"We’re talking about
the artistry of what we each do here, based on observation
and reasonable scientific speculation."
- Michael Phillips- Author of "The Apple Grower"
There are lots of terms out there today to
try to describe how our food is grown. For those of us
growing apples, "organic" is not the holy grail. Growing in
a truly sustainable, holistic manner is, or at least should
be; organic is just one part of this approach. Either way,
it is a very challenging way to grow. We
view our orchard management plan as part of our
responsibility as stewards of this property, which also
provides maple syrup, firewood, sheep pasture, grain, and
vegetables from our gardens. In order to be good hosts for
the creatures we share this property with, we choose
management practices that will be compatible with the
lifestyles of wildlife.
Thus, we encourage healthy trees with good pruning, a
diverse understory, and healthy soil. We also use the least
toxic pest and disease controls available; for example, to
prevent insect damage early in the growing season we spray
clay on the trees. This clay is irritating to insects,
especially those trying to eat or lay eggs on the trees,
but is not toxic even to the pests. We use very low amounts
of sulfur a couple of times in the spring to fight off the
apple scab fungus, which can prevent any edible apples from
developing on susceptible trees if left unchecked. Sticky
traps are set out in the summer to trap out the apple
maggot fly. And we try to pick up all drops, which might
harbor next year’s pests if left on the ground. All of
these approaches require close attention to what is going
on in the orchard, so that they can all be timed and
deployed in a way to maximize their efficiency, and
minimize the need for additional spraying. The safety of
these management practices is evident in the astounding
number of bird nests we see throughout the orchard, the
diversity of insects, spiders, and other small inhabitants
in the trees, and the frequent signs of larger visitors
including deer, bear, coyotes and foxes.
The outcome of these wildlife-friendly management practices
is an abundance of beautiful, healthy apples that are not
all the perfect round orbs you see in the grocery store. We
try to minimize but do not prevent pest insects and
diseases in the orchard; some of our apples have scars that
would make them unsalable in a mainstream
commercial setting, but are unblemished inside. Also,
trouble with specific diseases or pests vary across years,
and as we gain a greater understanding of the diseases and
pest problems we have, we will be able to develop and
refine our orchard management and will likely have fewer
blemished apples over time. Not to worry, we do in fact
have thousands of apples that are perfect and waiting for
you to eat them. And many of the less-than-perfect apples
will make great cider.
