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The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way
Many people want to grow fruit on a small scale but lack the insight to be successful orchardists. Growing tree fruits and berries is something virtually anyone with space and passionate desire can do - given wise guidance and a personal commitment to observe the teachings of the trees. A holistic grower knows that producing fruit is not about manipulating nature but more importantly, fostering nature. Orcharding then becomes a fascinating adventure sure to provide your family with all sorts of mouth-watering fruit.
The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the inner-workings of the orchard ecosystem, as well as orchard design, soil biology, and organic health management. Detailed insights on grafting, planting, pruning, and choosing the right varieties for your climate are also included, along with a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year. The extensive profiles of pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces), stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums), and berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) will quickly have you savoring the prospects.
Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further, drawing connections between home orcharding and permaculture; the importance of native pollinators; the world of understory plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants; detailed information on cover crops and biodiversity; and the newest research on safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges.
All along the way, Phillips' expertise and enthusiasm for healthy growing shines through, as does his ability to put the usual horticultural facts into an integrated ecology perspective. This book will inspire beginners as well as provide deeper answers for experienced fruit growers looking for scientific organic approaches. Exciting times lie ahead for those who now have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first fruit tree!
The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the inner-workings of the orchard ecosystem, as well as orchard design, soil biology, and organic health management. Detailed insights on grafting, planting, pruning, and choosing the right varieties for your climate are also included, along with a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year. The extensive profiles of pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces), stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums), and berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries) will quickly have you savoring the prospects.
Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further, drawing connections between home orcharding and permaculture; the importance of native pollinators; the world of understory plantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plants; detailed information on cover crops and biodiversity; and the newest research on safe, homegrown solutions to pest and disease challenges.
All along the way, Phillips' expertise and enthusiasm for healthy growing shines through, as does his ability to put the usual horticultural facts into an integrated ecology perspective. This book will inspire beginners as well as provide deeper answers for experienced fruit growers looking for scientific organic approaches. Exciting times lie ahead for those who now have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first fruit tree!
857 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2012
124 people are currently reading
1068 people want to read
About the author
Michael Phillips
2 books31 followersLibrarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 20, 2012
[I just finished the first 167 pages of the book - the rest is on specifics of diseases and varieties that I don't find relevant in my journey as an orcharder yet, and certainly not in bulk, all at once.]
I walked into Michael Phillips' talk at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference without much interest in orcharding. I knew we had one at school, but I'dn't been very interested in it. Phillips' talk didn't spur me to be interested in orcharding, but it did strike me as among the most wise and articulate expressions of my philosophy of sustainable agriculture: using healthy, diverse, and resilient ecosystems to produce food.
As I came into this summer as a SLUG intern, I had to pick my area of focus - I was interested in perennial polycultures and trees, so the orchard seemed like a natural fit. The orchard manager gave me this book to introduce me to orcharding, and it has lived up to the expectations Phillips created in his presentation.
The book begins with a comforting analogy: a new orcharder is just like a newly transplanted fruit tree. You grow slowly, gathering experiences and assimilating knowledge. You can't do it all at once - most of the book may not seem relevant or digestible yet. But one day, the reader might be just like Phillips!
Phillips eschews technical bits until late in the book. The first several chapters review orcharding basics like design and horticulture with an emphasis on ecology. Fruit, the most luscious and sugar-dense products in agriculture, seem to be unusually attractive to a range of microbial and insect pests, and all orcharding literature seems disproportionately aimed at combating these. Yet Phillips' answer is conventional neither to chemical nor organic farming - he eschews both chemical and mineral biocides in favor of system health. Biodiversity in the soil, the rhizosphere, on the bark, and on the leaves of trees keeps pests under the control of a rich web in which no part can become unacceptably dominant. This is precisely how I think agriculture ought to be done - building ecological stability, rather than tearing it down. Agriculture could easily represent a transition stage in a wild lands remediation program!
Yet Phillips' practice is often still strangely hypocritical in one way: he constantly emphasizes solutions based on local resilience, which rely on a strong immune system and not strong medicines. But he seems to use an undue amount of exogenous inputs to achieve that - from laboratory cultured "effective microbes" to pure neem oil from India or "liquid fish." These seem to get great results for Phillips, and they are certainly more benign than anything that must be drilled or mined, but they seem somehow out of step with his philosophy and I'd hope that future stages in the progression of organic orcharding can move beyond that (perhaps emphasizing aerated compost tea).
