This selection of plants happened to come together in a rather unplanned way. Leeks, chard, borage, fig, parsley, clover, and alpine strawberries. I also grew daikon and fava beans as cover crops. I feel like something is missing from this guild, but I am not sure what it is. This area is located near the oaks and the plants benefit from the oak leaves. I usually don't dig the leeks when I harvest them, rather I cut the below the soil line and they do grow back from the roots. Borage is a mineral accumulator and bees love the blossoms, which are edible, as are the leaves. I think maybe it needs nasturtium or perhaps a melon for the summer. Something to cover the ground after the daikon, fava, and borage are cut. I don't want too much clover since it is known to attract gophers (they also love fig roots and alium roots too).I loved looking at this planting progress through the fall and winter
Here is a photo of the same spot in November 2008. Note the droopy chard plant, fungi, very small borage plants, lots of blossoms on the alpine strawberries.
3 comments:
Oak leaves are good, huh? What about walnut leaves? I've heard they're not good for other plants.
Walnut leaves, I too have heard, are not good for other plants. The walnut tree parts exude a substance called juglone to which many plants seem to be allergic. Apple trees will die if planted too close to a walnut, for example. Here's a url for a website with more info about the effects of jugole, and plants that might tolerate it.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nursery/430-021/430-021.html
Oak trees do not have such sadistic qualities. The leaves just take a while to turn into microbe poop (which is what we want out there with the other plants).
Thank you, permaculture queen.
Post a Comment