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katchilds
Forum newbie - be nice!
Posts: 1
Location: Hallett Cove
Registered: October 2008
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Companion Planting Posted 77 days ago I've just started my garden and have planted fruit trees, apples (gala and green) and lemon, and underplanted the apples with Nasturtium to fend off the bugs. Is it OK for this plant to actually climb the apple tree or best to keep it on the ground? |
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Ozmac
Forum stalwart
Posts: 131
Location: Sydney
Registered: September 2007
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RE: Companion Planting Posted 76 days ago A lot of fruit plants don't like other plants competing with them for food or moisture (citrus such as your lemon, in particular, don't like sharing) so I would go in the other direction – keep the area under your fruit trees well mulched, but don't grow anything there.
Nasturtiums won't fend off many bugs, anyway. The best organic control for plants is to grow them so they are healthy and strong. Competition around their root zone won't make them healthy and strong.
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14theroze
Forum celebrity
Posts: 280
Location: SW NSW
Registered: October 2007
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RE: Companion Planting Posted 76 days ago I tend to agree with you about the citrus trees Ozmac. Though I do intend to do some experimentation with that once my citrus trees have matured enough.
As far as the apple trees go though - I had a very large and healthy pineapple sage planted right under a well established apple tree in my back yard at my Sydney home - the apple tree still produced quite well.
Shallow rooted plants shouldn't harm the established fruit trees. I don't think the nasturtium growing under the apples would do any harm - I'd rather think it would look quite nice though. Grass was always growing underneath my old apple tree (which I don't have now because we sold the old place), where the pineapple sage would allow it to.
When my young fruit trees are about 3 or 4 years old I'll be planting flowers around them. I haven't decided what yet - they'll need to be drought resistant and not compete with the fruit trees root system. A mixture of herbs would be nice - and I'll be checking the companion gardening charts for ideas. My aim is to create a ground cover affect that would act as a living mulch. The shade around the root area would be of benefit i would think, the trees are in a very open and full sun all day area. I'll be starting the planting just outside the drip line of the trees and monitoring the progress closely. Some of the trees are large enough to start planting around over the next 12 months.
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Even the hard, dull, dry ground harbours life - which is brought to the surface with the fresh touch of drenching rain (or the humble watering can). |
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