The central tenet of Phillips' ecological thinking is soil. The soil should mimic that of the adapted habitat of the apple - forest edges. That implies a much higher fungal component than what most annual vegetables enjoy. As an amateur mycologist and mycoculturer, I really appreciate this proper acknowledgement of fungi, and as someone interested in soil science, I appreciate the emphasis on dirt.
As a beginning orchardist, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of treatments Phillips prescribes for the orchard - SLUG's orchard has experienced a considerably more laissez-faire adolescence. Yet his philosophy articulates a vision for all kinds of sustainable agriculture I really identify with, and the book will definitely be a key resource as I grow branches and, eventually, bear fruit, as an orchardist.
I walked into Michael Phillips' talk at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference without much interest in orcharding. I knew we had one at school, but I'dn't been very interested in it. Phillips' talk didn't spur me to be interested in orcharding, but it did strike me as among the most wise and articulate expressions of my philosophy of sustainable agriculture: using healthy, diverse, and resilient ecosystems to produce food.
As I came into this summer as a SLUG intern, I had to pick my area of focus - I was interested in perennial polycultures and trees, so the orchard seemed like a natural fit. The orchard manager gave me this book to introduce me to orcharding, and it has lived up to the expectations Phillips created in his presentation.
The book begins with a comforting analogy: a new orcharder is just like a newly transplanted fruit tree. You grow slowly, gathering experiences and assimilating knowledge. You can't do it all at once - most of the book may not seem relevant or digestible yet. But one day, the reader might be just like Phillips!
Phillips eschews technical bits until late in the book. The first several chapters review orcharding basics like design and horticulture with an emphasis on ecology. Fruit, the most luscious and sugar-dense products in agriculture, seem to be unusually attractive to a range of microbial and insect pests, and all orcharding literature seems disproportionately aimed at combating these. Yet Phillips' answer is conventional neither to chemical nor organic farming - he eschews both chemical and mineral biocides in favor of system health. Biodiversity in the soil, the rhizosphere, on the bark, and on the leaves of trees keeps pests under the control of a rich web in which no part can become unacceptably dominant. This is precisely how I think agriculture ought to be done - building ecological stability, rather than tearing it down. Agriculture could easily represent a transition stage in a wild lands remediation program!
Yet Phillips' practice is often still strangely hypocritical in one way: he constantly emphasizes solutions based on local resilience, which rely on a strong immune system and not strong medicines. But he seems to use an undue amount of exogenous inputs to achieve that - from laboratory cultured "effective microbes" to pure neem oil from India or "liquid fish." These seem to get great results for Phillips, and they are certainly more benign than anything that must be drilled or mined, but they seem somehow out of step with his philosophy and I'd hope that future stages in the progression of organic orcharding can move beyond that (perhaps emphasizing aerated compost tea).
The central tenet of Phillips' ecological thinking is soil. The soil should mimic that of the adapted habitat of the apple - forest edges. That implies a much higher fungal component than what most annual vegetables enjoy. As an amateur mycologist and mycoculturer, I really appreciate this proper acknowledgement of fungi, and as someone interested in soil science, I appreciate the emphasis on dirt.
As a beginning orchardist, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of treatments Phillips prescribes for the orchard - SLUG's orchard has experienced a considerably more laissez-faire adolescence. Yet his philosophy articulates a vision for all kinds of sustainable agriculture I really identify with, and the book will definitely be a key resource as I grow branches and, eventually, bear fruit, as an orchardist.
November 10, 2012
Despite a wealth of information available about grafting, soil health, tree planting and pruning, there's one major area of orchard management that's tough for any beginner to learn: confidence. That's where Michael Phillips comes in. As a farmer in northern New Hampshire, he provides gentle-but-sure advice on holistic orchards in a way that's encouraging and valuable.
