Agroforestry and Native Plants
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Imagine three farms, each very different, but all with something in common...
One with rows of cider apples alternated with rows of salal—an “alley cropping” system offering salal cuttings for a local florist and berries for an amazing apple and salal berry cider.
A food forest of apples, plums, hazelnuts, currants, evergreen huckleberry, Oregon grape, wild ginger, coastal strawberry, and yarrow.
A Christmas tree farm where the stump and lower branches are left to regenerate new sprouts that will grow into a harvestable tree. Bear grass, sword fern, deer fern, and evergreen huckleberry are planted nearby to be harvested as floral greens.
These are all examples of agroforestry, where perennial trees and shrubs are integrated into agricultural systems. More specifically, they’re examples using native plants, which can help enhance the many benefits of agroforestry. Native plants provide habitat for native beneficial insects and wildlife that are important natural allies for pollination and pest control. Because native plants are adapted to our climate, they require less water and fertilizers. Increasing plant diversity increases soil microbe diversity, which improves soil health. Farming with perennials also reduces the need for tilling, which increases carbon sequestration.
Integrating native plants has the added benefit of deepening our relationship and understanding of our unique Pacific Northwest ecosystem. Consider adding some of the natives below into your farm, garden, or landscape and discover the relationships they forge with you, your wildlife, and other plants in your ecosystem.
Meet Low Oregon Grape:
This gorgeous evergreen has glossy deep green leaves and offers early spring blooms for pollinators such as mining bees, mason bees, and bumble bees. Oregon grape’s shade tolerance and berries that can be used for jelly or wine make this a great choice for the understory of a food forest. The vivid yellow bark of the stems and roots were traditionally used for dye and the bark and berries are also used medicinally.
Meet Pearly Everlasting:
This early successional blooms in mid-summer and may delight you with flowers until the first freeze of winter! The white flowers retain their color and shape when dried, making them perfect for floral arrangements and long-lasting bouquets. Pearly everlasting also has traditional medicinal uses and is used in some domestic herbal markets, making this a wonderful addition to young perennial alley cropping systems, combined with Christmas trees, or placed at the sunny edge of a food forest.
Meet Salal:
This mid-successional evergreen can tolerate sun, shade, and disturbance and still thrive. The dainty bell-shaped flowers bloom in late spring and the dark berries that ripen in the late summer and fall are wonderful added to fruit preserves and flavoring for ciders and liqueurs. Salal also has domestic and international herbal, floral, and specialty food markets, making it great in an alley cropping system or at the edges of a harvestable buffer.
If you have questions about agroforestry and incorporating natives into these growing systems, email Carrie Brausieck, Agroforester at cbrausieck@snohomishcd.org.
More Native Plants With Agroforestry Benefits!
Click here or the button below for a highlighted list of native plants with agroforestry benefits that are available through our Annual Plant Sale.
