Healthy, fertile soil is the backbone of any thriving garden, especially in a forest garden designed for resilience. Certain plants can naturally enhance soil quality, making them essential for survival gardening. These plants fall into three key categories: dynamic accumulators, nitrogen fixers, and hyperaccumulators.
Dynamic Accumulators, Nitrogen Fixers, and Hyperaccumulators
Dynamic accumulators have deep roots that mine minerals from subsoil, making nutrients available to shallow-rooted plants. Nitrogen fixers, through a mutualistic relationship with rhizobial bacteria, enrich soil with nitrogen, a vital nutrient for plant growth. Both types are ideal for companion planting in forest gardens or as ground cover and "green manure" to boost soil health.
Dynamic accumulators and nitrogen fixers can be grown near other plants (companion planting), which is why they work so well in forest gardening, or as a form of ground cover crop and "green manure." Your choice of specific plants to use will depend upon your particular location and climate, of course, but partial lists of both appear below.
Your choice of plants depends on your climate and location, but below are partial lists of dynamic accumulators and nitrogen fixers. Additionally, hyperaccumulators detoxify contaminated soils by absorbing heavy metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, and aluminum through a process called phytoremediation. For a detailed phytoremediation table matching toxic elements to specific hyperaccumulators, visit Wikipedia’s phytoremediation page.
Partial List of Dynamic Accumulators
- Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia - Canopy
- Dogwoods - Cornus spp. - Understory
- Arrowroot - Maranta arundinacea - Herbaceous Layer
- Borage - Borago officinalis - Herbaceous Layer
- Comfrey - Symphytum uplandicum - Herbaceous Layer
- Dandelion - Taraxacum spp. - Herbaceous Layer
- Indian Grass - Sorghastrum nutans - Herbaceous Layer
- Lemon Balm - Melissa officinalis - Herbaceous Layer
- Mint - Mentha sp. - Herbaceous Layer
- Stinging Nettle - Urtica dioica - Herbaceous Layer
- Switchgrass - Panicum virgatum - Herbaceous Layer
- Yarrow - Achillea millefolium - Herbaceous Layer
- Plantains - Musa spp.- Herbaceous Layer
- Alfalfa - Medicago sativa - Herbaceous Layer
Partial List of Nitrogen Fixers
- Alder tree and shrubs - Alnus spp. - Canopy or Understory
- Black Locust Tree - Robinia pseudoacacia - Canopy
- Kentucky Coffee Tree - Gymnocladus Dioicus - Canopy
- Russian Olive Tree - Elaeagnus angustifolia - Understory
- Bayberry - Myrica spp. - Understory
- Acacias - Acacia spp. - Canopy or Understory
- Most Beans - Fabaceae family* - Herbaceous Layer
- Peanuts - Arachis hypogaea - Herbaceous Layer
- Vetches - Vicia sp. - Herbaceous Layer Perennial
- Clover - Trifolium sp. - Herbaceous Layer
- False Indigo - Baptisia australis - Herbaceous Layer
- Scarlet Runner Bean - Phaseolus coccineus - Vine
- Wisteria - Wisteria floribunda - Vine
*Note: The legume family (Fabaceae), including beans, clover, alfalfa, buckwheat, and peanuts, is among the most accessible and effective nitrogen fixers.
Resources
Plants For A Future - Informative website and database listing over 8,000 edible, medicinal, and otherwise useful plants.
Building Soils for Better Crops - This book is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth background, from what soil is to the importance of organic matter. Availble on Amazon.
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