Beginning with a fascinating explanation of forest-edge ecology—which defines where fruit trees thrive best—Phillips moves into topics like fungal dominance, haphazard mulching, pulsing agents and more. He also tackles orchard design, horticulture, and orchard dynamics in tremendous detail, with abundant illustrations and photographs that give more clarity to his discussions.
In general, the sheer breadth of information presented can seem overwhelming, particularly for a beginner, but it's likely that those who are interested in getting started in holistic orchard practices will appreciate having such a thorough reference guide.
-Reviewed by Bossy E
Beginning with a fascinating explanation of forest-edge ecology—which defines where fruit trees thrive best—Phillips moves into topics like fungal dominance, haphazard mulching, pulsing agents and more. He also tackles orchard design, horticulture, and orchard dynamics in tremendous detail, with abundant illustrations and photographs that give more clarity to his discussions.
In general, the sheer breadth of information presented can seem overwhelming, particularly for a beginner, but it's likely that those who are interested in getting started in holistic orchard practices will appreciate having such a thorough reference guide.
-Reviewed by Bossy E
January 23, 2012
It really is the best book you can get on the subject. When his book The Apple Grower came out a few years ago, it was a big deal. This is bigger, the culmination of a lot of that work.
Phillips' book is dense, packed with charts, photos, diagrams, information, and lots of detailed footnotes. His holistic orchard systems methodology can be applied to pretty much any growing scenario, and is geared toward a permanent, long-term system balance.
He spends most of his time on apples. They're one of the hardest fruits to grow, and his specialty, so that makes sense. If you are interested in other obscure fruit, read this book and then go out and get Lee Reich's Uncommon Fruits book for more detailed information on gooseberries, currants, pawpaws, etc.
Phillips' book is dense, packed with charts, photos, diagrams, information, and lots of detailed footnotes. His holistic orchard systems methodology can be applied to pretty much any growing scenario, and is geared toward a permanent, long-term system balance.
He spends most of his time on apples. They're one of the hardest fruits to grow, and his specialty, so that makes sense. If you are interested in other obscure fruit, read this book and then go out and get Lee Reich's Uncommon Fruits book for more detailed information on gooseberries, currants, pawpaws, etc.
May 8, 2020
I found this book to be much more useful than The Apple Grower for my backyard orchard needs. Still, the layout of the book could use a major overhaul. There is a lot of good information in this book that is difficult to find. I shouldn't need to re-read the whole text when I need to reference a specific piece of information. But I find myself doing this often as I am going through the process of establishing a family-sized orchard this year. Information on planting trees, for example, is sprinkled across almost every chapter, and hidden within blocks of text with headers that don't immediately point you to the right passages. Better organization, and this book would get a high rating.
July 31, 2016
This book comes endorsed by Toby Hemenway, but is not as well written as Hemenway's "Gaia's Garden". It is dense and informative, but somewhat meandering in style and would have benefited from more structured editing.
I was sold on neem oil which is highly praised for many reasons throughout the book, and planned to buy some, but then discovered that it has been banned in the UK due to its harmful effect on bumble bees (I believe the study post-dates the book). See : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integ...
This means a lot of the recommendations in the book are out of date.
Nonetheless, Phillips is quite inspiring, and got me out into the garden in mid-winter to heavily mulch my mulberry tree in the hopes of creating "fungal duff". I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this spring.
I was sold on neem oil which is highly praised for many reasons throughout the book, and planned to buy some, but then discovered that it has been banned in the UK due to its harmful effect on bumble bees (I believe the study post-dates the book). See : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integ...
This means a lot of the recommendations in the book are out of date.
Nonetheless, Phillips is quite inspiring, and got me out into the garden in mid-winter to heavily mulch my mulberry tree in the hopes of creating "fungal duff". I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this spring.
September 29, 2019
Four years after starting, I made it through--but just barely. Phillips is a wealth of knowledge, but his writing is the worst: convoluted sentence structure bloated with strange combinations of vocabulary and peppered with inappropriately informal exclamations. This man desperately needed a good editor. Or maybe even ghostwriter.
As an example, here's a sentence he wrote:
"Curiously, feeding on Prunus species results in slug larvae having a different range of coloration that's more dark green in wet weather to orangish brown in dry times" (p. 226).
