Billy said:


Personally, I don't see a problem with the tree's roots. Maybe someone
can enlighten me.

Tree roots are why I've had to give up on the idea of not at least
minimally tilling. My vegetable garden is a fertile oasis in a vaste
sea of sand. So at least once a year each bed gets worked as
gently as possible with a broad-fork and the fresh roots get ripped
out.

Alternatively, take a square nosed shovel and plunge it into the ground
along a line that separates the tree from the tomato beds. You don't
need to dig. You are just trying to sever any roots leading to the
tomatoes.

Would likely have been sufficient at the last place, where the subsoil was
heavy clay rather than sand. (The water table therewas high enough that
we had crayfish burrows at the back of the yard even with no body of
water in sight!)

One shovel blade length is hardly sufficient, in my current garden. The
network of roots goes surprisingly deep here. It's a fossil sand dune,
and the sand goes down for10 feet at least, probably much more.
I wish I could do something about the trees, but my lot is long and
narrow and the trees are in the neighbors' yards.

It's impressive, the lengths tree roots will go to get what the tree needs.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..." --Largo Potter, Valkyria Chronicles

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