We just got back from Eco-Farm Day, the annual conference of the Canadian Organic Growers. There were lots of great lectures on leaning the farm, recent research on cover crops, understanding fungi’s role in the eco-system. Far an away the most exciting part of the conference was the full day Sunday workshop on Holistic Orcharding, by one of our early inspirations, the man who wrote the book, The Holistic Orchard, Michael Phillips.
We ‘ve never met anyone as knowledgeable as Micheal on the every aspect of holistic fruit growing. His methods that go far far beyond organic standard, into ways to bolster and trigger plant immune responses, establishing and maintaining appropriate relationships between the mycorrhizae and your trees roots systems, as well as preventative disease and insect pest management, and so much else.
We read his book before we started the orchard garden. What a great refresher course and opportunity to delve even deeper as we head into what we hope will be the first year of commercial fruit production in the orchard.
