- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Co (18 Mar 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1890132047
- ISBN-13: 978-1890132040
- Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 20.4 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,002,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
From the Author
Organic apple care
Somewhere between the ill-advised all-purpose spray applied on some backyard apple trees and 'wormy by default' lies the organic apple. The hand labor that goes into growing decent apples takes a diligence that can be practiced quite simply in the home orchard. Organic possibilities are realized through enhancement of soil health, an open approach to pruning, and a broad understanding of the pest dynamics at your home. I’d be less than honest with you were I to say fruit growing by natural methods is always convenient. I’d be more than honest to tell you nothing is more engrossing or challenging. Every experienced gardener shares this secret: the process that leads from bloom to harvest is filled throughout with joyful discovery. And all the more so when you begin to understand how each part fits within the whole.
Somewhere between the ill-advised all-purpose spray applied on some backyard apple trees and 'wormy by default' lies the organic apple. The hand labor that goes into growing decent apples takes a diligence that can be practiced quite simply in the home orchard. Organic possibilities are realized through enhancement of soil health, an open approach to pruning, and a broad understanding of the pest dynamics at your home. I’d be less than honest with you were I to say fruit growing by natural methods is always convenient. I’d be more than honest to tell you nothing is more engrossing or challenging. Every experienced gardener shares this secret: the process that leads from bloom to harvest is filled throughout with joyful discovery. And all the more so when you begin to understand how each part fits within the whole.
This century’s emphasis with fruit trees—and the purpose seemingly behind many of our seasonal tasks—has been to control the pest dynamics within the orchard to get a full crop. A shift of gears is necessary to acknowledge organic emphasis is directed more at balancing those dynamics. Ours are preventative and repellent measures more often than a toxic finality. Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) does kill moth larvae by inducing a bacterial stomach failure, provided the spray material gets ingested within those first days following application. But this is pest-specific material—unlike many organophosphate chemicals and the harsher broad-spectrum botanicals like rotenone and tobacco—that allows beneficial insects to continue to thrive and thus keep foliage pests in check. Garlic repellents applied to crop trees, on the other hand, persuade pests to find nearby crabapples or the wild plums. The garlic doesn’t make the potential pests disappear as much as redirect their reproductive focus provided an alternative is in place. These practices are based on knowledge of insect and disease life cycles and timed accordingly.
Fruit trees are lifetime friends. The orchard is home any season of the year. I hope you enjoy "The Apple Grower" as much as I enjoyed bringing this book together.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An easy reading, practical guide to orcharding,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Series) (Paperback)
The Apple Grower is, foremost, a guide to orcharding. It is not, and is not sold as, a how-to manual. Phillips clearly explains his experiences with organic orcharding and offers innumerable tips on managing, marketing, and maintaining an organic orchard. He covers the topics in a nicely organized and logical manner -- from selecting land for the orchard, to planting, care, and marketing of the product. At first, I lamented the lack of very specific and concise how-to information. However, as you read the book as a whole, you realize that you are learning far more than a simple how-to book. Phillips becomes almost an experienced mentor and gives real insight into why things work and the ramifications of practical actions. Phillips makes it clear that there will be bad times and that organic orcharding requires work. The rewards, however, are clear.Phillips has a very engaging writing style and uses relavant anecdotes to underscore important points. The Story of Babs (pp148-149), one of the mini-anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, is one of the funniest short stories I have read in quite a while. In all, this is a good practical guide written by an experienced orchardist.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
outstanding, comprehensive,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Series) (Paperback)
This is an excellent book for the innovative commercial orchardist or backyard grower. Phillips explains the concepts behind various approaches to pest control and fruit tree management. The sections on marketing are some of the best I've ever seen for any crop.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews) 31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very practical and a thoroughly enjoyable read,
By J. R. Mott - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Series) (Paperback)
As a budding backyard orchardist, I found this book to be very practical and a thoroughly enjoyable read - although I hasten to add that family farm commercial growers should find it invaluable. The book is a highly authentic testament that packs years of wisdom, written by a "man on the ground" with a generous spirit and a desire to share. Michael Phillips is an apple guy. He is particularly good at revealing the delicate balance between organic approaches to farming and the financial realities of being a farmer. Although the book includes plenty of hard-tack technical information, it is also anecdotal and thoughtful. Great bibliography and resource section at the back of the book.
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An easy reading, practical guide to orcharding,
By S. Brown "s_brown" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Series) (Paperback)
The Apple Grower is, foremost, a guide to orcharding. It is not, and is not sold as, a how-to manual. Phillips clearly explains his experiences with organic orcharding and offers innumerable tips on managing, marketing, and maintaining an organic orchard. He covers the topics in a nicely organized and logical manner -- from selecting land for the orchard, to planting, care, and marketing of the product. At first, I lamented the lack of very specific and concise how-to information. However, as you read the book as a whole, you realize that you are learning far more than a simple how-to book. Phillips becomes almost an experienced mentor and gives real insight into why things work and the ramifications of practical actions. Phillips makes it clear that there will be bad times and that organic orcharding requires work. The rewards, however, are clear.Phillips has a very engaging writing style and uses relavant anecdotes to underscore important points. The Story of Babs (pp148-149), one of the mini-anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, is one of the funniest short stories I have read in quite a while. In all, this is a good practical guide written by an experienced orchardist. 19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Apple Grower,
By Keith Halterman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Series) (Paperback)
A great book on small orchard management. It is especially helpful for a person interested in growing apples for the first time. The book guides you through orchard planning, care, pest control as well as marketing strategies for the small orchardist.
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