my in depth guild plan, untested as of yet

Here is a link to a guild plan of mine. (It is a demonstration or sample piece for the small guild installation business I am hoping to start with the HP3C in Denver.)

Any thoughts or criticisms? More importantly, does anybody want to try it out on the front range or a similar climate, and let me know how it goes? I would really like to get it proven in real life, in as many places as possible, and get lots of feed back.

One of the problems I have with current Permaculture books is the lack of specific climate adapted guild plans. Of course, we can all make our own, but it would help to move things forward if we did some serious, detailed, and preplanned experimentation and evaluation, to create what Eric Toensmeier calls second generation guilds. Many people would probably like to be able to open a book or file of hundreds of guilds which have been happily growing in their area for years. This is one of the goals of the High Plains Plant Propagation Cooperative here in Denver.

http://livingsystemsinst.org/files/Semi-dwarf%20apple%20one%20final.pdf

I will be planting this guild out myself next spring.

It seems to me that lovage likes much moister soil than apple trees. Therefore, it doesn't seem like a good fit to me. I'd try different umbellifers. Things like like fennel, dill, parsley, biscuitroot, angelica, anise, cilantro, parsnip, etc...

I'd also like to see something from the mint family included: Spearmint, oregano, catnip, nettle, etc. In my garden oregano is a long-flowering plant beloved by pollinators.

Edible early spring ephemerals might complete much of their growth before the apple tree leafs-out. An example would be some species of crocus.

Swiss chard reseeds itself in my garden.

Turnips usually reseed and provide super early flowers. Perhaps substitute bok choi which is the same species.

Perhaps a rat-tailed radish could be used as a representative of the brassicas. The seed pods are edible and it reseeds itself.

Leeks or elephant garlic might be useful to extend the flowering season of the alliums.

I'm not very fond of bushes growing under my fruit trees. I like to be able to get around to prune and harvest. I don't mind trampling forbs, but I don't like trying to navigate through or get caught on shrubs.