PLant Guilds
If you think of a food forest as a whole unit, then a plant guild is a sub unit.
Plant guilds are made up of a collection of plants that help one another out, and are usually identified by a central dominant tree.
All plants naturally grow with other species in nature, rather than in single species groups. When a person carefully choses what plants will live next to each other based on how they help each other out, we call that a plant guild. The goal to making plant guilds is is to copy cat how the plants grow in nature while keeping in mind how they can best help humans.
A plant guild then, is a group of plants that like to grow together because they help each other out within their community. These groupings of plants are also benefit to humans. These plant guilds can be made up of the following forms of plants: tall trees, small trees, bushes, vines, root plants, ground cover plants, water edge plants, and fungi (mushrooms).
Within the guild, the gathering of plants serve different purposes. Here is a table of some of the different purposes that plants provide within a plant guild.
Plant guilds are made up of a collection of plants that help one another out, and are usually identified by a central dominant tree.
All plants naturally grow with other species in nature, rather than in single species groups. When a person carefully choses what plants will live next to each other based on how they help each other out, we call that a plant guild. The goal to making plant guilds is is to copy cat how the plants grow in nature while keeping in mind how they can best help humans.
A plant guild then, is a group of plants that like to grow together because they help each other out within their community. These groupings of plants are also benefit to humans. These plant guilds can be made up of the following forms of plants: tall trees, small trees, bushes, vines, root plants, ground cover plants, water edge plants, and fungi (mushrooms).
Within the guild, the gathering of plants serve different purposes. Here is a table of some of the different purposes that plants provide within a plant guild.
An example of of Plant Guild is the Walnut Tree Guild. Below is a birds eye picture of a walnut guild.
Description of different plants in the Walnut TREE GUILD
In this guild there is a walnut tree as the central plant. It’s a tall growing tree that produces edible nuts and oils with a high nutritional value for both humans and wildlife. The whole fruits are useful as a medecine against stomach worm and the wood is valuable in carpentry. One downside of walnuts is that they produce a posing in their roots and leaves that kills many types of plants around them. However, there are several plants that can live with Walnut trees and not be affected by the walnuts toxin.
Mulberry trees can grow perfectly fine with walnuts and can even cancel out its poison. Mulberries produce an fruit similar in appearance to the common raspberry. The mulberries are ready to eat in the late spring and for weeks afterwards.
Another fruiting tree for this guild is the cherry. Black cherry and sour cherry work well because they too can handle walnuts poison. The black cherry produces a small, edible fruit. Also its bark has been used to make a medicinal tea. It provides habitat for caterpillars of butterflies and an early spring nectar source for pollinating bees and wasps.
Shrub plants that are useful growing with walnuts are currants and gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa). Another berry shrub useful here is raspberry (Rubus idaeus).
Plantings of comfrey (Symphytum officinale) as a bioaccumulator also produce loads of bee attracting flowers in late spring to early summer. Comfrey is also known as the medicinal knitbone, and is used to treat sprains and broken bones.
Spring bulbs, like these Daylities in picture are very useful, as they too tolerate the walnuts poison, and have edible bulbs. Hostas (Hosta spp.) will also work and produce tender edible leaves in spring and tasty flower buds and flowers in the summer months
The Walnut Tree guild is only one of hundreds of different types of plant guilds. For another resource on Plant guilds, please check out this website here
Quick Links
Why food Forests are important Layers of a Food Forest Food Forests around the World Permaculture Principles explained
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cited sources:
midwestpermaculture.com/2013/04/plant-guilds/
http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Permaculture/Agroforestry/West_Coast_Food_Forestry-A_permaculture_guide.pdf
Quick Links
Why food Forests are important Layers of a Food Forest Food Forests around the World Permaculture Principles explained
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
cited sources:
midwestpermaculture.com/2013/04/plant-guilds/
http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Permaculture/Agroforestry/West_Coast_Food_Forestry-A_permaculture_guide.pdf