Our Orchard: First year efforts towards creating an apple-centered guild

One of my dreams related to owning a house was to be able to plant apple trees. So I was very excited last fall when we started leafing through our local tree catalog (http://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees/) to choose the foundations for our orchard. We also selected a decent amount of shrubs as orchard companions. A lot of research went into this selection process as we want our orchard to be organic, self-sustaining, and full of life by following basic permaculture principles. We knew that we wouldn't be able to buy all the plants we wanted this first year so we chose ones we felt were most important in this first year and intend to add to the orchard a little more each spring.

In Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture (aka my permaculture bible), Hemenway introduces the concept of guilds:

A guild is a group of plants and animals harmoniously interwoven into a pattern of mutual support, often centered around one major species, that benefits humans while creating habitat (p. 183).

Our orchard thus is my novice attempt at building an apple-centered guild. As I said, it is still in it's early stages and we will be adding a lot more to it, but here is a drawing of our apple-centered guild as it stands this autumn.

Plants in our Orchard

Here I will list all the plants we have placed in our orchard so far and a description of what they are. I will start with the fruit trees around which this orchard was designed. These descriptions are taken right from Fedco where they were purchased.

Fruit Trees

Baldwin Apple Winter. Also called Butters Apple or Woodpecker. Discovered on the Butters Farm by a surveyor planning the Middlesex Canal and noted as a favorite site for local woodpeckers. By 1850 Baldwin was the standard all-purpose home and commercial variety wherever it was grown. It remained dominant in Maine until the terrible winter of 1934 when tens of thousands of trees perished and McIntosh became king. Large round-conic thick-skinned fruit, almost entirely blushed, mottled and striped with red and deep carmine. Hard crisp juicy yellowish flesh makes excellent eating and cooking. Keeps till spring. Makes top-quality hard cider, blended or alone. Vigorous adaptable hugely productive long-lived healthy tree. When grower Dave Gott asked the late renowned entomologist Ron Prokopy his opinion of Baldwin, Ron replied that the apple is “not practical commercially due to biennialism but the only apple that is both disease and insect resistant.” Blooms early to midseason. Malus.Wilmington, MA, about 1740. Z4-6. ME Grown

Black Oxford Apple Winter. This outstanding apple, a favorite long ago around much of Maine, has been making a huge comeback in the last 20 years. Our best seller until Honeycrisp came along. Medium-sized round fruit, deep purple with a blackish bloom. From a distance you might think you’d discovered a huge plum tree. Excellent pies, superb late cider. Leave the skins on for a delightful pink sauce. Best eating late December to March. They get sweeter and sweeter as the months go by. Good cooking until early summer. Some insect and disease resistance. Unusual light pink blooms, early midseason. Malus. Unknown parentage. Paris, Oxford County, ME, about 1790. Z4-5. ME Grown

Canadian Strawberry Apple Unknown parentage. Solon, ME. Beautiful superb-tasting dessert apple. One of the best dessert varieties we offer. Very good early season cider. Perfectly ripe at the end of September in central Maine where, in a good year, you won’t find a better apple. In 2002 we put Canadian Strawberry up against Cox’s Orange Pippin and Chestnut crab at a Common Ground Fair taste test and it beat both of them. Surprisingly juicy distinctly tart full-flavored medium-to-large round-conic fruit. Rich buttery-yellow skin overspread with a veil of vibrant red-orange. In 1996 the late Roy Slamm convinced me to visit and subsequently propagate nursery stock from the three ancient “Strawberry” trees on his South Solon farm, thus saving the apple from almost certain extinction. Now they are being spread throughout “Fedcoland.” Medium-sized upright tree bears annually. Fruit does not keep well. Blooms midseason. Not to be confused with Chenango Strawberry. Z4-5. ME Grown

Gray Pearmain Apple Fall-Winter. Absolutely delicious dessert (fresh eating) apple with a distinct pear flavor and firm white juicy mildly tart flesh. Steadily gaining a devoted following. Medium-sized slightly ribbed and muffin-shaped fruit has a soft opaque greenish-yellow skin with a rosy pink blush, a russet veil, and a greyish bloom. Produces excellent juice. Pick late and eat them in the fall and all winter. Until recently the only trees we knew of were at The Apple Farm in Fairfield, across the line from Skowhegan. Through the generosity of the Meyerhans, the Gray Pearmain is now being grown throughout Maine and beyond. Annually bearing easy-to-grow medium-sized spreading tree. Blooms midseason. Malus. Probably Skowhegan, ME, before 1870. Z4-6. ME Grown.

