Utilising space when growing fruit and veg

[Matt84]

Hi,

Firstly I don't have a huge garden but am looking at trying to grow as much fruit and veg as possible. I recently cleared a patch of my garden and planted a lot of fruit plants/mainly blackberries,redcurrants,blackcurrants,gooseberries etc however I didn't really think it through it terms of utilising the space for growing. These plants will only fruit once a year right? But rather than pull them all up and move them I read that you could grow veg inbetween the fruit plants to make the best use of the space, can I do this and if so what veg would be suitable?

Secondly whats the best way to utilise space when planning what to grow on a plot of land in my garden. I know you have to leave a certain amount of space between each crop otherwise it will bolt so I was wondering whether I could do the following. Plant say for example beetroot then a row of salads then perhaps a row of radishes before then planting the next row of beetroot etc If so what combinations are suitable so that one crop wont take too many nutrients away from the others. I hope that made sense!

Many thanks,
Matt

[Two_Sheds]

I wouldn't plant anything in between your fruit bushes.
Firstly, they won't appreciate having their roots disturbed. Secondly, harvesting & weeding will be a pain if you can't get to your veg because your fruit is in the way.

Although fruit only comes once a year, it is an expensive crop to buy, so well worth the space it takes up.

If you are short on space, grow what you like, and what is expensive to buy.

[Matt84]

Thanks for the reply. If not veg I had also thought of planting some plants to attract bees to increase pollination of fruit, mainly marjoram inbetween plants. Would this also interfere with the fruit plants roots(I'm unsure how complex the roots are on Marjoram plants) Would this be necessary/beneficial or will bees find their way to the fruit plant flowers anyway?

[lottie dolly]

hi matt84,have you thought about growing some greens in flower buckets,have a look at the container growing thread,if you have any hard surface area,build a raised bed,grow things like peas in troughs up aginst a fence,there are lots of ideas on the forum,have a go with the search button,all the best,

[Two_Sheds]

The best thing to put between your fruit bushes would be a mulch, to keep moisture in the soil.

A living mulch could be used, if it's shallow rooted... Limnanthes is a good one, attracting bees and hoverflies

[Matt84]

Thanks again for the reply, what exactly is mulch, if i'm right I remember reading that you can create it by using old dead leaves to keep moisture in, is that right?

[voddybabe]

i have never had a problem growing rows and rows of beetroot together. Whether that is just luck though i couldnt say. The best way to learn is just try things out, thats how i did and it is very satisfying when you find somthing that works.
Good luck

[Two_Sheds]

what exactly is mulch?

It is anything that covers the ground, blocking light and retaining moisture in the soil.

eg. cardboard, weed membrane, old compost, etc etc

[Pumpkin Becki]

Hi Matt,

As Two Sheds says, growing crops under your fruit bushes will cause root disturbance, make it difficult to maintain, and also steal important nutrients and water from your fruit bushes. Also, the fruit bushes will shade-out the crop you are trying to grow underneath, making it weak and prone to disease. This applies to herbs as well unfortunately. I'd keep your fruit in a dedicated area and not mix it with other things.

Veg and herbs can be successfully grown in pots if you have now run out of bed space.

When it come to what to grow next to each other, i think you might be getting confused with crop rotation here. Try to learn what types of veg things are, ie: Cauliflowers and cabbage are members of the brassica family. Once you know what families you are growing, try searching for threads about crop rotation here on the vine and you'll find loads of advice. Failing that books are an excellent source of information to get you started, and even the 'experts' still refer to their library of 'how to' books.

[tamsin]

What other space do you have in your garden? My fruit n veg is spread out through mine. I have mangetouts and a squash growing up a fence, an aubergine in the middle of a flower bed, runnerbeans up canes in front of another section of fence. Sweetcorn in between some shrubs, toms in hanging baskets. Lots of veg can be quite decorative so there's no need to plant it in blocks like an allotment if your gardens laid out wrong for that.

If you have bare house walls or fence panels there are a lot of things that climb so take up very little floor space.

[gadgetman]

Is shredded paper (eg old bills etc) good to mix in the soil?

[Two_Sheds]

Is shredded paper (eg old bills etc) good to mix in the soil?

Not in the soil, but make it into compost, yes. All my paper gets shredded, used as guinea pig bedding, then composted.