Here is what he could have written:
"Curiously, when they feed on Prunus species, slug larvae take on different coloration: darker green in wet weather, orangish brown in dry times."
A book with a few sentences like this would be tolerable, but practically every sentence is twisted into unnatural form like this. The oddest thing is that it's not an overly formal, academic book at all. Phillips is not shy about mixing in casual exclamations. This unnerving combination results in passages like this: "Phew! That's a whole lot of interdependent rock 'n' roll showing up in a relatively invisible world! Effective microbe cultures allow us to consistently introduce these synergistic organisms via the sprayer to our fruiting plants and the ground in which they stand" (p. 139). Seriously, what planet does this man live on?
But if you can get past the atrocious writing, there is clearly a lot of knowledge to be gained. Phillips focuses on increasing overall plant health to combat disease, and he knows enough botany to actually explain what nutrients plants use to stay healthy. His approach relies on what he calls "holistic sprays," which, in contrast to traditional sprays that focus on killing disease and pests, are sprays to amplify the plants' own defense mechanisms and encourage beneficials. He uses a mix of effective microbes (photosynthetic bacteria secrete nitrogenous compounds taken up by mycorrhizae, lactic acid bacteria improve calcium uptake, yeasts promote cell and root division), neem oil (isoflavonoids fight fungal disease, fatty acids feed beneficial microbes, azadirachtin reduces insect feeding and interferes with egg production), liquid fish (nitrogen to help pollen production, fatty acids), and seaweed extract, as well as fermented compost teas (silica in horsetail and nettle strengthens cuticle defense against summer fungi, comfrey provides calcium). Of course, he does use some targeted disease and pest control, but he does not encourage traditional organic methods of copper spraying, which throw off the ecosystem balance.
He also focuses a lot on developing and maintaining a fungal presence in the soil by using ramial wood chips, which are made from twigs of 7 cm or less in diameter. This newer growth, comprised of soluble lignins and cambium, has high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other essential nutrients, while older wood has high levels of carbon, which locks up nitrogen as it is decomposing. (The C:N ratio of ramial wood chips ranges from 30:1 to 170:1, while for stem wood chips it is 400:1 to 750:1.) In addition to containing nutrients, ramial wood chips encourage the growth of a layer of fungal duff, with mycorrhizal fungi delivering nutrients to tree feeder roots and saprophytic fungi helping further decomposition. He uses hay and leaves as well, but ramial wood chips are what really create a healthy ecosystem for fruit tree roots (or, as he says, "rock the biological kasbah"--groan). I must say I was pretty excited to see some "white rot" among my wood chips--and sure enough it was the part from the small-diameter branches.
He also notes that soil disturbance encourages bacteria over fungi, and one of the most interesting parts of his management plan is how to handle the mowing. He recommends leaving grass to grow through early spring to prevent disease spores from floating up to tree leaves, then mowing (which to him is scything) at fruit set, when the trees' feeder roots are growing. The mown grass and plants shed their extra root matter, providing space for feeder root growth, and the shorn growth is left as mulch.
Even if you get past the writing, though, this book could have been much better organized. I found myself having to go back to the beginning to figure out what he was talking about, struggling to find where passages were located. Often he starts by explaining one thing that doesn't make sense until he explains another thing later, such as when he talks about cation balance (p. 66). It's not a terribly difficult concept, but he makes it seem so by going into the details of cation exchange capacity before explaining why it matters--or ever explaining that he is using "cation" as a synonym for the macronutrients that plants need.
The saving grace to the organizational disaster is the Holistic Compendium at the end of the book, which lays out what to do throughout the year. I wish it noted down which pages to go back to, though, for more complete information. I went back and forth between two and three stars because I would be hesitant to recommend this to anyone, but I don't have anything to recommend in its place, though I suspect there are better books out there with similar information. I just have yet to find them.
Other gems of linguistic contortionism:
"Significant odds guide this harbinger of fungal disease to an unfurling leaf, where prolonged wetness facilitates hyphal growth of the spore" (p. 135).
"A number of tangents lie exposed in that spore scenario that suggest health-based courses of action rather than use of allopathic fungicides" (p. 136).
"The fact that the organo-sulfur compounds in garlic serve as synergistic carriers of silica and other nutrients from those teas into and through the cuticle simply rocks my herbal boat" (p. 149).
