A Successful Herb and Annual Vegetable Guild

12/18/23, 9:01 PM A Successful Herb and Annual Vegetable Guild - Permaculture
MENU 
Look for solutions 
A Successful Herb and Annual Vegetable Guild

Paul Alfrey from the Balkan Ecology Project explains how he's created the right herb and
vegetable guilds for his Bulgarian site, including using a local stream for irrigation and chickens as
pest for pest control and fertilising.
Paul Alfrey Articles
For the last eight years we have been experimenting with growing annual vegetables and herbs in guilds. Over the
years I have stuck with what works, discarded what has not, and now have what appears to me to be a good model of
productive ecological design. Productive in that it provides us with a harvest from early spring until early winter,
ecological in that it provides habitat and food for many other organisms too.
Our annual vegetable and herb guilds are situated in six raised beds each 1m x 6m and approx 30cm high with 50cm
paths between the beds. Surrounding the beds are a diversity of perennial plants including herbs, shrubs and trees
with some small ponds and various micro habitats such as rock piles, old tree stumps and stick piles. These six beds
are dedicated to annual herb and vegetable production and are the most intensively cultivated areas in the garden
providing us with the majority of our annual vegetables.
Design
The 1m x 6m bed dimensions enable access to the soil and plants without ever having to tread on the beds. The beds
are laid out on contour, lengthwise running east to west. This provides the plants within the beds with the maximum
amount of sunlight and determines that rainfall will collect on the northern side of the bed and permeate into the soil
slowly rather than draining away. This layout also enables us to flood irrigate the beds.
Irrigation
We are fortunate to have access to water channeled from a nearby mountain stream. When needed, we can divert the
water into the garden where it flows along the paths between the beds. We raise the water level to 15-20cm in any
particular bed by simply placing a barrier (sack filled with sawdust) at the end of a bed. The water is absorbed into the
soil and can travel vertically via capillary action.
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/a-successful-herb-and-annual-vegetable-guild/?_kx=EjIYy9U7H--slUx2c7bIWvGnuPpJBlKljiOtgGOGN9g%3D.VDuS7s 1/11
(Paths/irrigation channels in the garden)
Management
In the early spring when the temperature starts to rise we place a 1m x 3m bottomless chicken coop, with eight hens
inside, onto one half of a bed. The chickens will stay there for 3-4 days and each day we throw them in kitchen scraps,
grain, straw and a few shovels of compost. The chickens will relentlessly scratch among the soil and mulch picking off
the eggs of slugs and larvae, pupae of various arthropods. This helps to keep pest populations down. They also forage
for seeds in the soil and thereby reduce the emergence of undesirable plants in the bed. The chicken’s scratching mixes
up the organic matter we throw in daily and the birds contribute a ready supply of droppings as they go.
After three or four days we move the chickens onto the next half of the bed and the process repeats. The area cleared
is soaked well (or we wait for rain) and then mulched with a few buckets full of compost and a 20cm layer of straw
mulch (approx 3/4 of a bale). The mulch provides a good habitat for toads and lizards (in the spring, summer and
autumn) which are well positioned to pick off any slugs that venture in for the young seedlings.
Once mulched the stakes for tomatoes and beans are put into position. Large reliable germinating seeds such as
beans and squash are sown directly into the beds by pulling back the mulch and sowing into the soil. The other plants
(see below) are reared in pots and planted into the beds when approx 15cm tall and when the weather is suitable. Any
‘weed’ plants that grow around the edge of the beds are cut back before they set seed and used as additional mulch
throughout the year. ‘Weeds’ that grow within the bed are treated the same way. Note that the ‘weeds’ are not
uprooted only cut to ground level. The roots are allowed to decay in the ground or left to regrow until they are again
ready to ‘chop and drop’.
Around July the vegetable and herb plants are all well established with little room for ‘weed’ plants to establish. The
attention the beds require after July is mainly irrigating and harvesting until October. When the last of the harvest is
out of the beds the stakes are removed and the chickens are brought in for another 3-4 days to pick through the
vegetation. None of the plant material is removed from the bed, what the chickens leave behind is cut into small
pieces and applied to the surface as an overwinter mulch.
Plant selection
The plant selection differs slightly from bed to bed; all feature tomatoes, beans, basil and squash. Below is a
representation of one planting scheme that shall be the focus of discussion here.
(Representation of Annual Vegetable and Herb Guild)

