Tree planting distance from road? From veggie garden?

I'm trying to make the most of my small yard and I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. I have several questions.

1.How far must a dwarf fruit tree be from the road/ alley?
I thought about trying to espalier apples along the road as a "fence, " but I worry about road salt in the winter. However, the edge of my veggie garden is only about 4 feet from the back alley road in places and it did very well last year. Do I need to worry about roots damaging the concrete, or on the other hand, the concrete smothering the roots?

2. How far should the trees be from an annual veggie garden that is new and probably needs annual rototilling for a few more years? In other words, how far will dwarf fruit tree roots penetrate heavy soil? (Yes, it's clay, but my Asian pear trees in the front are doing really well in the same clay, so I'm hoping apples and peaches will also do well. The whole yard is on a significant slope.)

3. Can diseases be passed between the fruit tree roots and either annual or perennial vegetable roots, if they were to reach each other? What if the trees were just a few feet from a perennial vegetable bed (artichoke, asparagus, rhubarb)? Then rototilling would not be an issue, but diseases might be -- or maybe there are no shared diseases/ pathogens.

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!
Thanks,
Mary

I cross posted this to the Garden Web fruit forum.

I also just read in The Grape Grower by Lon Rombough that grapes should not be grown near asphalt, because it releases chemicals can damage vines and accumulate in the plant, making the fruit toxic. Does this also apply to fruit trees?

Anybody know how far away must a fruit tree, or grapes, be from an asphalt road?

Thanks
Mary

This message was edited Nov 28, 2009 1:18 PM

I'll take a stab at it :

Watch what the snow plow does and keep salt-sensitive plants in away from where the snow and salt pile up and melt. Fruit trees are sensitive to salt, except pears which can take some salt.

Just keep in mind tree roots grow out BEYOND the "drip line" (where the leaves end) about half the distance from the trunk to the drip line.

I don't recall any disease problems between vegs and fruit trees - gooseberries and maybe black raspeberries present some problem - maybe a virus.

As for asphalt - I really do not know, but asphalt is a natural product found in crude oil and appears in natural deposits in some places. I didn't think it was soluble. It's mixed with concrete for road surfaces. Being "natural" doesn't mean it couldn't be toxic of course. But I don't know what the other chemicals might be added to it. The residue from dust and salt ON the road, washed off by rain might be more problematical. Just don't know.

Good luck with your espaliered trees if you do that - it sounds interesting and challenging!



This message was edited Nov 29, 2009 4:36 PM

I would worry about trees being planted too close to the perennial bed and eventually shading them. You'll have find out how tall the trees will become. I have trees that are about 100 feet from my garden and they shade it every afternoon. I even planted a nut tree about 30 feet from my garden 25 years ago. The tree seemed so tiny then, but it is a problem now. Unfortunately, nut trees have a taproot and if I tried to have it moved it would die. I have experience with rhubarb and it does best in full sun. It gets spindly in shade. You'll need to look up your other plants and find out what their requirements are.