I’m installing some kiwi trellises (roughly 6’ tall T trellis). Does anyone crop beneath their trellises? Seems like a lot of wasted space if I just put down wood chips. I thought lettuces would do well…small melons or winter squash would be nice but I don’t think they’d get enough sun once the kiwi are established.
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At the edge of my T trellis for grapes, I plant currants and gooseberries. I have the whole area mulched with wood chips and will add mushroom spawn in the dark center area this year.
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My grape vine trellis runs east-west… so the ground under my grapes gets lots of sun… all day… since the sun crosses the sky on the southern side.
A trellis that runs north-south… the ground under it would get morning and evening sun… but some shade mid day. What you have growing on the trellis will shade it some as the sun goes over mid day.
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i have my walking onions in front (s) of my Marquette grapes. they’re growing gangbusters with little care other than mulch. hoping the onions help keep the bugs away from my grapes.
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I have some strawberries that have worked their way out of their bed and crept under my grapes. We’ll see this year if they out out any berries under there. But they are a good low to the ground fruit in otherwise unused space. I just keep them a few feet away from the base of the vines so there isn’t too much competition.
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You can always do a cold weather crop like mâche when your vines are dormant. Those should be harvested by mid-May at the latest. A shade loving hot weather green is Peperomia pellucida. It reseeds and doesn’t even sprout until late May most years. It can’t even tolerate direct sunlight without burning.
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I also have gooseberries near the edge of my kiwi trellis, to give them some afternoon shade.
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Early cabbage works under trellis for me.
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Mushroom logs and beds. Spring ephemerals like Ramps. I’m sure lettuces would do well. I also
do layering propagation below my kiwi trellis
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