This guild consists of 11 tomato plants (a different cultivar is usually planted in each bed) on the edge of the raised bed
for easy picking and to be in close proximity to the water when we irrigate. The tomatoes are tied to roundwood hazel
and alder stakes approx 1.5m high and 6cm diameter. The stakes provide perches for a number of bird species such as
Red Back Shrike and Spotted Flycatcher that can be observed feeding from insects in flight around the beds as well as
grubs and slugs on the bed surface and vegetation. The stakes also serve as snail traps. Snails will retreat up trees after
a night’s feeding in search for a shady nook to shelter from the coming sun. The snails climb the stakes expecting to
find the shade and are easy to spot and remove in the morning.
In between the tomatoes are planted 11 basil – Sweet Genovese which are reported to have a happy relationship with
tomatoes in the garden as well as the kitchen.
Beans are grown up wigwams forming large clumps of vegetation dripping with beans and flowers that tend to
clamber onto the surrounding plants by mid summer. The beans can potentially supply their own nitrogen via an
association with rhizobium bacteria that inhabit the soil. These bacteria extract nitrogen from the atmosphere and
deliver some of this to the roots of the bean. In exchange the bean provides the bacteria with sugars produced via
photosynthesis. At the end of the season the nitrogen taken from the atmosphere by the bacteria and fixed into the
tissue of the bean plants is added to the soil when the remains of the plants decompose in situ.
Tagetes erecta/petula – Marigolds are sown throughout the bed; they repel and confuse pests that are attracted to
plants by smell and they attract hover flies, the larvae of which feed on aphids. They also provide a beautiful sunset
orange to the vegetable beds and the flowers can be used in teas and salads.
Centaurea cyanus – The cornflower attracts Bombus spp. (bumble bees) which also pollinate tomatoes and squash, the
flowers can also be used in salads and for tea, specifically an ingredient of Early Grey tea.
Crawling along the ground and between the plants are the squash. The broad leaves from these plants shade the
roots of the other plants and prohibit the emergence of ‘weeds’.
The plants growing around the edge of the bed are self seeded native plants, around 15 different species. Many of
these plants are edible, some can fix nitrogen and others accumulate minerals from the subsoil. They also serve as soil
stabilizers, provide a buffer between the tender young plants and the slugs and snails, provide habitat and forage for
beneficial insects and provide a source of mulch and rabbit food. We simply chop and drop these plants before they
produce seed.
Harvest
The six beds together will provide us with fresh tomatoes from mid July – early October as well as 30 jars (approx.
30kgs) of preserved chopped tomatoes and six jars of sun-dried tomatoes.
Basil is also abundant and available fresh from late April-October, we dry a jar or two and make a few jars of pesto.
Fresh beans are available from May-October and we managed to harvest around 4kg of dry beans this year as well as
plenty of fodder for the rabbits and seeds saved for next year. Each bed will provide at least two large squash.
The self seeded native plants often consist of edible salad crops during the spring and autumn such as Chenopodium
album, Malva neglecta, Chichorium intybus and Plantago major.
Succession
It is possible to grow a succession of crops in the beds. The cold winters in Bulgaria restrict winter crops that can be
grown, however, garlic planted in the autumn can be harvested young (similar to spring onions) in April. The chickens
obviously cannot be used if you intend to have a yearly succession of produce within the guild and the quantity of
compost added to the beds would need be higher to support the increased production.
Related Articles
Read more from  gardening  grow your own  guilds  herbs  polyculture
Healthy Soil on the Microfarm
From Vegetable Garden to Microfarm
Spring in the Vegan Garden
November in the Seasonal Garden

Liz Zorab
Further Resources
Watch
How to Plan & Plant a Forager’s Garden
Books
The Forager's Garden
by Anna Locke
A Food Forest in your Garden
by Alan Carter
No Dig Organic Home and Garden
by Charles Dowding and Stephanie Hafferty
Edible Paradise
by Vera Greutink
Articles
Comfrey: Its History, Uses & Benefits
The Essential Guide to Hazel
About the Author
Paul Alfrey
Paul runs the Balkan Ecology Project in Bulgaria with his wife Sophie Roberts and their two boys Dylan and Archie.
View more from Articles
Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris): how to grow your own

medicine
Low-impact Diets – food from the forest garden Anne Stobart
Alan Carter
Articles Solutions
Articles
How to Plan & Plant a Forager’s Garden

Permaculture magazine
Videos
Solutions for Tackling Flood and Drought

The Regenesis Project
Articles
How to Grow Fruit Trees in Small Spaces

Three Counties Orchard Project
Comfrey: Its History, Uses & Benefits Videos
Paul Alfrey
Articles
Everything you Need to Know about Growing

Grapes
Paul Alfrey
The Many Benefits of Hugelkultur
Articles
Articles
Healthy Soil on the Microfarm

Articles
Trees and Shrubs for Boosting Heart Health

Anne Stobart
Articles
Healing Shrubs: Raspberries

Anne Stobart
Articles
From Vegetable Garden to Microfarm
Articles
ABOUT US SUPPORT SUBSCRIBE

The Team Donate Print
Privacy How you can support us Digital Only
Contact Us Submit an Article Institutions Print with Digital
Instituitions Digital Only
ADVERTISE DISTRIBUTION SOCIAL

Media Pack UK Stockists Facebook
US Stockists YouTube
Distributions UK. Europe, RoW & USA Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest
Join the permaculture family

Exclusive news, offers, and first access to new products. Sign up for our newsletter and get 10% off
your first book order.
Enter your email Subscribe
The material on this website is copyright 2023. You have the right to view these pages and where applicable, to copy these pages and any images to a cache
for reference by yourself only at a later date. You are not granted any other rights and the Web site owner reserves all other rights.The opinions expressed
on this website are not necessarily those of the publisher, Hyden House Ltd, and whilst we take every care in checking the validity of information presented
here, we cannot accept any responsibility for its accuracy or any liability for any form of damages incurred by the use of such information.

A Successful Herb and Annual Vegetable Guild - Permaculture

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Successful Herb and Annual Vegetable Guild - Permaculture

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

12/18/23, 9:01 PM A Successful Herb and Annual Vegetable Guild - Permaculture

Look for solutions 

Paul Alfrey Articles

(Paths/irrigation channels in the garden)

(Representation of Annual Vegetable and Herb Guild)

Healthy Soil on the Microfarm

From Vegetable Garden to Microfarm

Spring in the Vegan Garden

November in the Seasonal Garden

How to Plan & Plant a Forager’s Garden

About the Author

View more from Articles

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris): how to grow your own

How to Plan & Plant a Forager’s Garden

Solutions for Tackling Flood and Drought

How to Grow Fruit Trees in Small Spaces

Everything you Need to Know about Growing

Healthy Soil on the Microfarm

Trees and Shrubs for Boosting Heart Health

Healing Shrubs: Raspberries

ABOUT US SUPPORT SUBSCRIBE

ADVERTISE DISTRIBUTION SOCIAL

Join the permaculture family

Enter your email Subscribe

You might also like