Can Time Machine backup to a folder on a Samba Share?

I have a Samba shared folder set up via an OpenWrt router. One sub-folder is currently used to perform an encrypted backup of a Linux machine with Déjà Dup. I created another sub-folder which I intend to use for backing up a Mac laptop. These docs suggest that I'll need to format the disk in order to make a backup with time machine. Does Time Machine really only backup if it can format the disk all for itself? Or can it backup to one folder, or, failing that, its own partition?