Can I Plant Tomatoes Near Blueberry Bushes?

Soil Requirements

• Tomato plants grow well in a variety of soils. They like lots of organic mulch or compost and a neutral pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Gardener's most frequently have to add lime to reduce the soil's acidity. Tomatoes prefer well-drained soil and light, but frequent watering. Blueberries on the other hand, prefer a lower pH, doing best with a more acidic soil around 4.8 to 6.2. Application of wettable sulfur may be needed to create the acidity you need for a healthy crop. Blueberries also need well-drained soil, but prefer soil that holds moisture well. Deep watering two to three times a week during especially dry weather is essential.

Spacing

• Blueberries like to be planted in raised mounds or furrows, 6 inches above the surrounding soil. They, like tomatoes, prefer to be spaced well apart with good breezeways between the plants to promote cross-pollination and keep the leaves and stems dry. For tomatoes, it is essential that plants be properly staked and spaced. Depending on the variety you plant, spacing should run from 24 to 36 inches between plants in rows a healthy 4 to 5 feet apart. This works well for blueberries too. Air circulation is vital for both types of plants. Planted closer and they face issues with poor cross pollination and disease outbreaks.

Fertilization

• Tomatoes are heavy feeders and if planted near other plants may rob nutrients from the surrounding soil weakening plants on the edges of the areas you fertilize for the tomatoes. Blueberries need much less fertilization and respond well to a light application early in the season, but may droop if they get into soils too rich in nutrients or too alkaline. Planted close to tomatoes, the blueberry's root system, which tends to be shallow and to spread broadly, can poach on the heavily fertilized soil near the tomatoes, overloading the plant with fertilizers and reducing the vigor of the blueberry bush.

Companion Potential

• Tomatoes need a minimum six to eight hours of full sun per day. Blueberries also like full son, but will tolerate up to 50 percent shade. They both need lots of space , but will tolerate other suitable fruits and vegetables planted nearby or even between the rows in the case of blueberries. Because their moisture, pH and fertilization requirements are so different, however, tomatoes are not a good candidate for infilling your blueberry patch. To maintain the conditions that these two fussy garden fruits demand to grow well, it's best to plant them well away from each other and find other suitable companion plants to surround them with.