Hello all --
I've just oblique cordoned 5 apple trees in a small area, about 4' x 4'. (I know that's tight; as my user name suggests, I'm obsessed.) The area backs onto a south-facing concrete ventilation hut that gets fabulous sun, and which would be perfect for a grape to scramble over. Can I plant a grape between the cordoned apples, or will their roots compete too much? I'd also like to plant strawberries, or fennel, or some other food item between the apples as a groundcover (and also because my gardening space is at a premium, and that area gets the best sun.) Thoughts? Thanks in advance, D.
I wouldn't worry as much about the root competition as I would the sunlight competition... You can always put your compost dump over that 4 X 4 foot area and feed em all real good! But sunlight's critical 
You mentioned training the grape over an area to the rear. That sounds good, just so it gets enough initial sun to climb its way up. And there again - groundcover will also need sun - my apple trees leaf out long before my strawberries develop...
Sounds exciting to me... but then I've generally learned the hard way! ...and don't anyone leave (or take) my answers / suggestions as the final word -- I'm still learning too 
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Do they offer some particular advantage in this situation? I did get a reply from the woman I bought the trees from, and she thought the grape would be too much competiton for the apples. So I was thinking of planting baby carrots, perhaps, since their roots are limited to, well, the carrot, if I understand correctly. It's a little nerve-wracking as a newbie gardener, shelling out wads of cash for these plants and having no idea if I'm on the right track, so I very much appreciate the guidance ...
Actually, the part of the carrot that we eat is definitely not the whole root system. Several of the books I've read show the root systems for various plants, and "root" crops have fairly large wide ranging smaller roots, the "edible" part is a kind of storage area where the plant stores nutrients to continue to grow and then flower the next year.
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