gobeaguru Hatfield

z6 central ohio

wild guilds I have noticed.
it has been said in previous posts that the pawpaw and the mulberry will grow well under the walnut.
i have seen these plants also with hackberry and pear..almost everywhere that I find pawpaw I also find canadian ginger right under it.... horsechestnut also seems to be pretty prolific near the pawpaw and the walnut.

these particular plant guilds are within 100 ft of a river with towering poplars as an overstory.
also grapes, boxelder, sycamore, elms,

what kinds of tree are growing naturally with the bay trees in your area?

unless you have a 10-15 ft tree your beans are definitely going to reach the top of the trellis... what I have noticed happening is that the bean plants will send off side runners off the top of the shoot and they will all tangle with each other... i have tried to train them horizontally then at that point but it takes a lot of work.... for the ones on the chain link fence I just weave the plants horizontally across the top when they get some length past the fence.

bee balm or most mints are perennial... while I think it would be good to have them right in with the three sisters I think it would pose some problems in the cultivation of the annuals... i think that growing the sunflowers and amaranth is a better idea.... sunflowers make a great windbreak/insectary/food source... you could also use jarusalem artichokes but then you will run into the same perennial problems that you have with the bee balm but also a larger yield

green bean trellis... right now I have four different trellis in the garden for my runner beans
the first is the chain link fence that separates the property... the next is a siberian elm seedling ... then i have some jute string connecting the guardrail on the porch to the roof... i'm also growing it on my corn in the three sisters planting..... i haven't done any freestanding trellis myself but I haven't had to ... i think your idea is great for those who don't have the infrastructure for the plants to grow on already there.

i have had cardoons perennialize in northern ohio... zone 5b... and I don't think it would be too difficult to cross them with artichokes as they are in the same genus (cynara)
i have been eating the flower heads in the same way as artichokes and have noticed that they are just as good (although slightly smaller.... this could be taken care of with some breeding work)... plus you can blanch the stems and eat that part of the plant too... it seems like planting and replanting the artichokes every year and/or growing from seed can both be an intensive process... out of four plants that I had last year two of them died but reseeded (i have four little seedlings in the plant guild i used them in ) and two of them have made it through the winter and are now flowering again for their second year.... oh ya.... the flowers are AMAZING!

ive done this with potatoes and jarusalem artichokes with great success... the plants come out of the ground faster than others in the spring because of the heat from the compost pile... there is also ample nutrients.. ive been worried about possible pathogens in the uncomposted materials or the new materials (as i'm adding fresh organic matter still all the time )
well see.

i'm in ashtabula county... as far NE as you can go in ohio

when you cut it off at the ground level and coppice this plant you are adding nitrogen to the soil... when you use the organic material as mulch it also contains more nitrogen than most plants...
i believe if you cut the wisteria back and replace it with an aggressive climber... and also as it is coming back.. if you are vigilant about cutting it back ... it will be less and less until it is no more
the key is to have a fast growing species to replace the wisteria that will do well with that added nitrogen.... cut it back... shade it out!

i'm pretty sure they don't root at the nodes... I haven't tried just sticking the stalks in the ground but I have a feeling it won't work... they are aggressive enough i think once they are established... as far as cut and come again... I have done this before but the plants simply branch out... i haven't tried to do this regularly or come up with a management plan including cutting them occasionally.

to answer your second question you can start using nitrogen fixing plants... in my part of ohio everywhere is clay... on my particular property I look for what is growing there.... we have white clover... sweet bushclover *melilotus* chicory (taproot, breaks up soil) and a melee of of assorted grasses and forbes...i'm trying a daikon radish strain this year to see if i can break up the soil and add organic material. .... these plants change the structure of the soil over time... depending on how quick you want results you may be thinking about incorporating things into the soil... my own personal view on this, especially with clay soils, is that changing the structure of the soil can be quite detrimental... although i still dig holes to put my trees in etc... i try to use the plants as much as I can to do the work... the earthworms and a bunch of other organisms are doing a bunch of work too....in any case... adding organic material would be very good... biochar, mulches, compost... comfrey and nettles will grow well in clay soil.. as will most alders and willows *as these are coppiced they add organic material to the soil and make it more friable*