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easily introducing a guild under a fruit tree (stump the permie experts) | (Read 928 times) |
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1471
western WA
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May 28, 2007, 03:24:31 PM |
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This is a question that I would like to put to the permaculture experts out there. This is something I have run by several experts and I have yet to get a solid answer.
Before the question, there is the set up: many people are still using "weed and feed", growing grass under their fruit trees and raking up the leaves. I would like to propose a simple alternative. I would like to hand to them two small packets of seeds. In packet 1 is a seed that can be tossed under a tree where there is grass; it germinates, grows, outcompetes the grass, smothers the grass, and then conveniently dies back ready for the seeds from packet 2. Packet 2 contains the seeds for a nice guild planting under fruit trees (lots of tap rooted plants, including nitrogen fixers).
The idea is that somebody has a pretty strong fixation in their head of "going with the flow" of what all of their neighbors have been doing for as long as they can remember. So maybe I can propose something that is very simple for them to do that will be less effort than what they are currently doing, and will produce results right before their very eyes that will convince them that permaculture is worth more exploration.
This is not something for a beginner permie. The idea is that this is something for somebody that has never even heard of permaculture. This may very well be their introduction to permaculture.
I think the big challenge is: what goes in packet 1? My first thought was field peas planted in erly spring. Big seeds; don't germinate well on top of grass; and die around the end of june (end of may would be better). Then I thought of hairy vetch. But I've never grown hairy vetch successfully (I once planted some in a patch where I later learned it had tokic levels of P and K). Would it germinate well if just tossed on top of grass? What happens in the spring? Does it die off?
How about austrian winter peas?
Any other suggestions?
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permaculture.dave
Posts: 133
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June 14, 2007, 11:54:12 PM |
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First of all, there are lots of different kinds of grass...I suspect it would be a lot easier to "outcompete" a fescue or bluegrass than quack grass or reed canary grass.
Instead of a seed I might start by putting a little something special in packet #1...a weed burner (you might need a bigger seed packet). You can blast a 1 meter ring of grass around the tree first. By eliminating the grass first you open up options a little more for those "expert" permies out there to find your perfect species for packet #2. 
I can't think of anything you can seed directly into grass in the spring that will die back (without reseeding) by May 31st...
Things that will come up through grass, you may not want (e.g. dandelion, thistle, blackberry, etc.). I don't know of anything that would germinate in the spring and die back on it's own by May 31st (maybe dead nettle or chickweed?). Anyway, the combination of parameters is too extreme for my plant knowledge.
Good luck!
Dave
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1471
western WA
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June 15, 2007, 09:22:34 AM |
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Dave,
Have you ever tinkered with hairy vetch?
How about miranda pea?
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permaculture.dave
Posts: 133
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June 15, 2007, 11:45:14 AM |
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Not personally.
You could ask a Bullock when you come up and try it out when you get home.
Dave
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NWorNowhere
Posts: 5
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March 31, 2008, 08:24:44 AM |
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I can't think of a grass that will die that quickly just from shade. Most perennial grasses are very hardy little buggers that are able to go dormant for long periods of time, surviving on their extensive root mass. That said, some grasses are more easily eliminated than others, and you may need to plant a highly competitive, possibly annual, but non-weedy grass there first, give it a year to do it's magic, then hit it with something else the following spring.
That's a tough one - good luck.
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alexisavoire
Posts: 120
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April 03, 2008, 02:00:25 PM |
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Planting shade-flowering ground cover under fruit trees attracts predator insect species that keep aphids, fruit flies and codling moths (and others) from attacking fruit trees. It also makes the area more attractive to pollinators. Ground cover species are not a competitive threat and help keep ground moisture high. It looks great, reflowers every year just before tree flowering time (most of the time) and lasts through the spring season into summer. Because of the blooming pattern (sun through bare branches in early spring starts the ground cover) the predators arrive at the egg and larval stages and leave after the hatching stage is well over, catching all the development stages of fruit tree ravagers (again, most of the time). Over time, insects that trouble fruit trees find other places to infest, recognizing the increase of predators in a maintained ecosystem exchange between trees, ground cover, insects and their predators.
"An apple tree plant community might include daffodils, irises, or other early-flowering bulbs. While blooming under the fruit tree, they provide beauty for us and attract pollinators to the tree. Dill and onions planted under the drip line of the apple tree repel pests that are otherwise attracted to the tree. Beans, peas, or purple clovers fix soil nitrogen, improving the quality of the soil in which the tree is growing. Comfrey and borage are herbs with many human uses. In addition, they grow quickly and can be cut back and used as mulch around the tree.
Native plants can be incorporated into plant guilds as well. Indigo and lupines fix nitrogen and add beauty. Wild strawberries provide ground cover and small but tasty berries. "
www.eagle-ecosource.org
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alexisavoire
Posts: 120
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April 03, 2008, 02:03:15 PM |
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Sorry...the grass probably isn't such a problem if the flower guild is planted densely enough.
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