Fruit Tree Guilds: Why and How to Create

Last year Becky and I were really busy transforming the new house’s backyard--which was just a very blah patio, two large sections of grass, and a lot of daffodils--into an edible landscape or stealth garden.  Off to the side and basically unseen from the windows (so we didn’t focus on making them attractive), were two apple trees.  Like happens with a lot of fruit trees and the people who plant them, not a lot of time was spent keeping them in good shape.  The soil they were planted in doesn’t appear to have been amended at all, and it’s been quite a few years since they were pruned, if ever. 

We didn’t pay them much attention last year, either, being focused on the rest of the yard.  Fortunately, we had a warm spell in February and got them both nicely pruned during that period.  But the ground beneath has been a mess, and I had spent quite a bit of time pondering what to do to clean it up.  Because it is shaded, obviously, I hadn’t given much thought to actually growing anything there.  However, about six weeks ago I ran across an idea that I had to investigate further.  And it’s applicable to both established trees as well as new plantings.  With the way things are going, I figure I’m not the only one who has purchased new fruit trees this year.

A fruit tree guild is basically a mini-ecosystem of plants underneath and around a fruit tree to benefit the fruit tree and increase yields, with each plant filling a specific role.  It’s like companion planting taken to a whole new level.  What makes this concept so perfect for those seeking to increase their food independence is that a well-built and thriving fruit tree guild reduces the amount of work required to maintain it (eventually), reduces the need for outside inputs of fertilizer and mulch, reduces the need for pesticides, and increases the harvest.  Pretty awesome, huh?

When creating a fruit tree guild, you want to involve plants that will fulfill the following six roles (some plants do double duty).  As you consider which plants to use, don’t forget to favor choices that also have medicinal uses.

• Suppressor.  Suppressors hinder the growth of weeds and/or grass.  Consider daffodils, garlic chives, buckwheat, strawberries, mint, red clover, squash, pumpkins, rhubarb, and nasturtiums. 
• Attractor.  Make sure to attract beneficial insects, especially pollinators.  Catnip (catmint) and Russian sage are powerful bee attractors, though I personally would never plant Russian sage near fruit trees or any landscaping that I wanted to keep neat and orderly.  I consider it somewhat invasive, but things could be different in your part of the country.  Catnip isn’t very well behaved either, but it is smaller and more manageable.  Bee balm, salvia, sunflowers, and yarrow (all but salvia are medicinal), and herbs like lavender, coriander, dill, and fennel are other good choices.
• Repeller.  Not all of the following specifically repel pests—some are just so aromatic as to confuse them and prevent them from finding the plants they do want to eat.  These include common culinary chives, garlic, onions, oregano, sage, thyme, and lemon balm, and nasturtiums (also edible and medicinal!), marigolds, yarrow (also medicinal!), and daffodils.
• Mulcher.  Growing your own mulch, like comfrey, saves time and money.  And comfrey is a top medicinal herb.  Hostas and rhubarb also make good mulch
• Accumulator.  Comfrey and borage are top choices for accumulating minerals that are deep in the soil and bringing them up to the surface where the fruit tree can better use them.  Chickweed, stinging nettle, sorrel, vetch, and tansy are also good.
• Fixer.  Nitrogen fixers fix nitrogen in the soil.  Peas, beans, white clover, and lupine are excellent choices.

The concept of fruit tree guilds is relatively new; it came about as some people observed that certain plants naturally group themselves together in the wild.  Coupled with scientists’ findings that some plants actually mutually benefit from being close, and throw in some folks who want to increase their yields, and decrease their work, and you get the idea of a fruit tree guild.  There aren’t any specific recipes or plans—each yard is unique.  We have specific pests, climate, and plant varieties to work with.  We’re basically on our own to figure out what works.  The above lists provide a starting point.

Keep in mind that you don’t want to include everything on the list—that would be crazy.  Just pick one or two to fill each role, and remember some are doing double duty.  For example, under our two apple trees, I will put a lot of daffodils (there are still some that need to be transplanted from their original locations) and some nasturtiums to suppress and repel.  Catnip is already growing there, and I might transplant some dill for attracting bees.  I’ve also got some repeater onions, so I could stick a few of those in as well to help repel.  Comfrey is my #1 choice for mulching and accumulating, so I’ll get those seeds going.  And the peas and beans are ready to go in the ground as well. 

