Growing Organic Apple Trees Growing Organic Apple Trees Growing Organic Apple Trees
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Somewhere between the ill-advised all-purpose spray applied on some backyard apple trees and 'wormy by default' lies the organic apple.    The hand labor that goes into growing decent apples takes a diligence that can be practiced quite simply in the home orchard.  
Organic possibilities are realized through enhancement of soil health, an open approach to pruning, and a broad understanding of the pest dynamics at your home.   
I’d be less than honest with you were I to say fruit growing by natural methods is always convenient.   I’d be more than honest to tell you nothing is more engrossing or challenging.  
Every experienced gardener shares this secret: the process that leads from bloom to harvest is filled throughout with joyful discovery.   And all the more so when you begin to understand how each part fits within the whole.
This century’s emphasis with fruit trees — and the purpose seemingly behind many of our seasonal tasks — has been to control the pest dynamics within the orchard to get a full crop.
A shift of gears is necessary to acknowledge organic emphasis is directed more at balancing those dynamics.  
Ours are preventative and repellent measures more often than a toxic finality.    Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) does kill moth larvae by inducing a bacterial stomach failure, provided the spray material gets ingested within those first days following application.   But this is pest-specific material — unlike many organophosphate chemicals and the harsher broad-spectrum botanicals like rotenone and tobacco — that allows beneficial insects to continue to thrive and thus keep foliage pests in check.  
Garlic repellents applied to crop trees, on the other hand, persuade pests to find nearby crabapples or the wild plums.  The garlic doesn’t make the potential pests disappear as much as redirect their reproductive focus provided an alternative is in place.   These practices are based on knowledge of insect and disease life cycles and timed accordingly.
Fruit trees are lifetime friends.   The orchard is home any season of the year.
I hope you enjoy "The Apple Grower" as much as I enjoyed bringing this book together.
The author, Michael Phillips, 1999
Now that organically grown foods are the latest culinary craze, the time has come for the organic orchardist.   Phillips, who grows apples without artificial pesticides or fertilizers in Northumberland, New Hampshire, provides instructions on growing and marketing.   Selecting the right site (weather, soil, drainage, and proximity to markets are considerations) and understanding the role of micro-organisms are top priorities, he insists.    Phillips gives instructions on planting, pruning, and training the trees, and on protection from frost.   There are chapters on pests and diseases, organic spraying, harvesting, and marketing.   Interspersed throughout the text are tips for backyard fruit growers, a bit of earth-friendly philosophy (Phillips' style of writing is best described as cornball), and lots of black-and-white photographs and illustrations.    A valuable basic guide for novice backyard and commercial apple growers. George Cohen Copyright© 1998, American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Apples

Apples

Growing Organic Apple Trees The Book of Apples
by Joan Morgan, Alison Richards, Elisabeth Dowle
Hardcover (1993)
This lovely and informative book is published in association with the Brogdale Horticultural Trust of Kent, England, which boasts the largest apple collection in the world, containing both ancient and modern varieties.    There is a detailed history of the fruit, starting with the Middle Ages, when most apples were destined for the cider press, and a directory of more than 2,000 of the world's varieties (with cider apples listed in a separate directory).   The directories provide a summary of each variety's (cultivar's) characteristics and history.    There is an appendix on cooking with apples, which contains 11 recipes, one on growing apples, and a third that lists apple organizations worldwide.    Thirty-two opulent color paintings and 70 black-and-white illustrations (including Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, of course) are included. George Cohen  Copyright© 1994, American Library Association. All rights reserved

Growing Organic Apple Trees Apple Trees
(A Lerner Natural Science Book)
by Sylvia A. Johnson, Hiroo Koike
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding (1989)
Discusses the growth and cultivation of apple trees and the development, harvesting, and storage of apples.

Growing Organic Apple Trees Research Index   Growing Organic Apple Trees Cooking with Apples
Growing Organic Apple Trees Apple Cider   Growing Organic Apple Trees Apple Cider Vinegar

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