-transparent.svg){kind=spacer}
As a Permaculture Design Consultant, I am thrilled to share my knowledge on companion planting and designing fruit tree guilds. In this article, I will draw from my studies and experience to explain how to plant and cultivate a thriving apple tree guild. We will explore how to select the perfect medley of plants to attract pollinators, deter pests, enrich the soil, and maximize the health and yields of your fruit trees. I will breakdown the apple tree guild project I just finished where we planted an Anna apple tree which harvests in the summer and a Pink Lady apple tree that harvests in the fall. This lengthened our harvest so we will not get our apples all at once, and we built supporting companion plants around them to help the soil and trees thrive.
I'm excited to delve into the specifics of choosing varietals that serve multiple purposes, from dynamic accumulators that mine nutrients to nitrogen-fixing ground covers. With the right companions, fruit trees and ornamental edibles can practically care for themselves. This comprehensive guide will equip you to create a self-sustaining and low-maintenance fruit tree guild that produces abundant harvests while regenerating the landscape. Let's get planting!
What Are Plant Guilds and Why Use Them?
I utilize plant guilds, or companion planting, to create sustainable and productive food forests. Plant guilds are groups of plants that are intentionally placed together because of the benefits they provide to each other. We want to be able to replenish soil health, accumulate other key nutrients, repel pests, and attract the right pollinators for the fruit trees.
Nitrogen Fixers
Certain plants, called nitrogen fixers, are able to convert nitrogen from the air into soluble nitrogen, which plants can use. By including nitrogen fixers like beans, peas, and clover, I can naturally fertilize the soil and provide nitrogen for other plants. These plants are essential for replenishing soil health.
Nutrient Accumulators
Some plants, known as dynamic accumulators, have deep taproots that draw up nutrients from the soil that other plants cannot access. Comfrey, dandelions, and chicory are excellent examples. By including these plants in a guild, their leaves can be cut and used as mulch or compost around other plants to provide nutrients.
Natural Pest Control
Specific plants also naturally repel common garden pests or attract beneficial insects that prey on pests. Plants such as catnip, lemon balm, mint, and yarrow are very aromatic and help confuse and deter pests.
Using plant guilds and companion planting is a holistic way to create a thriving, productive garden ecosystem. By harnessing the natural relationships between plants, soil, nutrients, and wildlife, plant guilds can help reduce maintenance, increase yields, and create a sustainable food forest.
Designing an Apple Tree Guild to Attract Pollinators
In planning for a successful apple tree guild, attracting pollinators should be a top priority. As the apples require cross-pollination to produce fruit, bees and other insects are essential for fertilization and pollination. I choose to include plants that will attract pollinators, provide habitat for them, and give them nourishment so they stick around. In this design I have finished and planted for a client, I used Bee balm and Butterfly Bushes.
Bee Balm and Butterfly Bushes
Bee balm and butterfly bush are excellent plants to include in an apple tree guild for their ability to attract and support pollinators.
Bee balm is a favorite of bees and butterflies with its showy flower clusters. The tubular flowers provide both nectar and pollen for bees and hummingbirds. Bee balm blooms throughout summer and early fall, providing along season of forage for pollinators. Bee balm also has aromatic foliage that deters some insect pests from the apple trees. You can even use its leaves in a salad for a replacement taste kind of like oregano, or make herbal teas from the leaves for medicinal benefits.
Butterfly bushes feature fragrant clusters of flowers that attract butterflies in droves. The tubular flowers provide a rich source of nectar that butterflies sip from. Butterfly bushes bloom for months during summer, supporting butterflies as they lay eggs and caterpillars hatch and develop. Having larval host plants like butterfly bush nearby provides butterflies the habitat they need to complete their lifecycle.
Including bee balm and butterfly bush in an apple tree guild will bring an abundance of pollinators to assist in fertilizing the apple blossoms. The perennial flowers of these plants will continue providing habitat and food sources for the pollinators year after year, helping ensure productive apple yields.
