Nothing.as.I.don't.want.SPAM! writes:
In a neighbours garden sucking all nutrients away. I can't grow a
bloody thing. Any nasty thing I can do with out suspicion? She doesn't
even care for the garden anyway. I wish to grow fruit and veg on my
side of the fence.

Have you considered a raised bed there? Fill it with compost, earthworms,
etc., for a really good soil and resulting good garden. I doubt the
trees' roots would do any damage to such a bed. Even if you don't want a
raised bed, you will still have to work with the soil to improve it;
that's a fact of life. Too many are eager to blame a tree for their
problems. I have a huge Evergreen Magnolia tree in my background which
could be blamed for poor garden production as it shades the garden for at
least 30 percent of the day. With that, and other trees, most of my
garden receives less than 50 percent of sunlight each day. Yet, the garden
flourishes. Why? Good soil and surface watering, as well as a lot of
love. If I had not put all that horse manure on it and relied on
sprinklers, there are those that would be blaming the trees for low/poor
production which would have been the result.

Any portion of dirt that has not had organic material in it, including
plants, is not going to be fertile, regardless of what is, or is not,
planted near it. The other side of it is that soil that has been gifted
with organic material, is going to be fertile and there is no other choice
for it. As they say, compost happens (hence fertility).

If you have shade there, consider putting cool-weather crops. The
magnolia tree side of my garden is very kind to broccoli, cabbage, chard,
etc.

My experience in my own yard has been direct sunlight is not as necessary
as good soil and proper irrigation; filtered sunlight seems to be as
effective. That was somewhat of a surprise to this person who grew up in
eastern Washington sunshine on a farm. Another issue might be ground
temperature if there is shade. Consider getting some plastic barrels in
which to store water to release in the garden (instead of the garden hose
from the tap) where the water would be warm as it reaches the soil; should
be very beneficial. One thing for certain, I'll find out next summer as
it'll be my next experiment in my own garden.

Fifty-gallon plastic barrels are usually available from food processing
companies, often free or for a small fee. Mine are $5 each and used for a
variety of things in my garden (potatoes, raised herb beds, watering trays
under pots, winter containers for all those hoses, strawberry barrel,
etc.). The ones cut in half are only filled half-way with soil which
makes it possible to move them to other locations. (When planting in
them, they must have holes drilled in the bottom.)

Please don't blame the tree for "stealing" nutrients as it's unlikely to
be the problem; we are lucky to have the trees we do and are losing them
much too quickly. Like the car in front of us traveling slower than we
would like, sometimes inconvenient, even annoying, but not destroying our
lives.

Glenna