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The apple garden story book6/13/2023 ![]() ![]() Yes, every so often Phillips gets a bit touchy-feely, with occasional odd mentions of the astral theories of plant life of some guy named Rudolf Steiner. All of this is well written and seems to have the appropriate level of detail. Phillips is particularly enamored of a new kaolin spray called “Surround”-so much so that it’s either extremely good or he owns stock in the company! Finally, Phillips discusses harvesting and marketing apples. “The Apple Grower” discusses care of trees, from planting to pruning, and spends a lot of time on apple pests and their (organic) control. Some of the most interesting of these concern apple advice from earlier times-the early 20th Century or the 19th Century, and how much of that advice is still valid (and was often forgotten in the days when chemical sprays became the norm). Throughout the book Phillips has interesting sidebars, which (unlike in some other books) are not filler, but add detail or color to topics he’s covering. Occasionally, he assumes the reader will have equipment available that a casual apple grower is unlikely to have, such as a tractor to till-but the small-scale, not-for-profit grower can doubtless figure out how to accomplish necessary tasks without such equipment. Phillips also discusses cultivar selection, noting that ultimately small changes in geography can make different cultivars desirable, and also that what you want out of the apples dictates which cultivars you choose. So, for example, he discusses at length whether mown grass, unmown grass, or tilled cover crops make the most sense for directly underneath and between trees. He discusses, throughout the book, how to enrich the soil-his approach, as seems current among organic devotees, is a permaculture approach, viewing the local ecosystem, from fungi to predators, as a coherent whole. ![]() Phillips covers siting an orchard in detail, and also discusses briefly other fruit trees in the context of a mixed-fruit orchard. However, I don’t think readers like me should therefore be discouraged from growing apples with a disciplined organic approach, even if it’s not as easy as setting out some plants, relaxing, and harvesting. That still means a lot of work, though, if for no other reason than to damp down the amount of insect and other pests attracted by apples. But reading “The Apple Grower,” I conclude that someone like me can do a lot less work, and accept a much higher rate of attrition from pests, yet obtain a plentiful supply of apples for eating, cooking and cider. To achieve that with organic methods, rather than with frequent spraying of organophosphate pesticides, requires constant attention and work, all of which Phillips covers very well. To make a profit, you have to have saleable apples in large quantity, which means fairly large, flavorful, and not damaged (unless you are making cider, a topic Phillips covers, but not in detail). Phillips pitches primarily to an audience who are small scale organic apple producers for profit. So, if you’re like me, and planning on planting and maintaining ten or twenty apple trees for my family’s own personal use, this book shows you very well how to do that. Rather, it appears to me (very much a non-expert) that apple growing isn’t possible to do casually, so “casual apple grower” is a very small group, consisting of those who pick a few apples of varying quality from their trees and let the rest drop. That doesn’t mean that another, simpler book would be better for the casual apple grower. “The Apple Grower” is an excellent book, but not one for the casual apple grower. In fact, anyone serious about succeeding with apples needs to have this updated edition on their bookshelf. The author's personal voice and clear-eyed advice have already made The Apple Grower a classic among small-scale growers and home orchardists. How to make a small apple business viable by focusing on heritage and regional varieties, value-added products, and the "community orchard" model The use of kaolin clay as an effective strategy against curculio and borers, as well as its limitationsĬreating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem through understory management of plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms Some of the cuttingedge topics he explores include: Since The Apple Grower first appeared in 1998, orchardist Michael Phillips has continued his research with apples, which have been called "organic's final frontier." In this new edition of his widely acclaimed work, Phillips delves even deeper into the mysteries of growing good fruit with minimal inputs. Yet it is possible to grow apples responsibly, by applying the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation. ![]() For decades fruit growers have sprayed their trees with toxic chemicals in an attempt to control a range of insect and fungal pests.
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