Choosing the Right Companion Plants for Pest Control
To achieve effective pest control for an apple tree guild, I select companion plants known for their natural pest repelling properties. It is necessary to research which plants will work best based on your climate zones. I used for this apple tree guild:
Dill
Dill In addition to mint, dill is another excellent companion plant for pest control and as an edible herb. The aromatic foliage of dill helps repel a variety of insects that may damage apple trees, including aphids, spider mites, and Japanese beetles. Dill contains carvone, an essential oil that acts as a natural insect repellent. Dill also attracts predatory insects that feed on pest insects, providing natural pest control.
Dill is a versatile herb that is edible and delicious. The leaves and seeds of dill can be used fresh or dried to flavor many dishes. Dill pairs well with fish, eggs, cheese and vegetables. Dill seeds can be used in pickling solutions to infuse cucumbers, beans and other vegetables with a pleasant dill flavor.
Planting dill around the base of apple trees allows you to enjoy the herb's pest repelling benefits while also harvesting fresh or dried dill to use in the kitchen. Dill is a low-growing, non-invasive herb that will not compete with the roots of the apple tree.
Garlic Chives and Onions
Garlic chives and other onion family plants also make excellent companion plants for pest control. Garlic chives contain the same natural pest-repelling compounds as regular garlic, including allicin and sulfur compounds. These substances confuse and deter a wide range of common apple tree pests like aphids, spider mites, and leafhoppers. The aromatic foliage of garlic chives spreads across the ground, releasing its pest-repelling properties throughout the guild.
Onion plants like shallots and bunching onions can provide similar benefits. Their strong aroma and chemical compounds act as a natural insecticide for many common tree pests. Onions spread easier than garlic chives and cover more ground, providing a dense barrier that physically blocks insect pests from reaching the apple tree. I like to plant onions and garlic chives near the base and trunk of my client's apple trees. The combination of garlic chives and onions creates a powerful pest-repelling effect that protects the tree without using harsh chemicals.
Dynamic Accumulators to Improve Soil Health
One of the most important components in designing a fruit tree guild is including plants known as dynamic accumulators. These plants have deep taproots that draw up nutrients from the subsoil and make them available to shallower-rooted plants. By including accumulators in the guild, we can naturally improve soil health and fertility over time.
The accumulators do not compete with the apple tree or supporting plants for resources. Rather, when their leaves die back or are harvested as compost, the nutrients they have drawn up from below are released back to the topsoil, where they become available to the entire guild. This process helps create a sustainable nutrient cycle and negates the need for fertilizers.
For this apple tree guild, I have chosen comfrey, borage, and yarrow.
Comfrey
Comfrey's deep roots mine nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, and calcium and its large leaves provide ground cover and compost material. It is an excellent choice fora dynamic accumulator. Borage has similar benefits as comfrey.
I planted comfrey around the drip line of the apple tree, where its roots can access nutrients below the topsoil. You can also take the leaves and cut them up and place them on your soil to quicken the breakdown of compost and use it as a living mulch. I like to place these clippings primarily near the base of the apple trees to boost the nutrient absorption for the roots of the fruit trees.
Yarrow
Yarrow is a herbaceous perennial that makes an excellent dynamic accumulator for fruit tree guilds. Yarrow is particularly effective at accumulating nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are important for fruit tree health and productivity. The additional nitrogen brought up by the yarrow may also help boost leaf and fruit production in the apple tree.
Yarrow can be planted around the drip line or canopy of the apple tree. The feathery foliage of yarrow also provides ground cover and living mulch to help suppress weeds and conserve soil moisture around the base of the apple tree. Once established, yarrow is drought tolerant and low maintenance, adapting well to the conditions within the fruit tree guild. Its aromatic leaves may also help repel some insect pests when interplanted with fruit trees, and its flowering makes it an attractive addition to a plant guild design too.
The key is to choose a variety of accumulators that access different levels in the soil profile. By combining shallow, medium, and deep-rooted plants, the widest range of nutrients can be made available. The accumulators should also provide other benefits, such as ground cover, compost material, or support for pollinators. When designed properly, a fruit tree guild with dynamic accumulators and other beneficial plants can create a self-sustaining ecosystem that nourishes the soil, the fruit trees, and the surrounding environment.
