{"id":4263,"date":"2018-10-19T09:05:39","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T16:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=4263"},"modified":"2021-03-08T11:14:38","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T19:14:38","slug":"growing-vegetables-under-fruit-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/growing-vegetables-under-fruit-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing vegetables under fruit trees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Melon vines take up too much garden space. This past summer, we grew all of ours away from the vegetable beds. I planted them under fruit trees where they had room to roam. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the photo above, a Sweet Crimson watermelon is growing \u201cunder\u201d a young Hellen avocado tree. And in the photo below, the watermelon is being enjoyed, to say the least. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Big brother eats the heart out.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Baby girl uses the rind for teething.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I planted that watermelon seedling on June 27, and the partnership of watermelon plant and avocado tree worked great because they both needed lots of water through the summer heat. They also complemented each other\u2019s sun needs, as the avocado tree grew up to gather light while the watermelon ran laterally, away from the Hellen tree, to soak up rays on the ground. Incidentally, the avocado tree enjoyed the watermelon\u2019s leaves shading the ground and cooling the soil — especially during those intensely hot early July days. I handwatered the watermelon plant for the first week or two, but then the mini-sprinkler on the avocado tree irrigated the watermelon as it watered the avocado tree from then on.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also grew honeydew melons under another avocado tree, which did great. Melons and avocado trees are an excellent combination. Other combinations of plants under fruit trees that I\u2019ve tried have not always worked so well.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keys to finding good vegetable-fruit tree combinations: consider water needs<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, I planted garlic under my SpiceZee nectaplum tree and this combination didn\u2019t work well. It was the rain\u2019s fault. No, really it was my fault for expecting rain. The garlic began to grow, then it turned to winter and I stopped watering the fruit tree because it had lost its leaves and only needed minimal soil moisture, but the rains never came to take care of the garlic. In spring, I ended up with tiny garlic heads.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, I could have watered the garlic individually, but the point in planting under fruit trees for me is in saving something: space, water, time, work. It would have worked better if I\u2019d planted the garlic under a citrus tree since you still need to water citrus trees through the winter if there\u2019s no rain.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n