Gravenstein Apple Late Summer. Thought to be of 17th c. Italian or German origin. Brought to the U.S. in the early 19th c. By 1880 it was the most popular summer apple in Maine. Probably the most famous of all summer apples and usually considered the best of all pie apples. Still commonly grown in Nova Scotia, northern California, Oregon and Washington. Tender crisp aromatic richly flavored juicy firm tart flesh. Outstanding eating and cooking. Rated “very good to best” by Beach in Apples of New York. Fruit is medium to large, irregularly round, asymmetrical, usually ribbed. Thin tender skin, striped with yellow, red and orange. Large vigorous productive tree with a nearly perfect wide-angle branching habit that requires practically no training. Ripens over several weeks. Too tender for colder areas of New England. Blooms early. Triploid: not suitable for pollinating other varieties. 

Roxbury Russet Apple Winter. Said to be the first named American apple variety. One of the best late-winter dessert apples—it would be hard to live without them in our root cellar. Rich, spicy and juicy. Exceptional sauce. The aromatic juice is recommended by some for cider, fresh or fermented. Hard medium-large patchy green and russeted fruit. Not uniform in size, shape or color. Medium-to-large vigorous spreading tree. In May I took 30 trees to the Roxbury Historical Society. We had a delightful time planting with neighbors in a renovated abandoned lot near the Hawthorne Youth and Community Center. Bringing the Russet back to Roxbury! Keeps till late spring. Scab resistant. Blooms midseason. Malus. Roxbury, MA, early 1600s. Z4-6. Both ME Grown. 

Garfield Plantation Pie Cherry Summer. Heirloom pie cherry grown for generations on an Aroostook County farm. One of our most promising finds in our search for varieties that really do produce. In the spring of ’09 trees in northern Maine flowered and fruited after –44°. Although the original tree is long gone, it lives on in the form of innumerable young trees that have suckered up for 100' or more behind the farm along the edge of the ubiquitous potato field. You could keep it to a single tree yourself by snipping off any suckers. Hardy, disease resistant, productive and and extremely long-lived, with fruit practically indistinguishable from Montmorency. Recommended for trial in all areas of northern New England. Prunus cerasus Unknown origin. Garfield Plantation, ME. Z3. ME Grown.

Donald Wyman Crabapple is a large, spreading crabapple that matures to 15-20’ tall and slightly wider. It was discovered as a chance seedling at the Arnold Arboretum around 1950, and was named after Donald Wyman (1904-1993) who served as Arnold Arboretum horticulturist from 1936 to 1970. Fragrant, white, single flowers (to 1 3/4” diameter) bloom in abundance in spring (April). Flowers are followed by bright red crabapples (to 3/8” diameter) that mature in fall. Crabapples persist on the tree well into winter, providing additional interest. Birds are attracted to the fruit. Leaves are dark green and toothed. Leaves turn amber-gold in fall.