Everything gets planted within the drip line of the tree—the circle around the tree to which the tree roots will eventually extend.  With newly planted trees, this circle may need to be gradually moved for best results, so keep that in mind.  As with any new planting, be sure to amend the soil well and water deeply until plants are established. 

References:

https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/how-to-build-a-fruit-tree-guild/

https://www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/article/how-to-build-a-fruit-tree-guild

https://lakesidecommunitygarden.org/designing-a-fruit-tree-guild/

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/how-to-plant-tree-guild.htm

https://www.growingwithnature.org/design-a-fruit-tree-guild/

13 june 2024

Food Is a Weapon

That was the title of one week's theme at the Woodpile Report (woodpilereport.com).  Ol' Remus never disappoints and that week's offerings were one of his most memorable for me.  Unfortunately, he doesn't maintain an archive, so if there's something you like there, you have to save it yourself.  I have posted his historical notes below. They are definitely worth bearing in mind.

One of the first memes I ever saw was an image of Stalin.  Over the course of studying for a degree in Russian, I got to learn a bit about the guy.  Nothing positive, to be sure.  It's hard to fathom why people want to bring Communism here.  Anyway, the meme portrays a slightly smiling Stalin with the following message:

                                     "Food is like dark humor.  Some people get it."

The Old Testament prophet Moses taught the children of Israel what would happen if they failed to keep God's commandments and turned instead to wickedness.  Among other things, he prophesied that they would eat their children (Deuteronomy chapters 28-32).  It took some time, but eventually, his words came to pass.  Those who didn't descend into the depths of depravity were relegated to eating dove dung and donkey heads to stay alive.

As our society collapses, as China and Russia have stopped exporting fertilizer, as farmers cull herds and reduce planting, as the bird flu pandemic prompts the culling of meat and laying chickens, as inflation curtails family spending, as..., as..., as..., the list goes on.  We already have shortages on the shelves.  You know it's not going to get better.

Famines last a long time.  They aren't over in a week, a month, or even three.  The food needs to last longer than that.  Much longer.  And reducing calorie consumption won't work, either.  Twelve or fifteen hundred calories per day is nowhere near enough for anyone over the age of twelve.  It doesn't matter if you "don't have room."  Actually, people do.  They may not like it, but there is room.  It might be in the middle of the living room or along the walls of the bedroom or hall.

Those who prepare struggle to prepare everything possible for their own families.  They aren't preparing for others.  The welfare state and idleness, selfishness, and greed are what got us to where we are today.  Subsidizing more of that by giving food to those who don't work for it and don't appreciate it will only get us more of the same and prolong the pain.  And no, this is not about failing to provide for the destitute and truly disabled.

Food is one of those weapons that has been employed throughout history to control people.  Prepared people are less susceptible to being controlled by others.  Here are some Ol' Remus' tidbits from history (from issue 600, which is no longer available online):

As in all war, food would be weaponized in a Civil War II. We don't have to go back to antiquity for examples, more recent events provide a long list, some of which are:

United States

Sherman's "scorched earth" campaign began on November 15th [1864] when he cut the last telegraph wire that linked him to his superiors in the North. He left Atlanta in flames and pointed his army south. No word would be heard from him for the next five weeks. Unbeknownst to his enemy, Sherman's objective was the port of Savannah. His army of 65,000 cut a broad swath as it lumbered towards its destination. Plantations were burned, crops destroyed and stores of food pillaged.

Germany

The War Orders given by the Admiralty on 26 August 1914 were clear enough. All food consigned to Germany through neutral ports was to be captured and all food consigned to Rotterdam was to be presumed consigned to Germany. The British were determined on the starvation policy, whether or not it was lawful.

The average daily diet of 1,000 calories was insufficient to maintain a good standard of health, resulting by 1917 in widespread disorders caused by malnutrition such as scurvy, tuberculosis, and dysentery. In December 1918, the National Health Office in Berlin calculated that 763,000 persons had died as a result of the blockade by that time.

