I put this dirt on it in July. I have no idea where this soil came from, just free stuff. Looked like the kind the city makes from ground trees and such. The apple tree was sitting in a bit of a hole. I don't know if filling the hole was a bad idea or not. The dirt has since settled, and the chickens spread it around a bit, so I don't think I buried it. We'll see.
My next trick was straw and a legume mix.
I've since cut a ring around the tree to plant daffodils. The soil, if you can call it that is six inches deep, and then near rock solid. Anyway I planted ten bulbs around the tree. I covered the disturbed earth with straw and then the straw with leaves raked from the sidewalk.
In the spring, I think anyway, the rest of the guild will be planted. Comfrey, artichoke, yarrow, nasturtiums, dill, fennel, dandilion, chicory, plantain, clover, fava beans, goumi, bladder senna, siberian pea shrub are all under consideration.
