Blane Arnold

We’ve got some old well established fruit trees that hadn’t been touched in at least a decade, they were a mess. I’ve been slowly shaping them over the last 18 months that we’ve been at our place. I’ve been trying to keep the pruning to a max of 30% per year to continue getting fruit production. I have used the branches I prune over time to create a bed underneath the tree to put the leaves after they drop each fall. Keeps a good natural looking border so when people come over they don’t walk on the plants we have underneath, especially helpful when it’s wintertime so you don’t see the plants as easily.

As far as what to plant.. for all the fruit tree guilds I design I always try to include each layer that you’d find in nature.

An example of this would be..

Apple tree (fruit tree)
Lupine (nitrogen fixer)
Lavender (pest deterrent/pollinator attractor)
Black currant (berry bush)
Comfrey (Dynamic Accumulator)
Walking Onion (root crop)
Crimson clover (ground cover/pollinator attractor)
Grapes (Vine, typically added a couple years in to let the fruit tree become strong and established first)


Depending on where you’re located, the options are kind of endless. We also got a handful of morels last spring after just one winter of having apple twigs/branches underneath the tree. Hope this helps!

What a great thread of information. I’ve been thinking about replacing a non edible hedge that came with the house we’re in between us and the busy street. I’m in western Washington, zone 8b, was thinking about using a mix of the following.

- silverberry
- pineapple guava
- loquat

They’re all fruit producing and evergreens which should make for a great hedge. Tossing in some rosemary along the edge doesn’t sound too bad either! Has anyone had experience growing the plants I listed above?

Hans Quistorff wrote:Note that I am just down the Key Peninsula from you.   click on the links in my signature for more information.

Hi Hans, awesome! I actually work down on the KP just south of Key Center. I’ll send you a message on here to trade contact information.

Karen Saint wrote:Hi Blane, that sounds interesting to me. I live in Seattle and raise veggies in my front yard
Karen

Hey Karen, that’s great! I will send you a message on here to exchange some contact info.

Howdy!

My wife and I live in Port orchard, Washington and are hoping to find other folks who are passionate about farming, gardening, permaculture and foraging. We’d be excited to get a group of people together monthly to share ideas over potluck style meals. All are welcome whether you’ve just got sunflowers growing in the summer or you’ve been farming and gardening your whole life. We think there’s lots we can learn from each other.

I was inspired to post this after listening to this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VMhxBskOUrmcUglcn7wyo?si=Oz-Mvxn7QN2oyRBcXIMzIg

We are hopeful that we can build a similar community here in western Washington to share ideas, knowledge, passion and meals together.