1
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Transplants at base of pine tree

Cucumber    Texas

I have old-growth pine trees all over my yard which makes the soil fairly acidic. I've run out of room for a fall garden and thought I might try some cucumber transplants at the base of one of the trees. Any luck with planting veggies under pine trees? Also, will the vines attach to the bark to grow vertically?


Posted by: Blue Roze (2 points) Blue Roze
Posted: August 30, 2014




Answers

0
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I think one of your biggest challenges will be getting enough sun. Especially for cucumber. How much shade do the trees create? For flowering veggies like cucumber you want at least 8 hours of sun. The second problem is going to be the roots of the pine trees. You want to avoid damaging them and killing your trees. Planting anything directly at the base could inadvertently damage the taproot system. You want to go a bit further out which might rule out using the trunk as a natural support. Finally, you need to think about the soil conditions. As you say, the soil will be acidic which is fine as most veggies will thrive in a slightly acidic soil but a soil test can tell you exactly what amendments you will need to make to make the soil habitable for edibles. There is also a good chance that the soil around the tree base is depleted of nutrients as they have been taken up by the pines and these will need replenished.


Posted by: Lindsay McMenemy (4 points) Lindsay McMenemy
Posted: September 2, 2014


Blue Roze commented,
Thanks for you thoughtful response, Lindsay. This particular area gets plenty of sun and has produced thriving amaryllis for years. I'll add compost and try one seedling. Thanks.

over 9 years ago.

Lindsay McMenemy commented,
I think its worth a try just to see what happens, let us know!
over 9 years ago.



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