The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way

Possibly the finest home orchard book ever written. Outlines earth friendly and organic methods of nurturing an orchard. Detailed information keyed to seasons makes it possible to incorporate activities throughout the year. Illustrative photos, glossary and index were also appreciated. First-time and long-time orchardist will find a wealth of proven information presented in this book. Whether you have a single first fruit tree or an acre of established trees, this is the book that will help you to keep them healthy and if necessary, bring them back to health. These methods worked for me.

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. This is the BEST book on holistic orcharding out there. While it's accessible, Phillips isn't afraid to get down in the dirt and go for technical biological details. A huge amount of information, but this didn't leave me wondering where to begin- he takes care of that by stepping you through the timeline and process. As soon as I'd finished reading, I started over and read it again. We all have areas that are more difficult for us than others, and some chapters will require me to study them carefully before I master the detail. I know I'll be referring to it frequently, and as my knowledge and understanding builds, I'm certain that I'll continue to gain insights from it through the years to come. This book has heft and value! Apples are listed as one of the dirtiest conventionally produced crops. When I started researching how to care for fruit trees it was a tough slog. I respect organic farmers deeply, but for many the basic bias is the same as conventional ag, just using less toxic chemicals. The problem is that if it were as simple as substituting less toxic chemicals EVERYONE would be doing it - no farmer really wants that crap around his home and family. Spraying isn't only a chore, but a hated one. When you need to wear protective clothing it's hard to feel good about you're doing, instead it encourages a war zone mentality. We war against insects, we war against disease. After studying organic, permaculture and biodynamic farming for 5 years, I finally stumbled across Elaine Ingham's work on soil microbiology, and became convinced that the key is maximizing the health of the biological critters in the soil, and finding ways to support them correctly so that they can support my apple trees. But this is all pretty new, cutting edge science, and figuring out how to progress from that understanding to an actual maintenance and treatment program was beyond me. I had bits and pieces of the puzzle. I renamed my sprayer the "Lunch Wagon" and began spraying enhanced compost teas and raw milk, preferentially feeding the "good guys" to allow them to get the upper hand. This book goes way beyond that. Michael Phillips pulls all of the disciplines together in a comprehensive approach. He's a real farmer who needs results, not an academic or an acolyte limited by a biased preference for one system or the other. An organic farmer for many years, he's willing and able to pull from biodynamic and permaculture principals to promote the biological content of the soil. Best, he does it with an orchardists' wisdom and understanding. Most of the materials/articles/books I've seen are focused on row crops, and the needs of an orchard are very different. We all want to understand our trees, the essential understory and the microflora and fauna that make up the ecology of the orchard; but practical advice for dealing with real life problems is critical. Phillips supplies both the understanding and the practical steps to take to achieve results. If you're committed to farming sustainably or if you just want a few fruit trees without poisoning your kids and pets with spray residues, take time to give this a thoughtful read!

I am turning a 5 acre urban forest into an urban orchard. Nothing grows there now because of the dense tree cover and resultant lack of sunlight. Permaculture and food forests are popular buzzwords, but it is annoying how much revolves around weekend seminars, which are expensive and time consuming. I prefer information from books, which can be referenced. Many books on permaculture are limited to the climate of the author, but the authors do not seem to realize this and do not make a note of it in the book's description. This book has helped me in two specific ways. I am in zone 5 USA, warm summers and freezing winters. I bought some blueberry plants in mid summer from a local store which had them on clearance sale. Using the information in the book, I was able to dig proper fertile holes and plant about 20, they all survived the heat and humidity. The second thing I am doing as a result of the book is taking down trees over the winter, preparing to plant clover and grass. The book states which clover is best to plant, though I can't find a reference source for the claim. So, I am planting red, crimson, white and yellow, along with orchard grass. Michael Phillips has also set up a website. The main thing I have learned is the one absolute requirement is sunlight, at least here, edible plants simply require at least 6 hours of light. (Perhaps some tropical plants require less.) Also, there does not appear to be any quick and easy ways to plan what to plant. Everyone seems to recommend some clover because they provide nitrogen and they are durable. This is a practical book and it is worth the cost for what I have learned so far. I hope to use it more in the future. Edit: I bought it as an electronic book and use the "search" feature to learn about specific plants or terms. I think the book works well this way and do not know if it would work well to read it all the way through. I can't imagine myself reading a book this big all the way through, as most of it would never apply to my situation.

I am having way more fun reading this book than I should. Moved onto a 2 acre lot with tons of old trees and just planted 11 new fruit trees. This book is giving me so much confidence to learn more about the biology of my yard and garden and our little “forest.” So many great tips and tricks. I’m having fun nerding out and sharing my new knowledge with my friends who are probably getting annoyed but are also cheering on my little Baby Crawford peach tree with me and the 4 cherry trees that my husband is (not) secretly hoping that I accidentally kill before we have to harvest all the fruit one day! This book is so great at sharing the science behind the reasoning for how to care for fruiting plants and trees. It shares the health benefits of the fruit. It even has a recipe for elderberry syrup to help treat viruses as they are coming on. My yard has a varied landscape and this book addresses ways to utilize the topography of it all! There is a reason that this author is quoted and plagiarized all over the internet and at every nursery. He is the OG of the fruit trees!

