Getting Started: Your First Food Forest Guild

A guild is the building block of every food forest. It's a carefully chosen group of plants that support each other, centered around a main fruit tree.

The Classic Tropical Guild

Here's a simple guild to get you started:

1. Canopy Tree — Mango or Avocado
2. Understory — Papaya or Banana
3. Shrub Layer — Pigeon Pea (nitrogen fixer)
4. Herb Layer — Lemongrass, Turmeric
5. Ground Cover — Sweet Potato
6. Vine — Passion Fruit
7. Root Layer — Cassava

Tips for Success

• Start small — one guild at a time
• Mulch heavily with wood chips or palm fronds
• Plant nitrogen fixers first to build soil
• Be patient — food forests take 3-5 years to establish

Your first guild is the seed of your tropical paradise.