The Apple Grower: Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: lost nation, slender spindle, pure neem oil, Michael Phillips, New York, Alan Eaton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review

Northern Woodlands

by Carl Demrow

Spring 2006



As anyone who has ever planted a few apple trees knows all too well, growing apples can be a perplexing and frustrating endeavor. The trouble is that apples are very attractive to many of nature’s creatures besides humans. And at least one of these creatures, from deer to apple maggot flies, and from the roundheaded apple tree borer to mice (not to mention the long list of diseases that also affect apples), is sure to be working for its share of the fruit (and in some cases the tree) every day of the year. But if you’ve ever baked a pie made from your own apples, or pressed a batch of cider from them, the trials and tribulations all seem worth it with that first bite or sip.



Michael Phillips’ revised The Apple Grower has as much help as you’ll find anywhere to get you to that first bite of pie or sip of cider. The previous edition, published in 1998, was the bible for many backyard orchardists and commercial organic growers. The new edition, boasting color photos and expanded and better-organized chapters, is a real treat for anyone interested in apples. The new edition’s chapter on diseases and pests will be helpful to those left scratching their head about who or what is eating the apples or trees they are trying to grow.



Phillips sprinkles tributes to other apple growers throughout the text. These persistent and dedicated souls, along with Phillips, are exploring uncharted territory: they are trying, without the use of traditional pesticides and chemicals, to keep ever-evolving pests and diseases away from trees that are themselves not evolving. All named apple varieties are genetic dead ends. A Macintosh today is genetically identical to a Macintosh from a century ago, but the bugs and diseases have spent that time evolving to break through the trees’ defenses.



Phillips presents intriguing ideas about orchard soils. Since people started growing apples in orchards, those orchard soils have largely been bacterially based, meaning that fertility has been maintained by the addition of bacteria-laden manure. Sheep and cattle were allowed to graze the grass and eat dropped apples, adding manure to the soils, and often the orchard was formerly pasture or hayfield, where manure was regularly added to maintain fertility. Bacteria-based soils are great for grasses and hay crops, but not necessarily for trees.



Phillips argues that apple trees are still, well, trees, and like other trees, they prefer forest soils, which rely mainly on fungi to break down organic matter such as bark, wood, and other plant matter to maintain soil fertility. Phillips believes that this soil is what apple trees naturally want, and that it makes them healthier and better able to deal with pests and diseases. He has been experimenting with using fast-growing comfrey in his orchard, cutting it down to add rotting plant matter and to stifle the growth of grass, which can rob an apple tree’s surface feeder roots of nutrients. He advocates adding composted branches, bark, wood chips, and even excess chunks of sheetrock to your orchard to promote the fungi in the soil and deter grasses.



Phillips’ style is more writerly than reference. His homespun stories about his many years of trying to outwit and outmaneuver the legions of apple-loving creatures are both entertaining and packed with tips. Phillips’ extremely handy compendium of orchard tasks has always served as my basic plan of attack for what to do in my orchard, and the revised and expanded edition will be a welcome addition to my library. I have no doubt that over time it will take on the grimy, thumbed-through, and well-used look of my copy of the first edition of The Apple Grower.

Product Description

The definitive guide to growing apples wisely, naturally, and with gentle impact on the earth. For decades fruit growers have sprayed their trees with toxic chemicals in an attempt to control a range of insect and fungal pests. 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. 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. Some of the cuttingedge topics he explores include:

* The use of kaolin clay as an effective strategy against curculio and borers, as well as its limitations

* Creating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem through understory management of plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms

* How to make a small apple business viable by focusing on heritage and regional varieties, value-added products, and the "community orchard" model

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green; 2nd edition (November 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931498911
• ISBN-13: 978-1931498913
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Fruit
  #26 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Organic
  #32 in	Books > Home & Garden > Sustainable Living

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Apple Grower by Michael Phillips, February 22, 2006

By	Fedco Trees (Waterville Maine) - See all my reviews

The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist
by Michael Phillips, 320 pages, 8x10, softcover, 2nd
edition. Whether you consider yourself to be a novice
or an experienced orchardist, if you want to grow
apples organically, this is the book for you. For many
decades apples were high in toxic residues, but
thankfully, that is finally changing. A great deal of
research is underway on lessening the use of synthetic
poisons in the orchard. The results in the past few
years are heartening. Since The Apple Grower first
appeared seven years ago two important products for
the organic orchardist, Surround and Entrust, have
become available. It is now quite possible to grow
very decent apples organically. This revised and
expanded version includes apple growing basics from A
to Z, as well as the latest research and strategies
for successful organic orcharding. A lot of us have
been begging Michael to update his book and we're
thrilled with the result. He has read the studies,
done the interviews, tested the products and found an
effective way a way to organize the information and
communicate it to the rest of us. Even if you already
have the first edition, you still need this
substantial revision.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Resource!, January 26, 2008

By	Lynetta Anne "lynettaann" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I LOVE this book.

I'm particularly impressed with the density of information: too many hobby farm/small farm books take a once-over-lightly approach, but this one is deep on detail. I also appreciate the discussion of seedling trees: typically I've seen them ignored or dismissed as irrelevant. The discussion of root stock is a help too; before this I've seen it only discussed in terms of it's limiting factor on size, but this also introduces issues of hardiness and climate appropriateness. The book is incredibly thorough while reminding the reader that there are no "cook books" to growing organic orchards, it's still an art and science that is being developed.

I spent the first few years of my life on an old-fashioned orchard and have never recovered. Now, after 30 big-city, corporate years the world is circling back to the kind of orchard I've always longed to have, and this book is filled with invaluable information on how to proceed. Next year I'm headed back to the country, this book in hand, to make a home and create a backyard cider orchard. I know it's hard work and the best of it may happen after I'm gone, but this book gives me the courage to begin and information to guide me as I figure it out.

I hope within 5 - 10 years I'll be toasting the author with my own apple cider!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good find for apple growers, or potential growers!, July 26, 2006

By	The Local Farmer "Tim" (MN) - See all my reviews

I think this a very well written, well laid out book that could help you get started in the apple orchard business. The thing that I find most interesting about this book is that you don't need to be dedicated to organic methods to learn an enormous amount from this book. It is full of general information to aid in the whole process of growing apples.