[slugwarrior]

i have a lovely lottie all woodlandish and surrounded by trees.  the downsides are pigeons, squirrels, shade and slugs.  In addition the top end of my plot is nearest the trees and is very dry from the roots.  it gets enough sun in the summer.  it doesn't fare well as part of my crop rotation so I am looking to 'opt it out'  i have built a root bed in half of it which i have filled with compost, topsoil and leafmould (as I have heavy clay soil and root veg take one look and give up) so wondering what I can do with the other bit.  would asparagus cope with the dryness?  I am happy to add stuff to start with but other than that I am a 'tough love' gardener and I don't want to plant anything that needs pampering and cossetting. any ideas or suggestions.  many thanks.

[JayG]

Asparagus has a very deep and wide root system when established, and I can't imagine that it would cope with the competition from the tree roots at all.

There is also the possibility that the tree roots would eventually be tempted to grow upwards into the relatively moist and fertile raised beds, so I would line it with weed-proof membrane and grow shallow-rooted plants which don't mind a bit of shade (some salad crops and parsley spring to mind but I'm sure there are others.)

[mumofstig]

There is also the possibility that the tree roots would eventually be tempted to grow upwards into the relatively moist and fertile raised beds,

That is precisely what happened in my garden    Each spring I had to dig the beds and cut the newly grown roots out 
I ended up having the cherry tree cut down!

[BabbyAnn]

what about building some raised beds?  You could line the bottom bit if the roots of the trees become a problem, and it would help to retain some moisture.  

[crh75]

I have a similar problem at one end of my plot. I am going to move the compost heap and shed down to that end.

[JayG]

There is also the possibility that the tree roots would eventually be tempted to grow upwards into the relatively moist and fertile raised beds,

That is precisely what happened in my garden    Each spring I had to dig the beds and cut the newly grown roots out 
I ended up having the cherry tree cut down!

I've got tree roots everywhere in my front garden borders even though the street tree responsible is about 12' away and the pavement about 5' lower than my garden! 

[slugwarrior]

hmmm. i hadn't thought about improving the soil would bring the tree roots up......... thanks everyone. i think i might dig some grit in and plant some rosemary and lavender and skip trying to fit any veggies in there.............