There is a lot of info in this book. I'm only 1/3 of the way through as of this writing but I've learnt so much already. Its' easy to read and easy to understand. I'm planted 10 one year old whips (fruit trees) on my property two years ago and the nursery I bought them from told me I didn't need to do anything special (i.e. compost, amendments etc. to make sure the soil is optimal for good fruit production). I'm glad I found this book because I am learning that the soil is very important and how to get it into proper shape specific to fruit trees. I found out about Michael Phillips because he gave a day seminar at the Guelph Organic conference in Ontario in Feb 2013. I wasn't able to go but one of the participants told me he read his book and highly recommended it. I bought the kindle version but now I kind of wish I bought the hard copy right off his website (I don't think amazon sells the hardcopy). It would be easier to see the pictures and underline and refer back to it. I'm also planning a larger scale commercial orchard so this book will be a great guide for success.....and this is all organic no chemical growing. Great book.

I agree with an earlier reviewer, the editor should have wielded a sharper pen, especially in the first 50 pages. It seems as if Mr. Phillips wrote with a thesaurus at his elbow and used most every word he could find. Mr. Phillips also has a "folksy" style that I found to be distracting. Another reviewer found this "folksy" style as "easy to read" so you be the judge. There is a lot of information and the extra verbage gets in the way. On the plus side, most of this style goes away and more straightforward style prevails (with lapses here and there). That said, I found the book to be full of information that I plan to use. The holistic sprays Mr. Phillips recommends are for the most part excellent ways for the orchardist to strengthen their trees. Mr. Phillips also explains the reasoning behind the sprays and the timing as well. His descriptions of insect and fungal pests gives great insight on how to interrupt pest life cycles. I will be changing the timing of my mulching because of what I read - I will wait til AFTER leaf fall to add fertilizer, compost and wood chips to cover fungal spores and prevent spread in the spring. I will be adjusting my pruning timing also, again to reduce the risk of infection. The last chapter sums up "The Orchard Year" nicely. One reviewer was disappointed becuse figs are not covered. That would be a nice addition to a revision. 4 stars because of the writing style. One last detail that goes to the publisher, Chelsea Green. The paper used for the cover is cheap, cheap,cheap! The cover was curling almost as soon as I opened the box. Use quality paper as if someone might want to keep the book for a while or maybe take the book out to the orchard!

I have been SO frustrated in my attempts to grow fruits organically these past eighteen years. Admittedly, I haven't devoted the time and invested the resources that I should have (now being enlightened by Monsieur Phillips), but, finally, I've found someone who writes well, is down-to-earth, has a sense of humor and is willing to share his experience and methods for GROWING ORGANIC FRUIT SUCCESSFULLY! I really enjoyed reading this attractive book and looking at the pictures, and have recommended The Holistic Orchard to several people and will include it on our web site's recommended reading list sometime in 2014. I'm pleased to have added this reference book to my extensive organic library and, as it contains such excellent advice, it is now my new favorite holistic orchard guide. I am looking forward to implementing the intriguing ideas outlined by Mr. Phillips starting this Spring and, hopefully, having my very own holistic orchard one of these days...IF I can get the d___m deer to stop EATING AND DESTROYING MY TREES! Did someone suggest organic venison chili?

I almost didn't buy this book because I live on the Olympic Peninsula, and most gardening books from the eastern U.S. are useless here. Not the case with this book! Last fall we added several fruit trees to our front yard, and this book tells me exactly what I need to do to take care of them, complete with a to-do list based on the tree's status (dormant, budding, harvest, etc.). My mistake was not getting this book first, because I could have done better with the tree selection and planting process, but my trees are still young enough that I can treat them right from here on out. As a result of reading this book, I have started calling my front yard "the orchard." This change in terminology also changes my attitude about the tree care. I learned to stop weeding under the trees, and I'm starting to build a nice understory for them. I have a whole new consciousness about the soil, and I'm working hard to create a healthy soil web for the trees. I've also planted berries (one thing I did right, to put in several berry plants near the fruit trees), and this book also helps with them. I now have numerous sticky notes on the book's pages, and I've highlighted many sections of the book for future reference. I'm sure I will refer to it again and again over the coming years. I just can't say enough about it.

Ich komme aus dem Bereich der konventionellen Beeren / Obstlandwirtschaft und habe auch dort eine Ausbildung genossen. Sehr viele Dinge die in diesem Buch sehr gut beschrieben sind, habe ich in meiner Ausbildung häufig nur sehr sehr mager präsentiert bekommen oder gar nicht. Dieser Mann hat sich wirklich ein großes Wissen angeeignet ... sein neues Buch über die Welt der Pilze ist auch sehr zu empfehlen. Mag sein, dass er vielleicht nicht bei allem richtig liegt und nicht jede Landwirtschaft so funktionieren kann .. aber man kann sehr wohl viel so übernehmen. Sollte jeder mal gelesen haben der Beerenobst oder Obstbäume sein Eigen nennt!

excellent work

I am mid reading - I had to wade through some botany terminology, but having cleared that up in a good old fashioned dictionary, I am getting it> Michael gives an excellent view of what has to be done and how to get it done. All one has to do to get it is clear up the terminology and underneath is the technique of how to grow well without chemicals. I am working through the steps in my field as I read. The book is a an excellent manual. I have a few other books on permaculture and organic gardening and this one is a very useful addition for the specific point of adding fruit trees to the mix.

LOVE this book! Information dense, sympathetic yet grounded and common sense approach. We use this book almost exclusively in the care of our orchard of about 30 trees. Highly recommend.

Too much good information with many references.