Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand January/February 2020 | Page 48

“ Each plant
serves multiple
functions,
AND BENEFITS THE
ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM. ”
Nutrient accumulators send their taproots deep into the soil and mine for
minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium. When these plants die
back, their leaves drop and decompose, feeding the soil in the process. Nutrient
accumulators include plants such as dandelion, plantain, chicory, and yarrow.
Certain nutrient accumulators can even be used to clean up heavy metals, such
as lead, at contaminated sites.
Nitrogen-fixing plants have rhizospheres that are home to nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
These bacteria take nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that plants can use.
Nitrogen-fixing plants include peas, beans, vetch, lupines, alfalfa, and Russian olive.
Instead of hauling mulch to your garden, you can simply incorporate plants that
will mulch in place. Comfrey, artichokes, rhubarb, clovers, and nasturtiums are all
excellent options. You can chop and drop these plants multiple times throughout the
season and they will compost in place. These green manures will feed the soil as
they decompose, conserve moisture, and encourage healthy and diverse soil life.
Instead of spraying pesticides, you can add plants to your guilds that will act as
natural pest repellents. Nasturtiums planted around fruit trees will repel borers and
are effective against whitefly. Alliums, such as garlic and chives, are regarded as a
natural, broad-spectrum insecticide. Many herbs repel a variety of pests, including
basil, lavender, mint, dill, parsley, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves.
No guild is complete without plants to attract beneficial insects and pollinators. Almost
any flower that produces pollen or nectar will do this job well. Flowers attract both
pollinators that will help fruit set, and predators, such as predatory wasps, that will dine
on pests. Not only do flowers play a functional role in your garden, but they add dashes
of colour and beauty to your landscape. Butterfly weed, clover, coriander, dandelion, and
fennel will attract lady bugs to your garden. Dill, fennel, and coriander are edible while
also attracting predatory wasps. Butterfly bush and fuschia will attract birds that will
gobble up the eggs and larvae hiding in the holes and crevices of fruit trees.
COMPANION PLANTING
When designing your guilds, it is good to put plants together that are known to
mutually benefit one another. For example, onions, leeks, rosemary, and sage
planted near carrots will repel carrot flies. Carrot roots excrete a substance that
stimulates the growth of peas.
Be sure to double check companion planting advice with current scientific studies.
Many old-time companions have been proven not to be beneficial at all. For example,
marigolds have long been regarded as pest repellents. While this is true of some
varieties, other varieties actually attract pests, so it is wise to do your homework.
APPLE TREE GUILD
Now that you understand the main principles of a permaculture guild, let’s look at
how to create a guild around an apple tree. The apple tree serves as the guild’s
central element, providing food to humans. You could substitute it with any fruit or
nut tree. The tree should be pruned into an open shape so light can reach the
understory below.
We’ll plant daffodils around the drip line of the tree. They contain a toxin that
repels animals like deer and gophers, and their bulbs will suppress the growth
of grass underneath the tree. We could also add garlic and chives as added
protection against pests.
Inside the ring of daffodils, we’ll interplant comfrey and artichokes. Their leaves
supply nutrient-rich mulch, while providing the gardener with food and medicine.
Comfrey’s flowers will also attract pollinators.
Dotted among the comfrey and artichoke, we’ll add yarrow, nasturtiums, dill,
and fennel. We’ll even allow plants normally considered weeds, like dandelion
and plantain, to grow. The dandelion, yarrow, and plantain act as our nutrient
accumulators. The nasturtiums will serve as mulch and pest repellent. The dill and
fennel will attract beneficial insects. The nasturtiums, dill, fennel,
dandelion, and plantain are all edible, while the yarrow, dandelion,
and plantain can be used medicinally. To fill in the rest of the gaps,
we’ll grow clover and fava beans as ground covers. These are our
nitrogen fixers. The clover can also be chopped and used as mulch.
As you can see, each plant serves multiple functions, and benefits
the entire ecosystem. Health and yield will be greater than if any
one of these plants were grown alone.
Now that you have a basic understanding of these guidelines and
principles, you can start to create guilds at home and turn your
vegetable garden into your very own food forest.
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Maximum Yield