Organic Orcharding: A Grove of Trees to Live In [Hardcover]

Gene Logsdon (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 415 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Press; 1st edition (November 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878573569
• ISBN-13: 978-0878573561
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gene Logsdon farms in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He is one of the clearest and most original voices of rural America. He has published more that a dozen books; his Chelsea Green books include Living at Nature's Pace, The Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening, Good Spirits, and The Contrary Farmer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complex book on simple living, December 29, 2002

By 

Brett Wolfe (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Organic Orcharding: A Grove of Trees to Live In (Hardcover)

My wife and I recently found a copy of this book and were greatly intrigued by the title. We really are sick of the "American Way" and want to buy our own land and get into organic farming, go "off grid" with solar and wind power and basically live life more simply. Pie in the sky? Hardly, as I have lived places where electricity didn't exist, and my wife and I are both into more simplified living, and we KNOW that there is a better way than the all-consumer all-the-time, fear and greed mentality that is the overriding trend in America in late 2002. So we got this book. And found it to be chock full of excellent and intriguing insights on organic orcharding. What trees go best with what, when they bllom and when to harvest. A great deal on the various varieties and general hardiness of a wide variety of fruit and nut trees. We were able to gleen valuable knowledge and look forward to the time we can stop dreaming and studying and start doing.

Now, I will also admit that this is not a 'perfect' book. Mr. Logsdon talks about a lot of things like you should already know what he is talking about. And even though he calls it 'organic' orcharding, there is a good deal of discussion about what sprays will work best for certain pests and viruses. To me, this is not what I am after. I want to know how to deal with these issues WITHOUT resorting to any poisons. Putting poison on your food is plain stupid. If you need to poison your food, it isn't worth growing, IMHO. However, this book came out over 20 years ago, and I really wish that there were a later edition with updates for new procedures and ideas. As there is not, I still feel that this book stands on it's own as a very useful tool for someone who wants to learn about organics and orcharding. Perhaps you are an orchardist and want to go organic? This book has ideas for you. Perhaps you are into organics and want to learn about fruit and nut species instead of just gardening? This book has information for you.

All in all, despite its few drawbacks as a 20 year old book, this is a book worth having if you want to be a small farmer growing your own good, clean, healthy food.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clever but not very helpful over all., November 9, 2011

By 

M. Verber (Buckingham, VA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Organic Orcharding: A Grove of Trees to Live In (Hardcover)

This is an OK book but not as indepth as I would like to help plant and maintain a serious orchard around my home. Lots of feel good philosophy and such but very restricted in types of fruit and their care. There are many more books out there that would be more useful to me.