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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] companion planting for space

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  • From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] companion planting for space
  • Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:58:42 -0500


For the last tree years, I have planted a squash or two with each apple tree
every year, thereby saving a lot of space in the vegetable garden.


That's a neat idea, but isn't it too shady? What kind of squash do you plant?

I like summer squash, but I don't know if they'd fit under my dwarf fruit trees. But something like cucumbers might, since they stay low and just trail all over the place. Still, as I say, I wonder if they'd get enough sun. It's deep, dark shade under most of my trees (they're crowded together pretty closely, too).

Another problem is that my fruit trees would be hard to spray, since I wouldn't want to kill the bees visiting squash flowers. Last year, I removed the strawberries I had around my apples and plums. They grew great there, but I couldn't spray the trees when the strawberries were blooming - and I couldn't get around the trees to spray at other times, without walking all over the strawberry patch.


It's an incentive to improve the soil around the trees as the squash
requires fertile soil,


In my case, that would be another disadvantage, since the last thing I want is more fertile soil around my fruit trees! I have a hard enough time keeping them small as it is.

Still, I'm running out of places to plant fruit (I'd like to try blueberries sometime) and still have a garden, so I'd love to find a way to combine the two, in some locations.

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

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