Plant Guilds FAQs: Your Top Companion Planting Questions Answered
Here I will address some of the most common questions to provide clarity on these sustainable gardening techniques.
How do I choose plants for a guild?
The key is to choose plants that fulfill the necessary roles, such as nitrogen fixation, nutrient accumulation, ground cover, pollinator and pest control, and food or medicinal use. Consider the conditions of your site including soil type, sun exposure, and climate. Choose plants that have the same light and water needs as your primary plant or tree. It is best to start with a small number of plants, see how they work together, and make changes to improve the guild over time based on your observations.
Can plant guilds be used on a small scale?
Absolutely. While plant guilds are often designed around fruit trees or other large plants, the same principles can be applied on a small scale in home gardens, raised beds, or container plantings. You can create mini guilds around a central plant like tomatoes, cucumbers or herbs. The key is to choose a diverse mix of mutually beneficial plants for the space you have. With experimentation, you can design highly functional small-scale guilds.
In summary, plant guilds and companion planting are valuable techniques for designing sustainable food gardens and landscapes. By understanding plant relationships and roles, you can create thriving, self-sustaining ecosystems in your own backyard. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Conclusion
As we have seen, companion planting using guilds is an effective way to create a fruitful and resilient orchard ecosystem. By carefully selecting complementary plants to perform different roles like fixing nitrogen, accumulating minerals, repelling pests, and attracting pollinators, we enable the trees and land to largely sustain themselves. With some initial thoughtful design, these guilds can reduce maintenance needs over time.
The resulting harvests are not only more bountiful but also more nutritious due to the continuously enriched soil. Companion planting is a holistic approach that creates a benefit for us, the trees, the land, and the environment. With a comprehensive understanding of plant roles and relationships, we can craft beautiful, productive, and self-regenerating orchards.
Let's get started applying these principles to create your own fruitful guild! As you begin planning, consider the following steps:
• Identify your central fruit tree and its needs in terms of light, water, soil type, and pollination requirements.
• Select 2-3 plants to fulfill key roles like nitrogen fixation, pest control, and ground cover based on the guidelines discussed.
• Arrange the plants in zones based on their light and water needs relative to the fruit tree.
• Leave space for plants to grow and spread. Start with the larger plants further from the fruit tree.
• Monitor how the plants interact and adjust as needed over the first year. Add or replace plants that are not thriving.
• Continue observing and adjusting your guild over time, using your harvests and observations as feedback.
• Expand your guild by adding more plants that provide complementary functions.
Start small and simple, then build complexity into your guild over years. With intentional research, patience, and observation, you can design and build a thriving orchard ecosystem that yields abundant harvests for years to come.
If you want to learn more, make sure you subscribe to this blog for future projects and insights. If you'd like a permaculture and regenerative agriculture consultation, please contact me by clicking on and filling out the Regenerative Agriculture contact form.
Links for companion plants used:
Discount codes for plants at Grower Exchange (not affiliate link but where I bought the Comfrey, Borage, Dill, Yarrow, Butterfly Bush, Bee Balm and Garlic Chives and transplanted them): Referral Code 5% off
Affiliate Links True Leaf Market (high quality seeds you can grow and then transplant or plant directly):
Herb seed Assortment used as repellants and nutrient accumulators
- 🌿 Chamomile
- 🌿 Catnip
- 🌿 Purple Coneflower
- 🌿 Lemon Balm
- 🌿 White Yarrow
- 🌿 Calendula
- 🌿 Holy Basil
Stack and Grow Planter + Culinary Herb Garden Kit (can use the planter for other herb seeds as well)
- 🌿 Basil - Italian Large Leaf
- 🌿 Dill - Mammoth Long Island
- 🌿 Oregano - Common Italian
- 🌿 Parsley - Dark Green Italian Flat-leaf
- 🌿 Chives
- 🌿 Mustard - Southern Giant Curled
Cover Crops at True Leaf Market
All other seeds and kits at True Leaf Market