Supporting Plants

Siberian Peashrub 15-20' Nitrogen-fixing cheerful bright green upright multi-stemmed oval shrub well-suited to windbreaks, hedges and borders. Delicate yellow flowers in spring are followed by small seed pods that turn a golden yellow. The pods and the small “peas” are edible; eaten raw, they taste like garden peas, though not as sweet. Makes an acceptable chicken feed. Silvery bark and compound foliage, each with 8–12 small obovate leaflets. Easy to grow; just put them in and let them go. Adaptable to poor soils, drought, salt. Full sun. Maintenance free. Self-fertile. Caragana arborescens Z3. (1-3' bare-root plants)

Bee Balm. Beloved by bees, butterflies and is one of the best hummingbird magnets nature has to offer! Wild and wily flowers form with tubular petals on pincushion heads borne above colorful bracts in July and August. Aromatic foliage. Good for borders, for wet areas and for cutting. Plant crowns 16–20" apart in light shade in moist soil. Thrives in full sun if given adequate moisture or mulched with leaf mold; tolerates most conditions. Excellent mildew resistance. 3–5' tall.

Blue False Indigo Baptisia An early summer stand-out with vibrant blue lupine-like flowers. Seed pods turn black in fall, adding interest to the autumn landscape and providing a unique element to dried floral arrangements. Has a bushy habit and shrub-like structure once mature. Will develop an extensive root system, good for holding slopes to prevent erosion. Baptisia is a member of the pea family, and you’ll notice a resemblance in its foliage and flowers, as well as its fondness for cooler weather. Plant 3' apart in full sun and well-drained acid soil. Grows 3–4' tall and just as wide. Baptisia australis Z3.

‘Royal Red’ Butterfly Bush 4-5' x same. Michael Dirr considers this the best “red” form, although flowers are really more of a deep magenta. Upright panicles up to 14" long of slightly fragrant flowers persist steadily June through September. Sweet nectar attracts nearly every butterfly in the neighborhood. Hummingbirds and bees love it, too. Grey-green foliage emerges late, often in early June. Blooms on new wood each summer. Upright spreading habit. A troublesome escapee of the garden in western U.S. but not (yet) so in Maine where plants die to the ground each year. Treat as an herbaceous perennial. Full sun, intolerant of wet conditions. Buddleia davidii ‘Royal Red’ 4/5. ME Grown.

Pagoda Dogwood 20' x 30-35' Also known as Alternate-Leaved Dogwood. Small tree or large multi-stemmed shrub, particularly beautiful with its tiers of horizontal branches and extremely fragrant white 2–3" flower clusters. These appear in mid-late spring, followed by immature olive-green berries, each tipped with a tiny bright yellow style remnant. In midsummer clusters of dark blue berries ripen above the blue-green foliage. One of the most popular dogwoods with the birds. Roots, bark and inner bark all medicinal. Prefers partial shade and moist well-drained acid soil, but tolerates full sun, poor soil and even clay. pH adaptable. Excellent naturalized as a specimen or in groups. Reddish-purple fall color. Susceptible to golden canker. When dormant, prune out diseased branches to prevent spores spreading to the trunk. Native to eastern U.S. Cornus alternifolia Z3. ME Grown.

Black Locust is a medium-sized tree, growing up to 80 feet tall. It is easily recognized by its leaves and paired spines up to 1/2 inch long. Black locust has been planted extensively for its nitrogen fixing abilities, as a source of nectar for honeybees, and for fenceposts and hardwood lumber. The clonal pattern of growth and connected roots are promoted for erosion control.

Rosa rugosa Rose 4-6' x same. Also called Japanese Rose or Beach Rose. Vigorous spreading shrub with dark green wrinkled (rugose) leaves. Flowers range from deep pink to white. Large edible red hips up to 1" are good for jams, teas and fresh eating right off the bush. Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals uses these petals in her much-loved Rose Petal Elixir. Considered by herbalists of Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic traditions to be rejuvenating and cooling. Blooms form on both old and new wood, so pruning necessary only to control size. Prefers full sun and well-drained fertile soil with a pH of 6–7, but will grow in depleted soil and even in sand. Tolerates salt, pollution and drought; practically care-free. Although native to China and Japan and assumed to have been brought here by sailors long ago, there is now reason to believe that Rosa rugosa may have been here for many centuries and may even be native. Z2.

