Unconventionally Grown!

Support your economy. Buy locally grown food. This apple is unconventional in that most apples consumed in America are either grown in Washington State or overseas. It was also grown on a small farm. We will always count our trees in the hundreds, not the tens or hundreds of thousands.

We also try to keep our sprays to a minimum and in a manner that meets or exceeds Organic standards. Our approach is called Holistic Orcharding. How is that any different? For one, Holistic Orcharding seeks a balance between the human need for food, and Nature's inclination to find our endeavours equally delicious.

Nature comes in many forms in the orchard. Insects are only one pressure. A range of bacteria and fungi also like to thrive on not only the fruit, but the leaves, bark and internal vascular system of the tree. Recent science has shown that among the things that prey upon apple trees, almost all target trees in the poorest health first because they are the least able to fend off the predator. Holistic orcharding first seeks to feed a tree and boost it's immune system, before trying to obliterate the predator. That approach is not cheap.

Our next response is to deter insects and disease. The last resort is an organic means of obliteration; which rarely results in a complete reduction in population of insect or micro-organism. Each year we try to emphasize nutrition, immune system boosting, and deterrence. Each year, we will list everything sprayed on these apples and why.

In the end, we feel that not only does this process produce a better tasting apple, it respects an ecosystem that has so far provided us with a comfortable existence. Could we be more productive per acre if we just cultivated the conventional way? Yes. However, the science is also there that indicates conventional means of growing crops is not congruent with a sustainable existence.

So, while our apples do cost more than most, they have the least negative impact on the Earth as a whole. Hopefully you find the process and product compelling enough to afford.

This year we applied the following to our trees:

EM-1, or effective microbes are the same set of bacteria that are currently being added to a range of consumer food products to help digestion etc. Primarily in yogurt, probiotics are helping people in many ways. On our trees, probiotics eat the layer of nutrients that are the first food source for a range of fungi and bacteria that then set about to eat the tree. By limiting that initial food source, we out compete and limit our exposure to those pressures. We spray them every two weeks from April to October.

SeaCrop is essentially desalinated ocean water that is then concentrated. The resulting mix of micro-nutrients and minerals boosts health and immune system. It gets sprayed with every application of effective microbes.

Kelp has been used as an amendment since humans have been keeping records; and probably alot longer. Ours is organic certified dried kelp harvested in Maine. It is a nutrient and is applied along with EM-1.

Fish and seaweeds in general have also been used for time immemorial as nutrients. We apply a 75% fish / 25% seaweed slurry from Neptune's Harvest in Gloucester Ma. They take what is left of a fish after filleting and in an organic process turn it into a liquid. They also source Atlantic seaweed and produce another organic liquid. It is applied bi-weekly April - July.

Neem oil is an extract from a tree native to Madagascar and India. It does represent our largest impact on nature as it has to be shipped from half way around the globe. The oil is extracted in an organic process and is basically inert to all life forms. Insects are not fond of the taste. We spray this product to deter them from eating the leaves and denuding trees, resulting in death loss. While the little rascals still take nibbles of many leaves, they sooner or later decide to seek something without neem on it. It is sprayed every time EM-1 is applied.

Karanja oil is a similar tree nut extract sourced organically from India. It acts as an anti-oxidant or immune system booster. It is sprayed every time Neem and the others are.

Two to three times a year, in between the nutritive applications and starting when fruits are less than one inch in diameter, Kaolin Clay is applied. This product is also inert, yet repulsive to a wide range of insects when they ingest it.

In addition, we apply organically certified fertilizers to the soil at the beginning of each growing season; a combination of commercial NPK and homemade compost and wood chips.

For more on Holistic Orcharding:The Holistic Orchard Growing Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way Michael Phillips