By Michael Pilarski
Following are two examples of the types of species mixes I put in. Every single, agroforestry planting will be unique. Over time, many of them will get to hundreds of species. The Bullock Brothers Homestead on Orcas Island is one of the US.’s most developed permaculture system and they hit 1,000 species about a decade ago. Richo Cech at Strictly Medicinals herb seed business hit 500 species some years back. I’ve had much less energy available at my systems and the most I have achieved is 200 species in year 9 at Sunny Pine Farm.
Trees, shrubs, perennial herbs and annuals inter-planted. Good production in year one and good production every year therefter. If the planting should want to be terminated for the land to go back into cultivation, everything can be dug up and most of it is sellable. Easiest if before the system is five-years old. Some trees can’t be moved successfully after that. The cash-in value of a planting is considerable in terms of specimen plants sold and propagation material and final root harvest. The new owners of my planting at Sunny Pine Farm took out a lot of trees and shrubs in years 10 and 11 and sold them for between $50 and $100 each. I had planted them closely to get fast canopy coverage figuring that some would need to taken out at some point. But I hadn’t fully appreciated how many trees and shrubs they could take out (with a small Vemeer-type tree digger). Sell the thinned trees instead of composting them.
Species in my 2016 Port Townsend Agroforestry System:
63 species.
Species near the top (of each category) occupy the most space. Species at the bottom the least. Note this is just year one and additional species will be added each year.
Trees:
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
Blue elderberry (Sambucus caerulea)
Amur Cork Tree (Phellodendron amurense)
Japanese Pepper Tree (Zanthoxylum piperitum)
Silk Tree (Albizzia julibrissin rosea)
Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis)
Yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolia)
American Chestnut (Castanea americana)
Shrubs,
Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
Black currant, (Ribes nigra)
Red currant, (Ribes rubra)
White currant, (Ribes alba)
Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa)
Nootka Rose (Rosa nootkana)
Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)
Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridum)
Perennial herbs:
Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)
Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Blue vervain (Verbena hastata)
Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
Bugleweed (Lycopus americanus)
Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Red clover (Trifolium pratense)
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Culvers Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
Turkey Rhubarb (Rheum frigidum palmatum)
Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
Garlic-chives (Allium tuberosum)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis)
Calamus root (Acorus calamus)
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Winter savory (Satureja montana)
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)
Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baikalensis)
Annuals: oats, potatoes, winter squash, Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris),
cucumbers, summer squash, corn, holy basil, basil, summer savory, calendula, blessed thistle, shallots, kale,
Weeds that I harvest:
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale),
Nettle-leaved Goosefoot (Chenopodium murale),
Chickweed (Stellaria media),
Lambsquarters, (Chenopodium album),
Redroot (Amaranthus retroflexus),
Lance-leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
Species in my 2017 Chimacum agroforestry planting:
78 species.
This is the planning list so new things will be added.
This list arranged alphabetically. We don’t know what the percentages will be until after the planting.
Trees:
No tall trees allowed in this planting.
Shrubs,
Aronia Berry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Black currant, (Ribes nigra)
Blue elderberry (Sambucus caerulea)
Chinese Witch-hazel (Hamamelis chinensis)
Red currant, (Ribes rubra)
White currant, (Ribes alba)
Crandall currant (Ribes odoratum)
Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)
Invicta gooseberry
Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
Biennials/Perennials grown as a one-year root crop
Burdock, Takinogawa (Arctium lappa)
Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris)
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
2-year root crops.
Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)
Turkey Rhubarb (Rheum frigidum palmatum)
4-year root crops
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)
Culvers Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
Ground covers
Red clover (Trifolium pratense)
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
Strawberry
Mulches
Annual crops
Ashwaganda (Withania somniferum)
Basil
Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus)
Borage (Borago officinalis)
Bush beans (I usually interplant a lot of trees and shrubs with beans in year one. It gives the trees nitrogen, forces them to put on height because of the side shading and I get big harvests of green beans).
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)
Groundcherry (Physalis peruviana)
Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum)
Lobelia (Lobelia inflata)
Marigold
Spilanthes (Spilanthes acmella)
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
Summer Savory
Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua)
White sage (Salvia apiana)
Perennial herbs:
American licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota)
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
Arnica (Arnica montana and A. chamissonis)
Beebalm (Monarda didyma and M. fistulosa)
Black Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)
Betony (Stachys betonica)
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Bugleweed (Lycopus americanus)
Butterfly Weed, (Asclepias tuberosa)
Calamus root, Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)
California Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica)
Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
Celandine (Chelidonium majus)
Codonopsis pilusola.
Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis)
Culvers Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Garlic-chives (Allium tuberosum)
Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Orris root (Iris florentina)
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Rue (Ruta graveolens)
Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Self heal (Prunella vulgaris)
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Winter savory (Satureja montana)
Weeds
We will learn what the weed flora is. We know:
Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Mallow Buttonweed (Malva neglecta)
Cover crop of oats and red clover on part of the area.
In year one I get a harvest of milky oats and oatstraw.
In the spring of year two it is turned in in as a green manure crop along with whatever weeds were growing.
Or, in year two I can go with a red clover blossom harvest which involves 2 or 3 mowings and it is tilled under at the end of the 2nd year.
Two examples of an infinity of planting combinations.
