This workshop is full; join the waitlist.
Date: Saturday, March 11, 2017
Time: 9:00am-11:30am.
Location: Private residence; Soul Song Farm, 1246 Stage Road, Chester, VT
Cost: $35 early bird/ $40 after March 1. Must register in advance
Note: Participants should come dressed to be outdoors, bring snowshoes and a water bottle. Check-in, informal gathering and light refreshments served from 9 - 9:30 a.m. Program begins at 9:30 a.m.
We are grateful to the kindheartedness and generous support of Jeff Hanavan and Kate Lunde of Soul Song Farm for hosting this field intensive following Michael's talk on Friday, March 10. Pre-registration is required. Limited to 10 participants. Michael will be available to sign his books. Light refreshments served.
Program Details
Michael Phillips prunes a fruit tree.
The primary role of orchardists and gardeners is to build system health. Embracing forest edge ecology is critical when it comes to getting a leg up on fruit tree diseases and addressing pest challenges. Equally telling is the nutrient density—and flavor!—of the fruit and berries we then harvest for our families and communities. Come learn about fungal allies, root relationships, and the biodiversity that makes good fruit possible. Holistic orcharding involves a wide breadth of knowledge and timeliness, yet one fact stands clear—we can have beautiful apples, peaches, berries and the like, all grown without chemical intervention.
This small group intensive led by Michael Phillips will take place at Soul Song Farm in Chester and will focus on key elements growers need to know to plan and plant a fruit tree or berry orchard. Participants will learn Important health connections that in turn make fruiting plants better able to stand up to disease challenges and pests. A biologic approach to orcharding relies first and foremost on supporting system health.
Pruning methods will be discussed during this intensive. Participants will learn specific horticultural goals to keep in mind when deciding which limbs and shoots to remove in any fruit tree.
You'll pick up practical knowledge and skills whether you are a novice orchardist or an experienced one.
Stay informed about issues important to orchardists and backyard fruit growers by visiting Michael Phillips website www.GrowOrganicApples.com.
Special thanks to Kate Lunde and Jeff Hanavan of Soul Song Farm for hosting this juicy field intensive.
Participants should come dressed to be outdoors, bring snow shoes and a water bottle.
Meet Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips is renowned for helping people grow healthy fruit using herbal protocols. The “community orchard movement” that he helped found online provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His "Lost Nation Orchard" is part of a medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. He is the author of The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard, which recently received "Garden Book of the Year" honors from the American Horticultural Society. His work has been compared with Sir Albert Howard and J.I. Rodale’s classic books on organic gardening. Michael’s latest, Mycorrhizal Planet: How Fungi and Plants Work Together to Create Dynamic Soils, will rock you!