Bayberry 5-10' x same. Rounded deciduous semi-evergreen very salt-tolerant shrub thrives in full sun to partial shade and in sandy poor soils to heavy clay soils. A common sight on Maine’s coastal islands. Rubbing the glossy deep green leaves between your fingers produces one of the most delicious smells in the world. Leaf and root teas are medicinal. Small greyish-blue waxy berries produced on female plants are highly aromatic, historically used for making candles. Non-showy flowers appear in late spring followed by fruit production during summer into late fall. Plants feed numerous wildlife species and are especially craved by swallows. Excellent in masses or hedges, tends to sucker. Fixes nitrogen. Tends toward being dioecious: male and female plants required for good fruit development. We’re offering unsexed plants; plant several if you desire fruit. Myrica pensylvanica Native to eastern U.S. Z2.

Fragrant Narcissus Mix A mix of sweetly scented hardy narcissus. Great for aromatic daffodil bouquets. Taller varieties that will fill your rooms with inspiring fragrance, mostly Large Cup, Tazetta and Poeticus. 14-18". Bloom times will vary. MS-LS, Z3-8.

Small Allium Mix Low-growing Allium Our own fragrant mix of three flowering onions. The smaller alliums, in yellow (Allium moly), rose (Allium oreophilum), and white (Allium neapolitanum); if fed and happy, will spread over time. 6-16"

An Ecological Explanation

In this section, I'm going to do my best to explain why I chose the plants I did. The selection process was a long one. I spent a very long time reading a researching how to create an orchard that would be both ecologically balanced and enjoyable to our family and visitors. I want an orchard that will produce delicious food, attract beautiful birds and other pollinators, and be a glorious place to lounge while gazing at flowers and wildlife. I want an orchard that is both self-sustaining yet organized so that it is pleasant to look at and not a chaotic tangle of trees and shrubs. The design process was difficult, and I'm sure that I've made mistakes during this first effort, but I hope this will be minimal and easy to fix as the orchard matures.

The central element.

First and most importantly we chose our fruit trees. These trees are the focal point of our orchard and what the rest of the orchard was designed around. We wanted apples that would grow well in Maine, that would be unique, and would be delicious so we chose the Heritage Apple Collection from Fedco. This included six different heirlooms traditionally grown in northern New England.  Heirloom  fruit trees are varieties that have developed a historical or cultural significance which have been passed from generation-to-generation and often has a local or even familial significance. We selected a cherry tree that is known to be successful in Maine. We also chose a crab-apple tree that would not only provide us with food but attract birds and pollinators as well. Though the crab-apple tree ended up in a separate part of the yard than the "orchard" it is close enough that all the plants will still benefit from each other.

The rest of the plants are companion plants and are there to create an environment in which the fruit trees will thrive with ultimately as little human input as possible. You will note that many of the plants we selected have multiple uses so will be found in more than one section.

Nitrogen fixers.

The area where we placed our orchard was essentially a bare, sandy/rocky slope framed by the road, our driveway, and a naturally occurring forest. There was pretty much nothing growing on it...not even much grass. The fall prior to planting the orchard I spread some clover seed to try to improve the soil quality. Why clover?

• Being a legume, clover has the ability to convert nitrogen into fertilizer using bacteria in it’s root system, practically eliminating the need for additional fertilization. Adding nitrogen fixers to guilds is one way of keeping nutrients cycling within the plant community and reducing the need for fertilizer and other inputs. 
• It is an extremely drought-resistant plant and will keep its cool-green color even during the hottest and driest parts of summer. 
• Left uncut, white clover grows 4-8 inches tall and produces small white flowers that are often tinged with pink. The flowers not only create a beautiful visual effect, but also bring in bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects that prey on garden pests.

Since the soil really was/is so poor we included several more nitrogen fixers in our guild. Nitrogen fixers harbor bacteria or fungi among their roots that take nitrogen from the air and convert it to plant-available form (Hemenway pg. 189). The nitorogen fixers in our guild are:

• Bayberry
• Black locust
• Fava beans (planted around all the trees annually)
• Blue false indigo (aslo great for preventing slope erosion...perfect for our orchard)
• Siberian pea shrub

Grass-suppressing bulbs.

