Potatoes and fruit trees

[bikermike]

(no, I'm not planning to cross-breed...)

I have two nice pear trees that will be in their third season this year. They are dwarf and about about 5 feet tall.

The majority of my plot is laid out in rectangular beds going across the width of the plot.
Where the trees are, there is therefore a gap at each side (ie to the left and right of each tree).
I have more spuds than I intended to get this year.

How close can I plant potatoes to them before it's a problem?
Is it just a matter of root clearance, or do the two species not get on?

thanks

Mike

[ameno]

Even for a tree that small, I would want to give a bare minimum of 1 m clearance for something like potatoes, maybe even 1.5m.
Potatoes are really the worst crop for planting near to existing trees and shrubs, because of all the digging necessary to plant and harvest them. You're all too likely to damage the tree roots. Potatoes also need a lot of water, so may well compete with the tree, and you'll end up either depriving the tree, or the potatoes themselves will be deprived and you'll have a pathetic crop.
If you feel the space is going to waste and would like to plant a crop there, something more shallow rooted like lettuce or radishes or maybe dwarf french beans could probably go as close as 75cm to a tree that size.

[bikermike]

yeah, it's not so much using the space as the potatoes.

I'll see if I can find somewhere else for them