As an example, here's a sentence he wrote:
"Curiously, feeding on Prunus species results in slug larvae having a different range of coloration that's more dark green in wet weather to orangish brown in dry times" (p. 226).
Here is what he could have written:
"Curiously, when they feed on Prunus species, slug larvae take on different coloration: darker green in wet weather, orangish brown in dry times."
A book with a few sentences like this would be tolerable, but practically every sentence is twisted into unnatural form like this. The oddest thing is that it's not an overly formal, academic book at all. Phillips is not shy about mixing in casual exclamations. This unnerving combination results in passages like this: "Phew! That's a whole lot of interdependent rock 'n' roll showing up in a relatively invisible world! Effective microbe cultures allow us to consistently introduce these synergistic organisms via the sprayer to our fruiting plants and the ground in which they stand" (p. 139). Seriously, what planet does this man live on?
But if you can get past the atrocious writing, there is clearly a lot of knowledge to be gained. Phillips focuses on increasing overall plant health to combat disease, and he knows enough botany to actually explain what nutrients plants use to stay healthy. His approach relies on what he calls "holistic sprays," which, in contrast to traditional sprays that focus on killing disease and pests, are sprays to amplify the plants' own defense mechanisms and encourage beneficials. He uses a mix of effective microbes (photosynthetic bacteria secrete nitrogenous compounds taken up by mycorrhizae, lactic acid bacteria improve calcium uptake, yeasts promote cell and root division), neem oil (isoflavonoids fight fungal disease, fatty acids feed beneficial microbes, azadirachtin reduces insect feeding and interferes with egg production), liquid fish (nitrogen to help pollen production, fatty acids), and seaweed extract, as well as fermented compost teas (silica in horsetail and nettle strengthens cuticle defense against summer fungi, comfrey provides calcium). Of course, he does use some targeted disease and pest control, but he does not encourage traditional organic methods of copper spraying, which throw off the ecosystem balance.
He also focuses a lot on developing and maintaining a fungal presence in the soil by using ramial wood chips, which are made from twigs of 7 cm or less in diameter. This newer growth, comprised of soluble lignins and cambium, has high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other essential nutrients, while older wood has high levels of carbon, which locks up nitrogen as it is decomposing. (The C:N ratio of ramial wood chips ranges from 30:1 to 170:1, while for stem wood chips it is 400:1 to 750:1.) In addition to containing nutrients, ramial wood chips encourage the growth of a layer of fungal duff, with mycorrhizal fungi delivering nutrients to tree feeder roots and saprophytic fungi helping further decomposition. He uses hay and leaves as well, but ramial wood chips are what really create a healthy ecosystem for fruit tree roots (or, as he says, "rock the biological kasbah"--groan). I must say I was pretty excited to see some "white rot" among my wood chips--and sure enough it was the part from the small-diameter branches.
He also notes that soil disturbance encourages bacteria over fungi, and one of the most interesting parts of his management plan is how to handle the mowing. He recommends leaving grass to grow through early spring to prevent disease spores from floating up to tree leaves, then mowing (which to him is scything) at fruit set, when the trees' feeder roots are growing. The mown grass and plants shed their extra root matter, providing space for feeder root growth, and the shorn growth is left as mulch.
Even if you get past the writing, though, this book could have been much better organized. I found myself having to go back to the beginning to figure out what he was talking about, struggling to find where passages were located. Often he starts by explaining one thing that doesn't make sense until he explains another thing later, such as when he talks about cation balance (p. 66). It's not a terribly difficult concept, but he makes it seem so by going into the details of cation exchange capacity before explaining why it matters--or ever explaining that he is using "cation" as a synonym for the macronutrients that plants need.
The saving grace to the organizational disaster is the Holistic Compendium at the end of the book, which lays out what to do throughout the year. I wish it noted down which pages to go back to, though, for more complete information. I went back and forth between two and three stars because I would be hesitant to recommend this to anyone, but I don't have anything to recommend in its place, though I suspect there are better books out there with similar information. I just have yet to find them.
Other gems of linguistic contortionism:
"Significant odds guide this harbinger of fungal disease to an unfurling leaf, where prolonged wetness facilitates hyphal growth of the spore" (p. 135).
