2024 the best fruits review

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Winner of the American Horticulture Society Book Award

"Phillip’s first-hand knowledge anchors this innovative and highly readable book in practical wisdom that both beginner and long-time fruit growers will find invaluable."―Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden

Many people want to grow fruit on a small scale but lack the insight to be successful orchardists. As The Holistic Orchard illustrates, growing tree fruits and berries is something virtually anyone can do. A holistic grower knows that producing fruit is not about manipulating nature but more importantly, fostering nature.

The Holistic Orchard demystifies the basic skills everybody should know about the orchard ecosystem, focusing on:

Orchard designSoil biologyOrganic health managementGraftingPlantingPruningChoosing the right varieties for your climate

Includes a step-by-step instructional calendar to guide growers through the entire orchard year!

Fruit profiles include:

pome fruits (apples, pears, asian pears, quinces)stone fruits (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums)berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries)

Phillips completely changed the conversation about healthy orcharding with his first bestselling book, The Apple Grower, and now he takes that dialogue even further by exploring:

The connections between home orcharding and permacultureThe importance of native pollinatorsPlantings with shade-tolerant berry bushes and other insectary plantsInformation on cover crops and biodiversitySafe, 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. With The Holistic Orchard in your hand you have every reason in the world to confidently plant that very first―or next―fruit tree!

From the Publisher

Detailed Color Photos Throughout

Pear Bud Swell

Green Cluster

White Bud

Includes Detailed Color Illustrations of Key Concepts

"Biological terracing brings deciduous banking into full play. Uphill swales filled in with woodsy matter in dry areas can be used to retain moisture for trees planted on a slope. Conversely, the very ground being cleared to make way for an orchard (where rainfall is not an issue) can provide a similar mycorrhizal resource to build up the planting terrace in the first place."

Covers Pome Fruits, Stone Fruits, and Berries

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Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars

2,372

4.8 out of 5 stars

194

4.8 out of 5 stars

161

4.6 out of 5 stars

114

4.7 out of 5 stars

320

Price

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ALSO FROM CHELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chelsea Green Publishing; Illustrated edition (January 10, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1933392134
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1933392134
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 1 x 10 inches
Reviewer: Aurora
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: OUTSTANDING! The Real Deal.
Review: 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!

Reviewer: David Kincaid
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An Introduction to Real Permaculture
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Kate O
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: V
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Rustem
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Exactly what I have been looking for. I never leave it out of sight. Thank you.

Reviewer: Rizwan Khan
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: excellent work

Reviewer: Annette C.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great book that has enough detail to be read over and over again - many illustrations and photos; makes a well rounded and interesting read. Delivery was promt and even earlier than anticipated.

Reviewer: Konrad
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 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!

Reviewer: David
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 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.