The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist PDF
Preview The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist
THE Apple Grower THE Apple Grower A Guide for the Organic Orchardist MICHAEL PHILLIPS REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION CHELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING COMPANY WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VERMONT Copyright © 2005 Michael Phillips. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Managing Editor: Marcy Brant Developmental Editor: Ben Watson Copy Editor: Laura Jorstad Proofreader: Nancy Ringer Indexer: Daniel E. Brannen Jr. Designer: Peter Holm, Sterling Hill Productions Design Assistant: Daria Hoak, Sterling Hill Productions Photographs credited to NRAES are reproduced with permission from the Mid-Atlantic Orchard Monitoring Guide, NRAES-75, published by NRAES, the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853, (607) 255-7654. Photographs credited to NYSAES appear courtesy of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 630 W. North St. Geneva, NY 14456, (315) 787-2341. All illustrations by Elayne Sears unless otherwise noted. Recycled Paper Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission, and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise on the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using soy-based inks, whenever possible. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative (www.greenpressinitiative.org,) a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The Apple Grower was printed on New Life Satin White, a 30 percent post-consumer-waste recycled, old-growth-forest-free paper supplied by Quebecor. Printed in the United States First printing, October 2005 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Phillips, Michael, 1957 The apple grower : a guide for the organic orchardist / Michael Phillips.— Rev. and expanded ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. eBook ISBN: 978-1-6035-8132-5 1. Apples—United States. 2. Organic farming—United States. 3. Apples. 4. Organic farming. I. Title. SB363.2.U6P48 2005 634'.1184--dc22 2005022386 Chelsea Green Publishing Company Post Office Box 428 White River Junction, VT 05001 (800) 639-4099 www.chelseagreen.com To my grandfather Arthur Llewellyn Phillips, Who had a community market orchard before I was born. To my dad, Robert Arthur Phillips, I so wish you could still be here to help pick the apples. And lastly, to an Inspiration, Ron Prokopy, Who helped teach apple growers how to think about bugs. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE Growing Apples Locally Apple Growing a Hundred Years Ago Today’s Integrated Pest Management Bringing It All Together Conventional Wisdom The Small Commercial Orchard in Context CHAPTER TWO The Orchard Site and Its Climate Sacred Slopes The Four Points of the Compass Dry Ground Zone Hardiness Windbreaks Biodiversity in a Fruit Orchard Proximity to Markets CHAPTER THREE The Enriching of Fruit Lands The Living Soil Compost Forever Soil Amendments Foliar Feeding Biodynamic Teachings Cover Cropping Ponderable Mulch Soil Tests and Leaf Analysis Trace Minerals for Every Tree CHAPTER FOUR The Trees and the Planting Cultivar Selection Rootstocks and Tree Spacing Nursery Sources and Varietal Collectors Grafting and Propagation The Setting of the Trees Orchard Size and Layout High-Density Plantings Down to the Nitty-Gritty CHAPTER FIVE Care of the Orchard Intuitive Pruning Training the Apple Tree Pollination and Fruit Set Frost Protection Thinning the Fruit The Great Grass Debate Mowing Options Summer Care Preparing for Winter Restoring Neglected Orchards CHAPTER SIX Apple Pests and Diseases The Beginning of Understanding Good-bye, Foliar Pests Insect Identification Bug-by-Bug Profiles Beneficial Insects Good Sanitation Fungal Diseases Other Diseases of the Apple Four-Legged Considerations CHAPTER SEVEN Spraying for Balance The Complexities of Nature All the Answers Aren’t Known, but We’re Gaining Timing Is Everything The Orchard Calendar Botanicals, Elementals, and Forbidden Fruit Gentler Sprays Spray Equipment for the Small Commercial Orchard Matters of Concern CHAPTER EIGHT Reaping the Harvest When to Pick Harvest Equipment The Apple Picker’s Reel Hiring Help Windfalls and Fat Sheep From Orchard to Packing Shed Grading Revisited Cider Making The Juice of the Apple Apple Storage CHAPTER NINE Marketing in the Local Economy Getting a Fair Price Apple Economics Niche Marketing Value-Added Products Quality and Appearance Organic Certification Advertising Marketing Innovations Long-Term Vision CHAPTER TEN The Last Organic Frontier The Sustainable Orchard Tree Spirit, Community Spirit Organic Perseverance Here We Come a-Wassailing Esopus Spitzenberg and a Better Tomorrow APPENDIX 1 Compendium of Orchard Tasks APPENDIX 2 Apple Grower’s Source List APPENDIX 3 Lost Nation Apple Recipes APPENDIX 4 Bibliography
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