ family, it’s only natural that strawberries and raspberries can be planted together, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. While a raspberry and strawberry shake or smoothie is great for the taste buds, planting them in close proximity in a garden usually spells bad news.
Both fruit plants might be similar in that they like cold temperatures, but diseases like verticillium wilt can prove to be fatal once they’re infected. Strawberries are notorious for catching the fungus easily, and they can spread to other plants too, including your raspberries.
Fennel
Fennel is a definite no-no when it comes to being a raspberry companion plant. In fact, fennel plants are not recommended to grow anywhere near food plants, including fruit and vegetable varieties.
The reason for this is that fennel plants release a chemical from their roots as a sort of ‘self-defense’. This chemical inhibits the growth of surrounding plants, making them stunted and unable to realize their full potential. The same applies to raspberries, which means you’re not likely to get any fruit come harvest time.
Related article: Raspberries and Frost