Grasses are surface feeders and compete for nutrients with trees, whose feeding roots also le near the surface. Eliminating grass near the surface lessons the need for fertilizer. Less competition also means the fruit trees will be more vigorous and grow to their maximum size (Hemenway pg. 187). In our guild we planted:

• Fragrant Narcissus Mix (daffodils). These are not only useful at keeping grass away from the trees, they also contain toxins that animals, such as deer and gophers, are repelled by. Thus they will also keep away browsers, burrowers, and bark-chewers.
• Small Allium Mix. Not only do they keep grass out, they also are edible and repel insect pests such as aphids.

Insect and bird attracting plants. 

While some insects are considered pests to orchards and can decimate entire crops, many insects are actually beneficial. There are two main groups of beneficial insects: pollinators (which are need for fruit and seeds to develop) and predators, which gobble up the bugs that eat our plants (Hemenway pg. 136). We included several plants that attract beneficial insects in our garden: 

• Yarrow
• Bee Balm (we planted three varieties)
• Small Allium Mix
• Clover
• Black Locust
• Crabapple
• Butterfly bush
• Blue False Indigo
• Siberian Pea Shrub
• Rosa Rugosa

Birds are also sometime unwelcome to orchards because they can decimate crops, peck holes in fruit and scratch up seedlings. But in a well balanced landscape that has good bird habitat, birds will do more good than harm. They are excellent insect predators, they eat seeds witch reduces the amount of weeks, they leave small gifts of rich manure, they catch the soil which simultaneously tills the ground, and some are even good pollinators (Hemenway pg. 160). Birds are also just beautiful, wonderful animals whose songs and bright colors make me happy. We planted numerous plants that are useful for birds:

• Apple and Crabapple
• Dogwood
• Cherry
• Black Locust
• Bayberry
• Butterfly bush
• Rosa Rugosa

Mulch plants.

Mulch makers are plants that decompose quickly to provide "on-site" mulching. They deliver minerals and organic matter to the soil. Ideally we would have planted comfrey as a mulch plant, but they were sold out everywhere we looked. So for now we just have clover and intend to purchase comfrey next year.

Nutrient accumulators.

The deep taproots of these plants plunge far into the mineral soil and dredge up important nutrients: potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, and others (Hemenway pg. 189). Here are are nutrient accumulators so far (with the nutrients in parenthesis).

• Apple (K)
• Clover (N and P)
• Dandelion (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu)
• Dogwood (P, K, Ca)
• Black Locust (N, K, Ca)
• Wild Strawberry (Fe)
• Yarrow (N, P, K, Cu)

Hedge and Windbreak.

Our orchard is near the road, and because we live in New England sand and salt is constantly being dumped on the roads in the winter. Our orchard is also on a slope where wind can be more harsh. Thus we decided to create a hedge to help shelter and protect the orchard from these elements. The hedge will also provide habitat and shelter for wildlife. Currently our hedge consists of a mixture of:

• Rosa Rugosa 
• Bayberry
• Siberian Peashrub

The rose bushes and bayberry are alternated next to the road and are both salt tolerant and thrive in poor, sandy soil. That's why you often find them near the beach!

Photos

This is what our yard looked like before we planted anything.

A couple planting photos.

And some photos of the orchard filling in over the first summer.

hummingbird playing in the water

As you can see, a lot of thought and planning went into assembling this orchard. Watching some things grow and start to fill in space and their role in the guild over the first summer was very exciting. The bare desert of a slope has been greatly transformed, but we still have a long way to go. Our dogwood seems to be diseased so we will have to get a replacement for next spring. We are hoping to add blueberry bushes to the orchard but couldn't afford them this first year. I also want to fill in the empty spaces with more beneficial plants and lots more color. I want the space to be functional and beneficial to the environment, but also beautiful and aesthetically pleasing to us. I look forward to spring when the 200 daffodil bulbs me and my small children planted by hand (they even used little excavators to make the process take about a week) bloom around the trees.

Planting bulbs