With well over a foot of snow covering my balcony right now, I guess it is inevitable that my thoughts are turning to days in the not-terribly-distant future when I'll be able to look out and see some green again.
Most significantly, I just took the major step of ordering fruit trees for my tiny little farm. A genetic dwarf peach/nectarine combo tree and an Asian pear featuring two varieties grafted onto the same tree for easy pollination will arrive at my doorstep sometime in April! I hope these trees will find a permanent home in the ground before too long, but I want to be ready to give them a nice, beautiful home for the upcoming growing season.
I have two large half-barrel size plastic containers in mind for the trees (you can see one on the left in the garden overview pics below). For the peach, I'm thinking a ring of garlic planted around it and eaten as green garlic, then another ring of nasturtiums spilling over the sides. While the nasturtium grows, maybe I can pop some lettuce seedlings in between. Basil is supposed to be good for repelling fruit flies, so I can either make sure to set a basil plant nearby or maybe set one on the rear of the container.
For the pear container, I'm considering moving my two little blackcurrants in along with some chives or another allium. I'm considering trying out a couple leek seedlings solely for the incredible flowers they send up! Finally, if I get my hands on some alpine strawberries, I think they'd make a beautiful addition to this little mini-orchard in a pot, spilling over the sides.
What do you think? Do you companion plant container fruit trees, or do you just mulch?
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