Anna Demb wrote:Hello Stefan,
Thank you for your orchard pioneering and for being here to answer questions.
What do you like to use for ground covers around your fruit trees, and how densely do you think its good to plant them? I keep mostly wood chips around some, with things like yarrow and chives and other alliums in small quantities, but I have a young apple, for example, that has some kind of alpine or wood strawberries (they were here when I moved in and continue to send out runners prolifically) and mint growing all around it, and I wonder if it is too much or what the apple might prefer.
Thanks very much,
Anna
Anna I like to grow what grows, thrives and spread on it's own. We have a good list of plants in the film we use. The may not be the ones that you would use however. If wild strawberry and mint grow well, grow more of them. Let them form a green carpet it is not too much for the apple in fact those are natural guild plants for apple since both like a little shade. Maybe just add some onion family to the mix (chives, garlic chives, garlic, egyptian onions...)