I've been in the habit of dumping compostable kitchen scraps under a Fuyu Persimmon for the past few years. This year several of the discarded seeds from various squashes and melons have volunteered, and since the area is now fenced, the vines haven't been eaten by rabbits and now cover quite a bit of area around the tree. Like a mulch, it shades the ground quite effectively so I'm thinking it's probably beneficial to the tree's roots and may try it in additional locations next year. At any rate, there are a few nice butternuts and cantaloupes forming, so we may get some direct benefits as well.

Here's a scary thought: you could deliberately plant squash and melons next season. I am thinking this method of groundcover/temp control is a great idea at you location. You,ve had some brutal temps lately.

We had one super invasive gourd take over our yard for a season this way.

One single vine grew out of our compost bin, covered the ground, killed off our grass with shade, then when it fruited, the birds picked apart the gourds and it re-seeded itself.  The gourds weren't even edible!  Arrghhh.  You learn from your mistakes, I guess.

Jason--that would have been a real pain! At least with these volunteers, everything should be edible. As Jon suggested, next year I may be more selective and deliberately plant various spreading squash & melon vines under several of the stone fruit trees. I think they could be a real advantage to any of the young figs within reach of the vines, because they'll shade the soil but their roots won't be close enough to the figs to compete for water.