[Nicki85]

thanks all for the thoughts and comments  

You are right, I do indeed need to stake them.  I have the stakes and the special ties and even a mallet so I just need to get out there and do it…

I think wild flowers would be a good choice by the sound of it and wild garlic sounds nice, I love the smell of that I wonder if I could put a pumpkin or two on either side and train up the plot if that makes sense as well…

There are a lot of docks in this plot as well so it's going to be a never ending game of spot the dock and dig up!!

[BacktoBasics]

what about currants or gooseberries? hoping to do this to save some space on the lottie. would like to line one side with trees and underplant with berries. has anyone done this? any opinions?

[surbie100]

Angelavdavis did this on one side of her plot - espalier tree with currants under the arms and strawberries under that. I think that there are pictures on her diary on here (Ecodolly).

I've underplanted currant bushes with strawberries and not so far noticed any ill-effects.

[Nobbie]

what about currants or gooseberries? hoping to do this to save some space on the lottie. would like to line one side with trees and underplant with berries. has anyone done this? any opinions?

If you use a very dwarfing rootstock on the trees, then they may struggle with the competition as both will send out shallow roots around the area. Maybe establish the trees first and then add the berries later.

[RichardA]

if you remember to take account of increased feeding needs then rhubarb would work if you plant it before the fruit trees roots have taken up all the space. With respect to other people's opinions I have found that stuff like strawberries that need a lot of sun do not do very well under trees.
R

[4 Seasons]

The trouble with growing anything under fruit trees I have found is that when you try to pick up the windfalls you are either trampling something that you have put there or in the case of squash it's not easy to see the apples on the ground. I use a broom to sweep windfalls in to a pile as it's a real pain (literally) trying to dodge branches bent double.  The only thing I have is grass and that is kept well cut so that I can sweep the apples easily.