You don't mention how far apart the trees are, but strips of plantings between the trees should be do-able. Just remember that the root systems of fruit trees tend to be near the surface, and they spread out beyond the dripline of the tree. Corrine's suggest of 'growing upward' is excellent. The best ones would probably be the ones that look like very wide ladders, made from (relatively) cheap 1x2s, or even long branches. Build them flat for simple storage, and tie the tops together for use and spread the bottoms for stability. If you live in a windy area, get some sandbags and fill them halfway with sand (or dirt or rocks) and tie them, leaving the top half for a handle, and set them on the bottom of the frame. Or use metal cattle panels (usually 54" x 16'), which can also be bent into arches. There are ones called 'hog panels', but the openings are very narrow on one long edge, a pain for reaching through and picking, & they're more expensive (more metal in them). The link below is a GW thread from last year, all about trellises. Any of the iron phosphate-based snail/slug killers (Safer's, Sluggo, Worry-free, etc) are safer than the older metaldehyde-based stuff (Ortho Bug-Geta, Corry's, etc) that kill mammals and small children. Someone always screams that iron phosphate isn't perfect, either, and it isn't, there is some toxicity there WHEN INGESTED IN LARGER AMOUNTS. That means don't dump it by the pound, just scatter it lightly, the slugs will find it; and don't make neat little piles that a pet or young child will gobble up. Use some sense and you'll be fine. It is rated by OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) as okay for organic operations. And it works better than any of the stuff that is often recommended, like egg shells and coffee grounds. Ducks love slugs and snails. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Show Me Your Trellis

I agree that a serious fruit gardener has enough to contend with without handicapping themselves by having chemical war waged against their trees in the soil. Also I believe that it is more than simply poisoning- established black walnuts are extremely competitive as their roots are extremely prolific in areas where they grow. I have recently established an orchard in the vicinity of these trees and the density of black roots in the area is remarkable. I have the area around each individual tree spaded with a King of Spades type solid steel, long handled shovel just as BW's show signs of growth. So far so good, but I'm sure the roots will eventually go under depth of spade work. As usual, it is the peaches that have been most sluggish- they tend not to compete well against established trees when transplanted. I've often thought that some kind of heavy fabric or copper screen set in the planting hole might be affective if it was part of the original installation.

I won't swear to it, but I'm suspicious of that river birch. I used to grow monster-sized hostas under a big sycamore--which eventually had to be removed. As quickly as possible I planted a clump of river birch there to provide some shade--though it took a couple years of my hosta scorching in the sun before the river birch were tall enough to provide the required amount of shade. The bad news is that since I put in the river birch, I watched my hosta slowly but surely shrink back smaller and smaller. Worst victim was Gold Standard--which for years was one of my big "monsters." The hosta bed had begun to look so pathetic that last summer I dug a new narrow bed along the west side of the house (only open spot I had left) -- there are maple trees along my neighbor's property giving the hosta some shade but hopefully not too close to the hosta. Then I transplanted most of my hosta over there. A year later, they are still pathetically small and I thought Gold Standard would not make it through the winter. It did, but it is a teeny tiny little plant--who would believe its history as one of the "monsters" in my garden? We are having rather continuous light rain here for the next week or so. I'm hoping the transplanted hosta will finally take off, this being their second year. I still can't get over how my earlier hostas started shrinking back, getting smaller and smaller as the river birch got larger and larger. I don't know that there is a cause-and-effect relationship there--but it certainly looks suspicious to me! Can't help you on the Walnut trees, however. Know nothing about them. Good luck. Kate

I've planted the surplus iris around the root system. I have no fears since I'd have to give them away anyway. If they grow, great. If not, no loss. I now have 4 iris beds. Still gave some away....