Eden & DaneApple Guild Field Guide
A focused field guide to building a productive polyculture around an apple tree, the companion plants that support its health and yield, and how to lay it out.
An apple tree planted alone in a lawn is fighting its own biology. This guide walks through building a "guild," a small community of companion plants around the tree that fix nitrogen, attract pollinators, suppress weeds, and deter common pests, based on the same design pattern used across our client installations. It includes a specific plant list, a layout diagram, and a planting sequence so you know what goes in first.
What's included
From download to done.
- 1. Read it once, start to finishGet the whole guild in your head before digging: what each companion does for the apple, and where it goes.
- 2. Check the list against your siteCross off anything that does not suit your sun, soil or zone, and note substitutes.
- 3. Mark the layout on the groundUse the layout guidance to flag positions around the trunk before you buy plants.
- 4. Plant in sequenceEstablish the main plant and the first companions, then add the rest over the following seasons.
For anyone planting apples,
not just a lone tree in the lawn.
This is for homeowners putting in one to a few apple trees who want them healthier and more productive than a tree standing alone in turf.
It also suits anyone converting an existing apple into the center of a small food forest.
What to know before you buy
This guide covers one tree guild. For a whole orchard, the layout repeats around each tree.
It is a planting guide, not a pruning or disease manual.