Why Can't Blackberries Be Grown Near Tomato Plants?

Blackberries

• Blackberry bushes are perennials that come back year after year, and can attain a height and spread of more than 10 feet. This size shades any plants growing within 10 feet of the blackberry bush.

Tomatoes

• Tomatoes require full sun for eight hours every day and won't bloom or bear their fruit if they grow in shade. Tomatoes grown too closely to blackberries don't receive the right amount of sun. They will fail to produce.

Considerations

• According to North Carolina State University, blackberries should never grow in a site that held tomatoes, due to the danger of bacterial infections. Plant blackberries and tomatoes together, but leave at least 10 feet of space between the plantings, to protect the blackberries from the verticillium wilt tomatoes sometimes spread.