Ukraine

By the fall of 1932 it became apparent that Ukraine’s grain harvest was going to miss Soviet planners’ target by 60 percent. Stalin then ordered what little they had be confiscated as punishment for not meeting quotas. The Ukrainian famine by one estimate claimed the lives of 3.9 million people, about 13 percent of the population. In June of 1933, at the height of the Holodomor, 28,000 men, women and children in Ukraine were dying of starvation each day.

Great Britain

Britain imported 70% of its food; this required 20 million tons of shipping a year. Knowing this would lead the Axis powers into hoping to starve the British population into submission, by cutting off those food supply lines. By the end of 1940, 728,000 tons of food making its way to Britain had been lost, sunk by German submarine activity.

Netherlands

In September 1944, trains in the Netherlands ground to a halt. Dutch railway workers were hoping that a strike could stop the transport of Nazi troops, helping the advancing Allied forces. But the Allied campaign failed, and the Nazis punished the Netherlands by blocking food supplies, plunging much of the country into famine. By the time the Netherlands was liberated in May 1945, more than 20,000 people had died of starvation.

Japan

The problem was not just harvests and the cutting off imports, transportation problems developed. Fuel shortages made it increasingly difficult getting food from the countryside into the cities. Food Shortages had begun to appear in some parts of the country even before Pearl Harbor.   By 1944 theft of produce still in the fields led police to speak of a new class of "vegetable thieves" and the new crime of "field vandalizing". The average calorie intake per person had by late 1945 declined to far less than deemed necessary even for an individual engaged in light work.

Berlin

Stalin's blockade of Berlin from June 1948 through May 1949 was an attempt to starve West Berlin's two million inhabitants into accepting Soviet rule. The city quickly devolved into near-famine. A largely American airlift rescued it and kept it alive.

The US has historically used food as part of carrot-and-stick diplomacy, or said differently, bribes. During the Second World War, Great Britain and the Soviet Union relied crucially on American food, assuring a measure of their dependency in power negotiations. Germany, and particularly Japan, were nearly US territories after the war, both would have starved without prompt delivery of American food in quantity.

Wars are generally about food. Ancient Rome imported its food and fought epic wars to develop new sources and keep the ones it had. Medieval fiefdoms were agricultural enterprises, raiding their neighbors was common. The westward expansion of America in the nineteenth century was about food and the means to move it, as was Japan's expanding empire in the early twentieth century. Germany explicitly cited food production to justify its aggression in the east. Their rants about fighting Bolshevism was pep rally stuff, Nazism itself was excessively patriotic Marxism.

History and cold calculation suggest food would be a weapon in a Civil War II, one of many, but of prime importance long term. Civil wars have long gestations, go kinetic suddenly and get complicated in a hurry. We have no firm knowledge what would set it off, who would be actively involved or how it would end. But the outlines are repeated well enough to guide our preparations.

Thank you, Mr. Remus. 

7 may 2020

Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Cafe: Panzanella

About a month ago in a comment in the "How to Keep Bread from Molding" post, Michael mentioned panzanella as a favorite dish.  I’d never ever heard of it, so I went in search.  Come to find out, panzanella is actually a pretty popular Italian salad.  The classic Tuscan salad must include stale (or toasted) bread cubes (that’s where the pan in panzanella comes from) as well as onions and tomatoes.  Cucumbers and basil are also often included in this salad, which is dressed with olive oil and vinegar.

With stale bread as the basis, it sounded like a perfect fit for food storage.  But I have to admit, I was a little skeptical.  I find soggy bread really disgusting, and I was a bit concerned that bread cubes—not croutons—would get soggy in a salad with dressing.  I finally got around to making it for dinner Thursday night. 

I searched through dozens of recipes on Food.com to identify a few recipes that didn’t use weird ingredients or seem too time-consuming.  And then I created my own recipe.  Aaron liked it, except for the onions, and I’ve decided that it’s a keeper for sure.  I really look forward to making it with our own garden produce.  All in good time.  (Is summer ever going to arrive—we had snow three days this week!)

Prep School Daily’s Panzanella

3 cups stale bread, cut into 1” cubes 

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

2 tomatoes, cut into cubes

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced ½” thick

¼ red onion, sliced and separated into rings

2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil

1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 cups salad greens

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium to low heat.  Add the bread cubes and stir into the olive oil.  Cook about 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until lightly toasted.  These are not to be hard, crunchy croutons.  They should still be soft in the center.

