Congrats on your own mini orchard - you can protect your trees the natural way by allowing low ground covers and organic mulch to settle around the roots. The biggest danger is damage from mowing machines so try to protect the trunks by outlining an area 3 feet from the tree with a border that wheels will not cross easily. I use landscape timbers with bark chips but you can also use a gravel or pebble mulch or low growing plants. These trees will adapt to other plants nearby as long as they remain the tallest plant with full sun. A slow release plant food like Osmocote is preferred over a high nitrogen or fast acting lawn food, so by not planting a perfect lawn near the trees you will avoid the rapid growth caused by lawn fertilizer leaching into the roots of your fruit trees. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti