• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • John F Dean
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • paul wheaton
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Leigh Tate
  • Devaka Cooray
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Matt McSpadden
  • Jeremy VanGelder

Two Nitrogen Fixers in a Tree Guild

  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hey everyone,

First-time poster... I looked for a bit and didn't see anything immediately about this. Would having two nitrogen fixing plants in one guild improve yield for the other plants? For example, I live in Western Washington and am wondering what would happen if I were to plant red alder, cloves, and dwarf cherries. Would having both nitrogen fixers improve the yield as opposed to one (in the hypothetical non-existing controlled environment)?

Thanks
 
pollinator
Posts: 3827
Location: Massachusetts, Zone:6/7 AHS:4 GDD:3000 Rainfall:48in even Soil:SandyLoam pH6 Flat
555
2
forest garden solar
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
For a starting food forest you want close to 90% legumes and at maturity you want no less than 25% legume after the other 65% has died after being over-shadowed, died of old age or chop-dropped-killed.

Starting out you need 9units of garden space covered/shadowed by legumes for every 1unit of space covered by 'productive plants'
 
author & steward
Posts: 7159
Location: Cache Valley, zone 4b, Irrigated, 9" rain in badlands.
3351
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

I'd prefer to have a dozen species of nitrogen fixing trees, that way, when the cold kills one species, and a borer kills a different species, and a blight kills another species, and a relative chops out a "problem tree", and the government bans an invasive, and one species just can't handle the soil, then there are still a half dozen species that are doing fine.

 
Clifford Armstrong Iii
Posts: 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Thanks for the info everyone!
 
Those cherries would go best on cherry cheesecake. Don't put those cherries on this tiny ad:
permaculture and gardener gifts (stocking stuffers?)
https://permies.com/wiki/permaculture-gifts-stocking-stuffers
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic