The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way Author: Michael Phillips | Language: English | ISBN:
B007SVDE3E | Format: EPUB
The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way Description
Growing tree fruits and berries is something virtuallyanyone can do—given wise guidance and a commitmentto observe the teachings of the trees. A holisticgrower knows that producing healthy fruit is not aboutmanipulating nature, but about supporting a balancedorchard ecosystem.The Holistic Orchard provides all the basic informationthat’s needed to create and maintain a living orchard. Detailed insights into orchard design and on choosingthe best varieties for your climate are included, along with a step-by-step instructional calendar to guidegrowers through the entire orchard year. And the extensiveprofiles of pome fruits (apples, pears, Asian pears,quinces), stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines,apricots, plums), and berries (raspberries, blackberries,blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries)will have you savoring the delicious prospects.In his groundbreaking first book, The Apple Grower,Phillips completely changed the dialogue about healthyorcharding. In The Holistic Orchard he takes this conversationeven further, exploring:• the connections between home orchardingand permaculture;• the importance of native pollinators;• understory planting with shade-tolerant berrybushes and beneficial insectary plants; and• safe, homegrown solutions to pest and diseasechallenges.Phillips’s enthusiasm for healthy growing shinesthrough, as does his ability to put the usual horticulturalfacts into an integrated ecological perspective.This book will inspire beginners as well as providedeeper answers for experienced fruit growers lookingfor scientific and field-tested organic approaches.Exciting times lie ahead, and there’s now every reasonto confidently plant that very first fruit tree!
- File Size: 17916 KB
- Print Length: 432 pages
- Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing (March 23, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B007SVDE3E
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,137 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #32
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Horticulture > Fruit
- #32
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Horticulture > Fruit
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would.
This is the BEST book on holistic orcharding out there. While it's accessible, Phillips isn't afraid to get down in the dirt and go for technical biological details. A huge amount of information, but this didn't leave me wondering where to begin- he takes care of that by stepping you through the timeline and process. As soon as I'd finished reading, I started over and read it again. We all have areas that are more difficult for us than others, and some chapters will require me to study them carefully before I master the detail. I know I'll be referring to it frequently, and as my knowledge and understanding builds, I'm certain that I'll continue to gain insights from it through the years to come. This book has heft and value!
Apples are listed as one of the dirtiest conventionally produced crops. When I started researching how to care for fruit trees it was a tough slog. I respect organic farmers deeply, but for many the basic bias is the same as conventional ag, just using less toxic chemicals. The problem is that if it were as simple as substituting less toxic chemicals EVERYONE would be doing it - no farmer really wants that crap around his home and family. Spraying isn't only a chore, but a hated one. When you need to wear protective clothing it's hard to feel good about you're doing, instead it encourages a war zone mentality. We war against insects, we war against disease.
After studying organic, permaculture and biodynamic farming for 5 years, I finally stumbled across Elaine Ingham's work on soil microbiology, and became convinced that the key is maximizing the health of the biological critters in the soil, and finding ways to support them correctly so that they can support my apple trees.
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