Soft fruit dilemma.......

[Snadger]

I have just finished planting up a 4'0" X 15'0" bed with 2 blackcurrants, 1 Red goosebery, 1 Whitecurrant and 1 Redcurrant. The idea being is that because they are all in one bed I can build a small fruit cage around them!

The bed looks very bare and even once the bushes grow, will still look bare!
What can I plant around them? Please not lettuce cos(heyhey) I'm not a salad person!
Any other ideas?

[PAULW]

SNADGER
Have you thought of putting a mulch down around the plants this will help keep it weed free and retain the moisture and look neat and tidy.

[Alison]

We have put bark chip over the ground between the fruit bushes to supress the weeds etc. I take it that you want to use every bit of available ground - the main problem with underplanting is that when the bushes get going in the summer there will be very little light down there so I wouldn't hold out much hope for any plantings if you've got standard spacing of your fruit bushes.

[Crazy Chickie]

Maybe some nice smelly flowers as companion plants to help keep the bugs off them. Not sure what would go well but I think lavender and tagettes are supposed to be good for detering beasties. Though Paulw might be right coz when you come to harvest you'll be crawling around your bushes trampling over the flowers.

[pigletwillie]

Most soft fruit are gross feeders and its never best practice to underplant as you get competition of your own making resulting in less of a crop, allied to that root disturbance which will again reduce your crop.

[Snadger]

I thought about taking a leaf out of Alice's book and putting some containerised planting around bushes. The pots will act as a mulch and keep the soil moist, give me a crop of flowers or veg, and when the bushes need the room the containers could be moved some where else. Wallah!!!

Another idea is, I have managed to procure some cheap growbags, these could be used to grow something, either veg or flowers in same area, or a mixture of growbags and pots!!1Double Wallah!!!

[Alice]

I think that sounds an excellent idea Snadger .

[pigletwillie]

Quality shout snadger, you sound as tight as me when it comes to empty ground.

[burnie]

I thought about taking a leaf out of Alice's book and putting some containerised planting around bushes. The pots will act as a mulch and keep the soil moist, give me a crop of flowers or veg, and when the bushes need the room the containers could be moved some where else. Wallah!!!

Another idea is, I have managed to procure some cheap growbags, these could be used to grow something, either veg or flowers in same area, or a mixture of growbags and pots!!1Double Wallah!!!

What's a Wallah?,I see they come in double form,can you get standards?, do they taste nice?he he

[yoanbob]

what about cranberries?
just pop them in under bushes, will be mulch and you can eat the berries.

[pigletwillie]

I have cranberries under my blueberries as they share the same soil conditions and as they are not dug up do not cause root disturbance. They self propogate by spreading and soon make a mulch mat under the blueberries.

As they like acidic soil though they are not suitable for planting under other soft fruit.