By Liliana Usvat
Blog 276-365
Guilds are interconnected systems of plants and animals that clearly demonstrate how nature achieves balance and harmony. Guild planting seeks to recreate the beneficial links between organisms by planting species that will aid one another close together. And each species in a guild is not limited to a single role within this structure.
Taking their cue from natural ecosystems such as forests, guild planting seeks to recreate the beneficial links between organisms by planting species that will aid one another close together. The resultant guild will also form relationships with insects and other organisms to create a thriving ecosystem.
Components of the Guilds
Feeders
Within a guild there are those plants that feed us, by producing edible crops. Most guilds are organized around the central species of a fruit tree.
Around the tree, the gardener should be able to cultivate a wide variety of edible plants, including fruits, herbs, vegetables and legumes. The guilds interaction with animals can also provide a source of food, such as bees visiting blossoms in the guild, or livestock foraging fallen fruit.
Fixers
Fixers refer to the plants in a guild that help to make nutrients in the soil available to all the plants in that guild. Chief among these nutrients is nitrogen. Second only to water in importance to healthy plant growth, nitrogen is a primary component in plant proteins and in chlorophyll, which the plants use to photosynthesize. Certain plants are able ‘fix’ nitrogen in the soil, by interacting with a certain soil bacteria to hold nitrogen on their root nodules.
Legumes are the order of plants best suited to fixing nitrogen in the soil, so planting beans
, peas
, nuts
and leguminous trees such as tamarind
and acacia
as part of your guild will ensure good nitrogen levels in the surrounding soil.
Rooters
Certain species of plant can be used in a guild for the benefits that their deep rooting systems bring to the guild as a whole. Plants that send down deep roots – such as trees, yams
and potatoes – help to improve the structure of the soil, providing pore spaces into which air can flow and water can percolate. They also reach deep into the ground in the search for nutrients and minerals that they bring to the surface where shallower-rooting plants and microorganisms in the topsoil can access them.
Coverers
Cover crops are plants that are low-lying and spread out to shield the soil. Sweet potato
and pumpkins
are examples of cover crops that can be utilized in a guild. By covering the soil, these types of plant protect the soil from the sun, limiting moisture evaporation and preventing weeds from getting the level of sunshine they need to photosynthesize. They also help protect the topsoil from erosion by wind and rain.
Climbers
While some plants thrive lying low to the ground, others climb upwards in order to grow. Climbers are typified by slender stems and branches and thus smaller crops items. Beans, cucumbers
and passion fruit
are examples of climbers.
Supporters
If you have climbers in your guild, you’ll need something for them to climb up. That’s where the supporters come in. With thicker stems, trunks and branches than climbers, they provide the solid base on which the climbers can grow. In nature, trees, bushes and tall string plants like sunflowers
would be classified as supporters.
Protectors
There are a lot of different types of organism that can play a protecting role in a guild.Certain species may also be used to deter grazers such as deer. Insects themselves can be beneficial to the guild by predating on pest species, while other animals such as birds, lizards and frogs, and livestock such as chickens and ducks, can perform a similar function.
Fruit trees, for instance, the specimen at the centre of the guild could be considered a feeder, a rooter and a supporter. It can also be a fixer if its fallen leaves remain on the ground.
Blog 276-365
Guilds are interconnected systems of plants and animals that clearly demonstrate how nature achieves balance and harmony. Guild planting seeks to recreate the beneficial links between organisms by planting species that will aid one another close together. And each species in a guild is not limited to a single role within this structure.
Taking their cue from natural ecosystems such as forests, guild planting seeks to recreate the beneficial links between organisms by planting species that will aid one another close together. The resultant guild will also form relationships with insects and other organisms to create a thriving ecosystem.
Components of the Guilds
Feeders
Within a guild there are those plants that feed us, by producing edible crops. Most guilds are organized around the central species of a fruit tree.
Around the tree, the gardener should be able to cultivate a wide variety of edible plants, including fruits, herbs, vegetables and legumes. The guilds interaction with animals can also provide a source of food, such as bees visiting blossoms in the guild, or livestock foraging fallen fruit.
Fixers
Fixers refer to the plants in a guild that help to make nutrients in the soil available to all the plants in that guild. Chief among these nutrients is nitrogen. Second only to water in importance to healthy plant growth, nitrogen is a primary component in plant proteins and in chlorophyll, which the plants use to photosynthesize. Certain plants are able ‘fix’ nitrogen in the soil, by interacting with a certain soil bacteria to hold nitrogen on their root nodules.
Legumes are the order of plants best suited to fixing nitrogen in the soil, so planting beans
, peas
, nuts
and leguminous trees such as tamarind
and acacia
as part of your guild will ensure good nitrogen levels in the surrounding soil.
Rooters
Certain species of plant can be used in a guild for the benefits that their deep rooting systems bring to the guild as a whole. Plants that send down deep roots – such as trees, yams
and potatoes – help to improve the structure of the soil, providing pore spaces into which air can flow and water can percolate. They also reach deep into the ground in the search for nutrients and minerals that they bring to the surface where shallower-rooting plants and microorganisms in the topsoil can access them.
Coverers
Cover crops are plants that are low-lying and spread out to shield the soil. Sweet potato
and pumpkins
are examples of cover crops that can be utilized in a guild. By covering the soil, these types of plant protect the soil from the sun, limiting moisture evaporation and preventing weeds from getting the level of sunshine they need to photosynthesize. They also help protect the topsoil from erosion by wind and rain.
Climbers
While some plants thrive lying low to the ground, others climb upwards in order to grow. Climbers are typified by slender stems and branches and thus smaller crops items. Beans, cucumbers
and passion fruit
are examples of climbers.
Supporters
If you have climbers in your guild, you’ll need something for them to climb up. That’s where the supporters come in. With thicker stems, trunks and branches than climbers, they provide the solid base on which the climbers can grow. In nature, trees, bushes and tall string plants like sunflowers
would be classified as supporters.
Protectors
There are a lot of different types of organism that can play a protecting role in a guild.Certain species may also be used to deter grazers such as deer. Insects themselves can be beneficial to the guild by predating on pest species, while other animals such as birds, lizards and frogs, and livestock such as chickens and ducks, can perform a similar function.
Fruit trees, for instance, the specimen at the centre of the guild could be considered a feeder, a rooter and a supporter. It can also be a fixer if its fallen leaves remain on the ground.
