Patrick Mann wrote:A lot of us have read Michael Philipps "Holistic Orchard" and are applying some of his principles.
What do you think of his methods, in particular his regimen of organic sprays? Do you apply any similar techniques for pest control?
Michael Philipps has done the earth a HUGE SERVICE. He has helped lot's of people get off pesticides and approach a more holistic view on orchards. His part on the soil and Dr Elaine Ingham's research about fungal soils is so important to grasp for a tree based system.
I was there in the beginning with my Organic certified orchard that I used aerobic
compost tea on until one day it hit me that it does not matter that an organic orchard seems to be the epitome, it still did not function as a effective ecosystem. You have to REDESIGN THE ORCHARD to function as an ecosystem. The redesign (read rip out the organic orchard and replant) has solved most of the problems I had in the organic orchard. I kept some of the old
apple trees and now my old best trees are the worst trees in terms of disease resistance. REDESIGN ALL THE WAY.
I use one spray product, whey or lactoserum. From cheese making. It is not a fungus killer (you can drink it!) but it acts by outcompeting fungus spores for food. More on that in the film.