"A number of tangents lie exposed in that spore scenario that suggest health-based courses of action rather than use of allopathic fungicides" (p. 136).
"The fact that the organo-sulfur compounds in garlic serve as synergistic carriers of silica and other nutrients from those teas into and through the cuticle simply rocks my herbal boat" (p. 149).
May 30, 2021
I'm an experienced gardener who's suboptimally knowledgeable about growing and caring for fruit trees, so I was hoping this would be a good guide as I get into some of the less commonly grown fruits.
There's useful information here, but I found a good deal of it (especially as regards pruning) to be hard to follow and not correlated well with the diagrams provided.
The use of holistic jargon was off-putting as well. In general, I've found that people who speak of their "holistic" approach to health or life in general are trying to emphasize a greatly exaggerated for nonexistent superiority to existing methods, and/or attempting to sell inferior or unproven products.
There's useful information here, but I found a good deal of it (especially as regards pruning) to be hard to follow and not correlated well with the diagrams provided.
The use of holistic jargon was off-putting as well. In general, I've found that people who speak of their "holistic" approach to health or life in general are trying to emphasize a greatly exaggerated for nonexistent superiority to existing methods, and/or attempting to sell inferior or unproven products.
October 12, 2023
Longest read of the year so far. I'm planning on planting a small orchard (~20 trees) this winter/early spring and decided on this book to teach me everything I needed to know about fruit trees and having them thrive without pesticides. IT DELIVERED! Phillips offers a career of knowledge in this book that takes time to soak up, but once you do, you're left with very few unsolved questions, and the knowledge to take on almost any orcharding task.
As another review stated, the first 100-200 pages detail general practices for orcharding. The rest of the book is dedicated to specific fruits and berries and characteristics, varieties, and issues you could face with each one.
As another review stated, the first 100-200 pages detail general practices for orcharding. The rest of the book is dedicated to specific fruits and berries and characteristics, varieties, and issues you could face with each one.
March 14, 2021
You know when you get a tool or piece of equipment that is far beyond your capabilities as a user of it? That is this book. All of it won't apply to all readers but the majority of it, whether you're familiar with the topics or not, will be a learning, re-learning or reminder for all readers.
The author states in many places "this is not meant as a single read, rather come back to the over the years" and that is exactly right. There's so much here and I have so much to learn and acts that need to become second nature before applying some of this book.
I wish there could be more stars.
The author states in many places "this is not meant as a single read, rather come back to the over the years" and that is exactly right. There's so much here and I have so much to learn and acts that need to become second nature before applying some of this book.
I wish there could be more stars.
March 2, 2022
Cover to cover, end-notes, and glossary. Took forever, each paragraph has a powerful soporific effect. A single page could take three days. Seriously took four times as long as my average and I missed my personal deadline of finishing it before our annual Fruit Tree Sale.
The end-notes were actually my favorite part. There are 30 or more pages of them, in a very small font, but I feel you could skip the main text of the book and learn just as much by only reading that section. And the glossary was a very good refresher course for the arborist certification exam.
--- Just learned that Mr Phillips passed away the same weekend I finished his book. Sad coincidence.
The end-notes were actually my favorite part. There are 30 or more pages of them, in a very small font, but I feel you could skip the main text of the book and learn just as much by only reading that section. And the glossary was a very good refresher course for the arborist certification exam.
--- Just learned that Mr Phillips passed away the same weekend I finished his book. Sad coincidence.
May 6, 2018
Great book that goes in depth about hollistic protection spraying, various diseases and insect pests. Lots of good info on pruning, growth habbits and cultivar selection.
It has a North American perspective, but most of the advice is easily applicable to other parts of the world as well. It definitely has more information than I am ready to put to use just now (my trees are less than a year in the ground), so maybe in future times I might be inclined to give it 5 stars.
It has a North American perspective, but most of the advice is easily applicable to other parts of the world as well. It definitely has more information than I am ready to put to use just now (my trees are less than a year in the ground), so maybe in future times I might be inclined to give it 5 stars.