In a salad bowl, combine the bread crumbs, vegetables, basil, parsley, and garlic.  In a small jar combine the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.  Pour over salad and toss to coat.  Let stand 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  Serve on a bed of salad greens.

Notes:  A wide variety of breads may be used here.  French bread, ciabatta, sourdough, sandwich bread. And the bread may be torn or cut into cubes. If the bread is not hard and stale, it should be toasted in olive oil in a skillet.  Dense breads work better than light loaves.  Additional ingredients that could be incorporated include cheese cubes, olives, capers, bell pepper strips, carrots, celery, tuna, and eggs. 

Links to related posts:

How to Keep Bread from Molding

Don’t Let the Bread Waste—Make Croutons  

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

White Sandwich Bread 

Bread Pudding 

Dealing with Bread Failures 

Natural Solutions for Preventing Mold in Homemade Bread

The Extreme Importance of Bread

References:

https://www.food.com/recipe/barefoot-contessas-panzanella-salad-135723

https://www.food.com/recipe/panzanella-bread-salad-58958

 5 july 2024

Chefman Cordless-Yet-Powerful Handheld Immersion Blender--Product Review

In the early days of the blog I did a couple of product reviews, not a lot.  There weren’t a lot of items worth reviewing, in my opinion.  And then as happens so often, a product used to be good, but then the manufacturer starts cutting corners and the product isn’t so good.  The quality control just isn’t there.  Or there are just ways to make do with what you already have.  I never wanted to come across as someone hawking useless products to line my pockets using the Amazon Affiliate program.  I’m not faulting people who participate in that—people have to be able to pay the costs of running their blogs.  I just don’t like it personally.  I want to remain impartial, and that’s hard for me to do if there is a financial incentive.  I don’t even do it to run links to my own books. 

Anyway, I just thought I’d run the first product review I’ve done in years. 

To make the eggless mayonnaise (that article posts tomorrow), I apparently had to have an immersion blender.  My first immersion blender died a few years ago.  I didn’t use it much; my husband liked it more.  As my kitchen was very small at that time, I opted not to replace it.  I just didn’t have the room for an appliance that didn’t get used all that often.

However, I had been thinking about getting a new immersion blender.  It’s handy for making cream soups without having to pour it all into a blender.  And I wanted to make smoothies with it.  And it would work nicely for whipping cream as well.  But being able to make an eggless mayonnaise made it essential.  (As I mention in the article on making eggless mayonnaise, I failed in my attempts to make the eggless mayo using my blender—even the Vitamix failed me.  Several individuals commented that using a stick blender was critical to success.)

So off to Amazon I went.  And as I scrolled through the options, lo and behold there was a USB-rechargeable device.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Not only would I be able to make mayo without eggs, but I could do it even if the grid was down and stayed down indefinitely. 

I ordered the ChefmanCordless-Yet-Powerful Handheld Immersion Blender on the spot and eagerly anticipated its arrival.  It came, we started charging it according to the directions… and… nothing.  No matter what we did, it was a dud that would not charge.  Ugh.

The very nice East Indian woman working for Amazon asked all the questions she had to ask and then said they’d replace it.  It wasn’t too much trouble and I shortly had another unit on the way.

And this one works perfectly.  It charged up right away and held its charge through creaming one batch of soup and two batches of eggless mayonnaise—probably 10 minutes’ worth of blending in all.  At the end of the second batch of mayo, the indicator light changed, suggesting battery life was limited and recharging would soon be necessary.  But I had enough time to finish the mayo, so that was good. 

I love it.  I’m glad I got it.  I love that it’s USB rechargeable with both our solar units as well as the BioLite rocket stove-type recharger that we have.  So even when the grid goes down, we can have cream soups, mayonnaise, whipped cream, chocolate mousse, and so much more. 

And so I went looking for other small appliances that are USB-rechargeable and found a hand mixer and a coffee grinder.  I’m not sure I need either one of those, but the stick blender is a must for me.

Anyway, hope the review helps.

Links to related posts:

Eggless Mayonnaise

Chocolate Mousse