Underplanting fruit bushes with flowers or vegetables

[IndigoElectron]

I've planted 3 raspberry canes, a loganberry bush (just a twig really) and a blackberry bush (same) in my garden. It's going to take a while for them to grow, and I've got a lot of bare ground just sitting there.

Is it okay to put something else in this ground, until the fruit bushes get bigger? I wanted to plant some annual flowers (wild flowers, poppies, and maybe some others), and some salad veg (lettuce, leaves, radishes, chives etc). I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that these will be shallow-rooting and won't disturb the fruit bushes too much.

Can someone let me know if these plans look okay?

Thanks

[FB.]

Most currants, raspberries and blackberries are surprisingly vigorous plants and they soon reach a good size and cope very well with other competing plants nearby.
There shouldn't be a problem underplanting them with other plants - other than eventually the other plants will be crowded-out!

In good conditions raspberries can grow and spread very quickly - sometimes the underplanted plants are shaded-out within one season. It does seem that certain raspberries are more vigorous than others, but which varieties turn out to be vigorous and which are weak seems to depend a lot on the soil.
In my soil, Autumn Bliss and Allgold/Fallgold are shockingly fast growing (often cropping heavily the same year as they were planted) while Polka is weak and not very productive in my soil. But others on here have reported the opposite; Polka very vigorous and Autumn Bliss weak-growing, so it depends greatly on soil and climate.
Not that my soil is much good; several inches to a foot of pH 7.25, low-nutrient, slightly chalky, sandy-gravelly loam sitting on six inches to a foot of sand/shingle, sitting on several feet of gravel/chalk chunks, sitting on chalk several feet down around the level of the water table.
Not much penetrating rainfall in summer either.

Yet despite the harsh conditions the Autumn Bliss and Allgold/Fallgold are amazing in their vigour and productivity (originally bought from Keepers - maybe they carry less latent viruses?).

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks very much. I'll plant some things then and see what happens! I've got plenty of seeds, and no point letting the ground go to waste.

[Two_Sheds]

Is it okay to put something else in this ground, until the fruit bushes get bigger?

I have a carpet of limnanthes under & around my strawbs, black- and redcurrants. They don't affect the fruit production, they keep the ground moist & cool, and attract lots of beneficial insects.
win win win

[batman]

I have some annual wild flowers around my fruit bushes, as I like them more than couch grass ;-)

They seem to get on fine, and the bushes seem unaffected.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Jeanied]

I am sure I read somewhere that it is a good idea to underplant raspberries with forget-me-nots. Something to do with the insects. I love them anyway which is probably why it stuck in my memory!

[batman]

Ooh, I love them too! I will definitely sow some around my raspberries this year!


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks for the ideas everyone, I'm looking forward to getting planting!

[Philthy]

Is it okay to underplant fruit trees with annual flowers, such as marigolds?
I know not to have grass up to the trunk of a new planting for the first few years.

[Two_Sheds]

I have a carpet of limnanthes under & around my strawbs, black- and redcurrants.

I have some annual wild flowers around my fruit bushes

Is it okay to underplant fruit trees with annual flowers

the consensus is ... yes