A Fruit Tree Is A Good Idea. A Fruit Tree Guild Is An Even Better One.

Fall and Spring are both great times of year to plant fruit trees. Fall is my favorite time because a trees energy is directed toward root development in the Fall and towards vegetative growth in the Spring. So planting in Fall will allow a tree to get settled in and develop some root structure, giving it a better foundation for all the leaf, trunk, and branch growth that come in the Spring.

But instead of planting simply a fruit tree or two, why not plant a guild?

What Is A Guild?

A plant guild is a cooperative supercharged team of plants that work together to create maximum vitality and yields. Have you ever gone for a walk in the woods? Is there just one type of tree with no other plants? No. There are usually several kinds of trees, maybe some shrubs, an herb layer, a few mushrooms and vines. These plants are all working together symbiotically. This means they will have more protection from pests and disease and require less input from you.

If you have never heard of a plant guild the concept may seem overwhelming, but it is actually not complicated. If we can model our systems on the systems that exist in nature we will not have to rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow our food.

The Layers Of A Plant Guild 

These are the different layers you can place into your guild followed by some examples of plants that make up those layers to give you some ideas.

Tall tree layer (pecan, conifer, full size fruit tree)
Shorter tree layer (semi dwarf fruit tree)                                         Shrub/Bush (blueberry, blackberry , currant)
Herb (comfrey, basil, milkweed)
Ground cover (strawberry, thyme, )
Root (sweet potato, garlic)
Vine ( grape, wisteria, passion flower. Keep in mind with this layer that a vine will need a large tree to climb, a grapevine could overcome a semi dwarf apple tree but would be fine growing on your larger tree layer. You could also incorporate a trellis for your vine or perhaps head train them near by.)
You can also include a fungi or mushroom layer.

Solar Orientation 

 When positioning your design take into account the direction of the sun. In the northern hemisphere the taller elements should be to the north so that when the sun moves across your site all the elements of your guild receive maximum solar exposure. This would be reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. In a desert environment where you want to minimize solar exposure this would also reverse, positioning the taller trees to the south to provide protection from intense sun. In the graphic above  there is no large tree layer because the property I designed it for already had an over story of large trees. We want to have different size plants in our guild and we also want to have plants that fill different functions. We should plant things that produce a yield we will enjoy or contribute to the yields of the plants around them.

Different Functions

Fruiting plants produce an edible yields.  Nut and fruit trees and berries fill this function.  You can also incorporate perennial vegetables into your guild, like artichokes and asparagus.

Nitrogen fixers help to add nitrogen to the soil so that the plants have more of this important element that contributes to healthy growth. Some good nitrogen fixers: black locust, siberian pea shrub, goumi berry, wisteria, clover, lupine.

Insectiary species.  These plants attract beneficial insects and also birds. Keep in mind almost anything that flowers will do this, but some do it better than others. The key is to have different things flowering at different times of year so there is always food for beneficials and the helpful insect and birds are around to keep pests species in check. Insects pollinate and some are also predatory, and birds help keep the pest insect populations from exploding: peppermint (but this can be invasive), pineapple sage, dill, zinnias

Repellant. These plants have smells pests don’t like and protect them from invasion. Garlic, chives, thyme, nasturtium, marigold, and tarragon are good pest deterring plants.

Accumulators. These plants accumulate nutrients in their foliage and they can be cut down and used as a mulch for your heavier feeders. When they die back in winter it is thought that the foliage and tap roots release some nutrients back into the soil. Comfrey, coneflower, yarrow, and mullein are some examples.

Weed suppressors. Daffodils planted in a ring around your tree help to suppress the grass. Strawberries are a good ground cover. Mulch can suppress weeds and break down to add organic matter to soil.

Look at this explanation for the plant guild above. See how some plants fill more than one function.

Whenever you are going to plant anything it is a good idea to research that plant in several different sources. Also consider talking to a local expert, like an orchardist, a nurseryman, or someone at a nearby botanical garden to ask how this particular plant may perform in your area. Consider thinking outside of the box. Instead of an apple tree, maybe a jujube tree or a paw paw could be a good fit. In my experience most fruit trees that are produced in massive commercial context have more problems with pests and disease. Is it a coincidence that apples are one of the most widely grown fruit crops and also one of the most susceptible to pest and disease? There are many food plants that we do not encounter in our modern society because the products of them do not store or ship well. Paw paws, mulberries, elderberries, passion fruits, currants and the like are all delicious and full of nutrition, but they are too delicate to withstand the collection methods and shipping that the modern food systems requires of its products.

Think of any particular nuisance a plant could create as well. For example, a fruiting mulberry could be a great addition to your landscape, but placing it where people walk daily may result in the fruit finding its way onto their shoes and making stains on the floors of your home. Perhaps place it on the edge of your yard where it warrants a special trip so that fruit finding its way into your home on the bottoms of people’s shoes is less likely.

The possibilities are endless! Make a list of some of your favorite things to grow and eat and see if you can combine these into a guild. Also I recommend against growing a plant you don’t care for just so it can fulfill a particular function. Just do more research and find a plant you do like that can play that part. You can also grow annual vegetables and roots under your tree layer while the tree is still small because you will still get plenty of sun under the canopy.

Have you heard of an app called Cropswap? It is specifically geared toward small local producers of food. It is new but catching on. So if you produce more food than you can eat or preserve yourself there is a potential for you to be able to trade with a neighbors.

Consider this as well: we don’t use pesticides, not even organic ones, on our farm. We plant things in guilds, use companion planting in our annual vegetable garden and sometimes we get out there and pick off bugs by hand. We have chickens and guinea hens to help control pests. We compost our food waste and spread it on the food gardens. And yes, we lose a little of our yield to bugs or birds or squirrels. I would say on average 10-20 percent. I am ok with this. I consider it a tithe. The earth, insects, and wildlife are involved in a complex dance that I don’t fully understand. I choose to work in harmony with it as much as possible and I believe that means giving back a little. You can also be proactive by knowing what your pest species look like (in all their different stages), so you can remove them or their eggs if you spot them, and putting up a fence around your garden. (In the Spring and Summer we pay our daughters a nickel for every squash bug they find and a penny for any squash bug egg) The idea that we can put poison on our crops to kill the pests and that it has no negative impact on beneficial microbes and insects, or on us, is false. It is similar to the discovery that is being made now about antibiotics and the effect they have on the human biome, they make take out the bad guys, but they take out a lot of good guys in the process. It is impossible to apply pesticide to soil and kill only the bad guys. Avoiding pesticides and herbicides is one of the main reasons I started growing food. Then I discovered how much better it tastes and how rewarding it felt. Growing fruit and nuts and perennial vegetables and herbs is much less labor intensive than growing all of your food with annuals.

Still have questions? There is an endless amount of information on the internet. If you still feel overwhelmed? I do offer consulting and I can help you to design a guild personalized to your tastes and plant hardiness zone. This apple peach guild was designed for zone 7b and it would be fine from zones 5-8. If you decide to use it as a model for your guild don’t forget to add a tall tree layer, like a pecan or a conifer, or a non dwarf fruit tree. If your yard is not large enough for a large tree layer that is fine, and you can even break the guild in half and just do a single fruit tree if that is what you have room for. Keep in mind as well that apple trees need a pollinator (another apple tree) to produce fruit while peaches are self-fruitful. If you only have room for one or two fruit trees make sure to get varieties that are self fruitful or varieties that will pollinate eachother. Happy planting!

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