Ideas & Reasoning

Crop Matrix

Expanded Crop Matrix

Plant Name	Type	Beneficial Properties	Companion Plants	Pollinators Attracted	Soil Requirements	Sunlight Needs	Water Needs	Growth Habit	Root Depth	Nutrients Needed	Nutrients Provided	Beneficial Insects	Harmful Insects	Planting Time	Harvesting Time	Pruning Time	Resource Harvesting	Regenerative Practices
Bigleaf Maple	Tree	Shade, Supports Understory	Serviceberry, Salal	Bees, Birds	Loamy, Moist	Partial Shade	Medium	Tall, Spreading	Deep	High organic matter	Organic matter from leaf fall	Birds that control pests	Aphids, Mites	Spring (Bare Root)	Late Fall (Sap)	Winter (Dormant)	Sap for syrup, Fallen leaves for mulch	Only tap mature trees, rotate taps, allow recovery
Yarrow	Herb	Soil Improvement, Pest Repellent	Lavender, Thyme	Bees, Butterflies	Well-drained	Full Sun	Low	Clumping	Shallow	Light, well-drained soil	Improves soil structure	Ladybugs, Predatory insects	Spider Mites	Early Spring	Late Summer	After flowering	Leaves for compost, Flowers for tea	Cut back to base after flowering to encourage regrowth
Lavender	Flower	Pollinator Attractor, Pest Repellent	Thyme, Echinacea	Bees, Butterflies	Well-drained, Sandy	Full Sun	Low	Shrub-like	Shallow	Alkaline soil, minimal nutrients	Repels pests, attracts pollinators	Bees, Butterflies	Aphids, Spittlebugs	Early Spring	Late Summer	Early Spring	Flowers for oil, leaves for sachets	Prune after blooming, avoid cutting into old wood
Clover	Ground Cover	Nitrogen Fixing, Soil Improvement	Wild Strawberry, Fava Beans	Bees	Loamy, Moist	Full Sun to Partial Shade	Medium	Spreading	Very Shallow	Rich in nitrogen	Fixes nitrogen in soil	Bees, Ground beetles	Slugs, Snails	Early Spring	Mid to Late Summer	After flowering	Cuttings for mulch, leaves for compost	Mow before seeds form to encourage more growth
Serviceberry	Shrub	Pollinator Attractor, Edible Berries	Bigleaf Maple, Blueberry	Bees, Birds	Well-drained	Partial Shade	Medium	Tall, Shrub-like	Moderate	Acidic, well-drained soil	Adds organic matter, attracts pollinators	Bees, Birds	Leaf Miners, Caterpillars	Late Fall (Bare Root)	Early Summer	Early Spring	Berries for food, branches for crafts	Trim after harvest, thin branches to allow light penetration

Explanation of Columns:

Beneficial Properties: What the plant contributes to the ecosystem (e.g., shade, pest repellent, soil improvement).
Companion Plants: Plants that benefit from being grown near this one.
Pollinators Attracted: Types of pollinators that are drawn to this plant.
Soil Requirements: The type of soil the plant needs to thrive.
Sunlight Needs: How much sunlight the plant requires.
Water Needs: The water requirements of the plant.
Growth Habit: The physical growth pattern (e.g., spreading, clumping).
Root Depth: How deep the plant's roots grow.
Nutrients Needed: Key nutrients the plant needs from the soil.
Nutrients Provided: Nutrients the plant adds back into the soil.
Beneficial Insects: Insects that help the plant (e.g., by pollination or pest control).
Harmful Insects: Pests that may harm the plant.
Planting Time: The best time to plant the seeds or seedlings.
Harvesting Time: When the plant’s resources (e.g., fruits, leaves, flowers) can be harvested.
Pruning Time: The best time to prune the plant to encourage growth or health.
Resource Harvesting: Details on how to sustainably harvest resources from the plant.