For many gardeners, the urgent question is what can be planted under an apple tree and pear, as well as other fruit trees, to save space on the site. Having a large fruit-bearing garden with a limited amount of land is a luxury that few can afford.
Experienced summer residents, when planting a garden, know in advance what exactly under each tree you can plant in the future. This helps to correctly distribute trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables on the site.
Allelopathy
The science of allelopathy studies the interaction and influence of plants on each other. In nature, there are “aggressors” that crowd out other growths even from already established communities, for example, wheat grass, goof and ash. Germinating, they capture the territory and suppress the soil. When deciding, for example, which flowers to plant under an apple tree, and not knowing about allelopathy, you can destroy the rest of the trees.
When breaking the garden, one should take into account how different types of fruit trees affect each other. This is because all plants secrete chemicals with their root and leaf systems. It is the incompatibility of these substances in their interaction that plays a role in the further growth and fruiting of trees and vegetables.
Before deciding what can be planted under an apple tree, you should pay attention to neighboring trees. When the garden just breaks, it is better to check in advance which seedlings are compatible and which are not. For example, you cannot plant plum and pear nearby. When their root systems penetrate each other, they will suppress growth, and the crop will either be low or be absent altogether.
To understand what can be planted under a young apple tree, and what under an old pear, you should refer to the table of plant compatibility.
Compatible vegetables with fruit trees
The desire to save space and combine the garden and the garden on 4-6 hundred square meters of land requires the gardener to know about the compatibility of certain plants.
To understand what can be planted under an apple tree from vegetables, in addition to their compatibility, one should take into account how photophilous the vegetable is and what diseases it is susceptible to.
So, there are vegetables with which the apple tree has “friendly” relations, and there are those with whom a real “friendship” exists. A good mutual combination of this tree with cucumbers. To collect a good harvest of both, one should make 2 buckets of humus under the trunk circle in the fall and carefully dig it into the ground, trying not to touch the roots of the tree.
In the spring, after harvesting the fallen leaves, you should go with a rake and then dig holes in two rows along the perimeter of the crown at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other. When the danger of frost passes, in these holes, carefully watering them with warm water, you can transplant seedlings of cucumbers. After planting, warm watering is also required.
After 7-10 days after planting, shoots with a fishing line or twine can be tied to the branches of an apple tree. This will help the seedlings to support the weight of the fruit as they ripen. Watering should be carried out every other day, and top dressing - with diluted 1:10 mullein - every 2 weeks. The crown of the tree will protect the cucumbers from the scorching sun and keep moist soil.
Experienced gardeners say that you can plant still tall tomatoes, onions and garlic under an apple from vegetables. Carrots and pumpkins with apple trees remain "neutral", therefore they are compatible, but with alternating planting after a year. Categorically it is impossible to plant white cabbage near this tree. It suppresses its growth and fruiting.
Spicy crops under the trees
Another way to save space in the garden is to plant spicy and salad crops under the trees.
Gardeners say that you can plant lettuce, sorrel, basil, dill and barberry under the apple tree, which not only themselves feel great under this tree, but also have a beneficial effect on it. These plants tolerate shade well and with sufficient watering give juicy and strong greens.
There are spicy plants that inhibit the apple tree and significantly reduce the fruit yield. Sage, mint, parsley should not be allowed to this tree.
For those gardeners who are wondering what to plant under apple trees in the garden, there is an option to sow several types of crops at once.
For example, shade-loving sorrel can be planted closer to the trunk, and strawberries, cucumbers and barberries on the south side of the tree or where the crown is less common.
Therefore, one apple tree can shelter several vegetable crops at once, significantly freeing up space in the garden for potatoes, cabbage and beets.
Grapes in the garden
If there is little or no opportunity to build a grape arch , you should remember that you can plant grape bushes under the apple tree, as they are absolutely neutral to each other and perfectly adjacent.
Although experienced farmers believe that the best neighbor for grapes is a pear, but if it is not on the site, an apple tree is also suitable. The only condition is the place of landing. It should be on the sunny side of the tree.
Since the inhibition of plant growth and mutual suppression is caused by the penetration of their root systems into the territory to each other, this does not happen in the case of apple trees and grapes. Grapes are recommended to be planted in the usual way, taking into account the size of the trunk circle and the border of the crown.
Flower garden
For flower lovers who do not have the ability to break flower beds due to space saving, a good solution is to plant your favorite plants under fruit trees.
To understand what can be planted in the shade under an apple tree, one should take into account the requirements of flowers for shade and sun.
For example, asters and hosts are the most desired neighbors for this tree. They perfectly complement each other, so you can sow, for example, asters along the perimeter of the whole tree in several rows.
For those gardeners who like to combine business with pleasure, it is recommended to plant nasturtium near the apple tree, which blooms beautifully and repels aphids and whiteflies.
Marigolds can be planted of different heights, starting to sow the largest varieties from the tree trunk and ending with stunted flowers near the border of the crown.
Such a garden looks spectacular, and the additional cost of land is not required for the flower garden.
The compatibility of apple trees with fruit shrubs
All gardeners who have tested empirically say that raspberries can be planted under an apple tree to increase the yield of both.
Raspberry roots have a beneficial effect on the soil, saturating it with oxygen. This, in turn, has a good effect on the growth and fruiting of the apple tree. The only negative of such an alliance is a short time. The higher the tree and its thicker crown, and hence the shadow, the lower the yield of raspberries. Therefore, it should be transplanted after several years of fruitful "cooperation" with this tree.
Planting vegetables in early spring
When the trees in the garden are mature and tall enough, many gardeners think about what can be planted in the shade under an apple tree.
If fruit trees have a dense crown, then in early spring, while there is no foliage, their trunk circle can become a "home" for early radishes and feather onions.
Radish is a fairly frost-resistant plant, so it can be sown in open soil in April, and before the blossoming of apple leaves begins, eat the entire crop. Before sowing, it is recommended to carefully dig up the ground and fertilize with a bucket of compost with a spoon of nitrophoska.
When planting, you should make small holes along the contour of the trunk circle in several rows, throw 2-3 seeds in them, bury and pour with warm water. Until heat is established, it is recommended to cover the radish with a film or cloth. After 20 days, experienced gardeners are already harvesting.
The next thing that can be planted under large apple trees after harvesting radishes is onions on a feather. Bulbs should be planted often, almost close to each other. Thus, under one tree, it is possible to harvest several crops.
Economy and practicality
Gardeners who correctly use near- tree circles of trees receive not only high yields and save space, but are also able to advise others on what to plant under apple trees in the garden.
Using the experience of others, each summer resident can turn his garden into a blooming garden full of vegetables, fruits and flowers. The owners of such summer cottages are called practical and economical.