Juniper Guild?

Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 6 years ago

Does anyone know of some good species to build a Western Juniper-based guild? The reason I ask is that I am slowly converting my property to a forest garden-type setup. The native trees that are already here are mostly oaks, acacia, and lots of Juniper. Some of the Juniper are very large, provide a lot of shade and wind protection. I imagine I could use cat-claw as a N-fixer shrub. There is some type of native ground cover that looks a lot like vetch. So that's 2 species right there.

Any ideas?

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Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4434

Location: North Central Michigan

posted 6 years ago

i'll be watching this thread as i have alot of junipers..unfortunatly some of the creeping type or "low growing? " ones got super super big and gangly and will be getting cut out and slashed up for either mulch or running through the chipper..they are really badly bunny eaten and absolutely huge..20' or more across..mostly bare trunks with bits of green at the end.

but I also have some smaller beautiful juniers that i truly love..

the big ones were growing amont other trees, mostly black spruce, helmock and pines

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 6 years ago

So far, I have found the following to set up Western Juniper Guild:

Pinyon pine
golden and wax currants
wild grapes
lambsquarters
pricly pear
cholla
wolfberry
rabbitbrush
dropseed
various yuccas
various oaks and shrub oaks
leaf sumac
wild 4 o'clock
blue gilia
buckwheat
claret cup
scarlet buglar
penstemon
mockorange
chokecherry

N fixers
mountain mahogany
New Mexico locust
Apache plume
lupine

Many of these are edible or medicinal. I am sure there are even more options as well.

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Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4434

Location: North Central Michigan

posted 6 years ago

looks like a nice list..most of them are more western than eastern ..a few i could grow here. ..and some i have growing here..

mock orange and lupine could go with some of my smaller junipers in the area i have them..and my lupines are just now coming into bloom so i'll have seeds fairly soon

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Abe Connally

Posts: 1502

Location: Chihuahua Desert

posted 6 years ago

Yeah, I live in a dry, western climate, and most of the papers I've read on the subject were related to Western Juniper/Pinyon Pine Guilds.

Buy Our Book! Food Web: Concept - Raising Food the Right Way. Learn make more food with less inputs
Off Grid Homesteading - latest updates and projects from our off grid homestead

Juniper Guild?

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