1. More than just the three sisters!
Designing a Guild
More than just the three sisters!
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

2. What will we be talking about
What is a guild?
Why plant in guilds?
3 types of guild
What needs can a guild supply to a fruit tree?
The 8 “jobs” within a guild
General site assessment
Choosing plants
Positioning plants
Designing your own guild
What will we be talking about
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

3. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
A Guild is - a harmonious assembly of species clustered around a central element (plant or animal) that acts in relation to this element to assist its health, aid our work in management, or buffer adverse environmental effects (Mollison, via Jacke). (Referred to as a “Grove” by Jackie French in her book “The Wilderness Garden”)
What is a “Guild”?
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

4. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Nature does the work
Improved pollination
Greater productivity
Greater variety of food
Reduced chemical usage
Improved biodiversity
More resilient way to grow
Why plant in Guilds?
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

5. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Community function guild – grouping of species which do a specific job of fill a specific niche eg insectary plants
Mutual support guild – The classic guild where complementary species are planted together and support eachother.
Resource partitioning guild – where several species share resources through niche differentiation eg taproots with shallow rooted species.
3 types of guild
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

6. How many needs of a fruit tree can be designed into a guild?
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

7. One species may perform several jobs
Feeders
Fertilisers
Diggers
Mulchers
Climbers
Supporters
Protectors
Attractors
One species may perform several jobs
Jobs Within a Guild
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

8. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Feeds us and/or our animals
The central element – fruit or nut tree
Smaller fruiting species – dwarf fruits, berries
Perennial vegetables (leaf root and fruit)
Annual vegetables (leaf, root and fruit)
Edible flowers
Herbs (wild, medicinal, culinary)
Feeders
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

9. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Citrus, pome, stone or tropical fruit
Macadamia, walnut, almond,
Curry tree, kaffir lime, bay tree
Dwarf versions of above fruit or nut trees
Blueberry, blackberry, youngberry, gooseberry
Choko, globe artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, perennial spinach, dandelion, chicory
Nasturtiums, marigold, lavender, English daisy
Plant suggestions
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

10. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Nitrogen fixers – legumes which contain nitrogen fixing bacteria in nodules in their roots.
Dynamic accumulators – use long taproots to access nutrients which are out of reach of more shallow rooted species
Fertilisers
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

11. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Nitrogen Fixers - Dwarf and climbing Peas, dwarf and climbing beans, broad beans, clover (red, white, subterranean), lucerne, medic, lupins, fenugreek, mung bean, cow pea, peanut, vetch, wattles, Australian indigo, chick pea, lab lab bean.
Dynamic Accumulators - Borage, stinging nettle, comfrey, broadleafed dock, horsetail, fat hen, parsley, plantains, yarrow, salad burnet
Plant suggestions
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

12. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
These plants help to break up the soil and make it more friable, improving water penetration, soil aeration and drainage.
Plant Suggestions
Potatoes, daikon radish, sweet potatoes, cassava, yams, arrowroot, beets, turnips,
trees & bushes,
dynamic accumulators.
Diggers
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

13. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
These plants produce large amounts of soft leaves which can be cut and left on the soil (chop and drop) to break down forming a mulch and releasing nutrients.
Another class of plants, groundcovers, form a living mulch which protects the soil by growing a barrier of plant material between the soil and the elements.
Mulchers
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

14. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Mulchers - Comfrey, artichokes, rhubarb, nasturtiums, plantain (major), dock, deciduous fruit trees, beans, burdock, mallow, tagasaste, warrigal greens
Green manure crops – clovers, barley, beets, buckwheat, mustard, rocket, millet, purslane, turnip, wheat, basil, dill
Groundcovers – pumpkin, squash, strawberries, clover, sweet potato, creeping thyme, mint, creeping rosemary
Plant suggestions
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

15. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Climbers increase productivity by using vertical space. They also can provide shade for shade loving species and to reduce the effect of the hot summer sun. Vigorous climbers can be trimmed back to provide organic material for mulch
Perennial species – choko, passionfruit, kiwifruit, hops, sweet potato, scarlet runner beans, jasmine
Annual species – cucumber, climbing beans, climbing peas
Climbers
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

16. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
The plants provide a framework which allows climbers to make use of their vertical space while being productive in themselves. They can also be used to shade spaces within the guild.
Plant Suggestions
Sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke, sweet corn, dent corn
Fruit and nut trees, shrubs and bushes
Supporters
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17. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Plants may protect each other from pest attack, disease or competition by a variety of strategies.
Pest confusers – these plants are aromatic and confuse a pests sense of smell, making it more difficult to identify target plants.
Competition barriers – these plants can be planted around beneficial species to prevent competition from grass, weeds or other invasive plants
Protectors
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

18. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Pest confusers – basil, chamomile, coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, horehound, lavender, marigolds, mustard, nasturtiums, onions, pennyroyal, rue, tansy, wormwood, yarrow
Competition barriers – daffodils, comfrey and perennial alliums (garlic chives, wild leek or Egyptian onions) are planted in a circle around the central element to prevent competition from grasses.
Plant suggestions
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

19. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Predator attractors – These plants attract beneficial insects which predate the pest insects in the guild.
Pollinator attractors – these plants provide food for pollinators, attracting them to the guild. While they are there they can pollinate other fruiting members of the guild.
Bird attractors – insect eating birds can be attracted and take up residence in the guild with proper planning.
Attractors
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

20. Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
Beneficial insect attractors – (pollinators & predators) – alyssum, bergamot, calendula, chicory, cosmos, gypsophila, heartsease, lavender, lupins, marguerite daisy, nasturtium, queen Anne's lace, yarrow, zinnia
Insect eating bird attractors - grevilleas, banksias and melaleucas – the above insect attracting flowers will also attract insect eating birds.
Plant suggestions
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

21. General Site Assessment
Access
Shade from all sources
Soil texture, pH etc
Aspect
Existing plantings
Prevailing wind
Water and drainage
General Site Assessment
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

22. Things to take into account when choosing plants
Time of the year it is productive or active
Annual or perennial
Will they self seed and naturalise?
Weed potential
Easy of establishment
Fit with existing planting
What jobs can they perform?
Things to take into account when choosing plants
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

23. Things to take into account when choosing plants
Self fertility and cross pollination
Dioecious plants
Chill hours
Pest or disease issues
Length of growing season
Things to take into account when choosing plants
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

24. Things to take into account when positioning plants
Size of the mature plant, horizontally and vertically
Potential for root competition
Any possible incompatibilities
80% of plant species coexist
% show positive interaction
5% of species show antagonistic behaviour towards other species
Ease of accessibility
Access to sunlight
Insectaries work better as a clump than single plants
Things to take into account when positioning plants
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

25. “Design your own guild” exercise
You will need –
1 guild design blank
1 guild plant list
1 pencil
Design a guild within the given space using up to 10 compatible plant species, filling as many “jobs” as you can.
Draw them into the design blank
Discuss with the group the reasoning behind your decisions.
“Design your own guild” exercise
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

26. For more details check our website
Sustainable Living in the Suburbs
For more details check our website