Orchard People eBook Creating a Fruit Tree Polyculture by SUSAN POIZNER, Director, Orchard People Members of the Strathcona Community Garden in Vancouver, B.C. have created a fruit tree polyculture where the fruit trees (blossoming in the background) are surrounded by herb gardens, raised vegetable beds, and native pollinator plants. SUMMARY any traditional orchards are monocultures, Today, however, many organic farmers are working where farmers grow hundreds or thousands to create orchard environments that are rich in of fruit trees, but few other plants. This lack of biodiversity, where a large variety of plants work Mbiodiversity can lead to soil and pest problems and the together to create a healthy and vibrant ecosystem so quick spread of disease from tree to tree. In monocultures, that there is less need to apply chemical sprays and farmers compensate by spraying their trees with toxic synthetic fertilizers. In this type of orchard, each plant insecticides and fungicides and by applying synthetic plays a different role. fertilizers that can pollute the environment. WWW.ORCHARDPEOPLE.COM page 1 Orchard People eBook TYPES OF PLANTS IN A HEALTHY ORCHARD ollinator plants attract birds, bees, to your orchard. By providing a Pgood butterflieshome to pollinatorsand other throughoutpollinators the growing season, you are ensuring the early spring when you need them to pollinatethese beneficial your fruit insects trees. will be around in SPRING POLLINATOR PLANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE • Daffodils • Fruit Tree Blossoms SUMMER POLLINATOR PLANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE: • Lavender • Sage • Raspberries • Bee Balm • Nasturtiums • Sunflowers AUTUMN POLLINATOR PLANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE: • Black Eyed Susans • New England Astors insects, pest repelling plants help keep harmfulWhile pollinator insects plantsaway attractfrom your beneficial fruit trees. These insects weaken fruit trees by nibbling on tree leaves or nesting in the bark. They can also damage the young fruit. Many pest-repelling plants are in the onion family and they have a strong smell that pests do not like. PEST REPELLING PLANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE: Chives • Garlic • Marigold A pest repelling plant like chives (Allium schoenoprasum) can be planted near Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) Yet other plants are considered mulch for a spring combination that both humans and pollinators love. plants. Some, like comfrey, have deep WWW.ORCHARDPEOPLE.COM page 2 Orchard People eBook Edible ground cover plants like thyme and sage bring fragrance and flavour to your pollinator garden. roots that draw up nutritious minerals from the soil. What is interesting is that most of these plants have more Then those minerals are released when their leaves die than just a single function. and disintegrate into the soil. In the fall, after these plants have died back, you can leave the leaves on the ground FOR INSTANCE: if they are growing near your fruit trees, or rip them up • Comfrey is a great mulch plant but it also provides and scatter them around your fruit trees and allow them habitat for beneficial insects to decay there where they will build, or improve, the soil. • Rhubarb is a mulching plant but it is also an insecticide as its leaves are toxic to certain types of bugs (and to MULCH PLANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE: humans! Only the stalks are good to eat). • Comfrey • Nasturtium attracts pollinators but it also attracts • Rhubarb aphids, a harmful insect for fruit trees. This helps to keep aphids away from your fruit trees. Ground Cover Plants are low, spreading plants that And have you noticed something else? In a biodiverse soil from erosion as the result of wind or water. These orchard there is much more to eat than just fruit. plantsprovide also habitat suppress for beneficial weeds andinsects act andas a they layer protect of mulch the During the season you will also harvest plenty of as they die back each year. herbs and other edibles to serve at your dinner table. By creating an environment where natural systems GROUND COVER PLANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE: work in harmony, we are also bringing abundance • Thyme and variety into our own diets. • Strawberries • Oregano Copyright, OrchardPeople 2015 • Sage www.orchardpeople.com. WWW.ORCHARDPEOPLE.COM page 3.