April 10, 2020
Awesome book to get you started on the biological path of orchard management. So excited to put into action the four holistic sprays of spring! I really feel from reading the book a much better understanding of the life and processes of fruit trees but also their pests and diseases and how to deal with them without poisions and still get good quality fruit
So much good info here! a must have for any serious non synthetic fruit growers
So much good info here! a must have for any serious non synthetic fruit growers
October 26, 2018
Няма друга подобна книга, която да ви даде модерен, холистичен поглед върху една овощна градина, без значение дали говорим за 3 фиданки в задния двор или 20 дка смесено насаждение. Видеата му са задължителни, а след това гледайте и The Permaculture orchard.
ps: Пиша това ревю с около 4 години закъснение, защото бях спрял да отварям гуудрийдс.
ps: Пиша това ревю с около 4 години закъснение, защото бях спрял да отварям гуудрийдс.
May 7, 2019
The only book about orchards I've ever seen or read that get's it . . . you must work with the mycorrhizal life. Period. Also, just plain delightful reading. Michael Phillips last words: "Growing healthy fruit is for thinking people who embrace being part of something slightly more than wonderful." :-)
December 2, 2024
I checked this out from the library hoping to learn something about how to prune my apple trees. When he started talking about the "fungal duff zone" in the first chapter, I just went and bought a copy. Honestly one of the best books I read this year, and hey, it won an American Horticultural Society Book Award when it came out in 2012.
April 1, 2021
This book, in combination with the American Horticultural Society's Pruning & Training, will set you up for life with your holistic permaculture orchard. I sincerely wish I had read it 7 years ago when I was getting started!
August 15, 2025
I'm planning to plant a small orchard next year and this book has been so informative! I definitely want to keep a holistic orchard, and this book has helped me plan for the future in ways I never even considered. It's also given me a much better understanding of the whole ecosystem of an orchard.
August 21, 2017
Great book. Easily explained concepts and instructions. Will be referring back to often.
December 29, 2017
Fantastic reference for the orchards. Full of great information if you live in the northeast. Blueprint for a second career, I think? Highly recommend if you grow fruit.
August 20, 2020
Best book on orgsanic orcharding out there.
April 19, 2021
Terrific resource
June 18, 2021
Excellent and very well written, informtive book on how to plant and care for an orchard using holistic methods.
June 28, 2021
Lots of good information in here. I need to get this book from the library in the late winter so I can prepare things in spring!
February 3, 2022
Spray wacky (but mostly non-toxic) crap on trees to make them more better at fruit.
July 2, 2024
A must have resource for fruit & berry growers.
September 29, 2025
I have so much to learn about tree fruit.
I will need this again just for the variety list.
I will need this again just for the variety list.
September 15, 2020
More of handbook than a read cover-to-cover. Very persuasive, chatty, but I wanted more of the science behind it all, worried that bits felt a little woo-woo.
March 24, 2021
I think I read this with the wrong expectations. I saw it widely recommended so expected it to be for a broad audience, but it is not a good read for a beginner planting a few apple trees in their backyard. You almost need a science degree to get through the sections on soil ecology. It also instructs you not to just get wood chips to improve your soil--you need wood chips made in a certain way from only certain kinds of wood.
The very extensive discussions of everything that could possibly go wrong with your apple trees--pests/diseases/etc.--make for a useful reference book but felt discouraging to me as a new apple grower.
From the title was expecting more info about what else to plant in the orchard to help the apple trees but focus was just on the soil and the trees.
The very extensive discussions of everything that could possibly go wrong with your apple trees--pests/diseases/etc.--make for a useful reference book but felt discouraging to me as a new apple grower.
From the title was expecting more info about what else to plant in the orchard to help the apple trees but focus was just on the soil and the trees.
January 20, 2016
What I love most about the Holistic Orchard is Phillips' ability to breakdown the need for a new view on holistic, natural tree care at times using an open spiritual philosophy, incorporating the best of permaculture. His incredible knowledge is scientific, encyclopedic and his endnotes are often times hilarious. His essential view is that we apply a broken health care model towards our plants. If there is a pest on your crops, kill it, poison it. Philips instead focuses on creating a healthy ecosystem that can weather diseases and pests. This book will teach you how to facilitate that healthy balance in your orchard to overcome any natural disturbances.
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