Organic Apple Webinar--January 27

Organic apple growing webinar--Production and Marketing techniques

Once thought of as practically impossible, profitable organic apple production is now a reality for established apple growers from coast to coast. The techniques for successful organic apple production are backed up by research and recommendations from universities such as Cornell, Michigan State and Washington State.



Organic apple growers face many hurdles, from pest control and certification to marketing.

To find out what’s involved in profitable organic apple production, register for a free webinar titled Organic Apple Production and Marketing (A Beginner’s Guide).

Presented by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, this organic apple webinar will be broadcast Jan. 27 at noon Central Standard Time.


Topics to be covered in the hour-long webinar include:

# Overview and trends in organic apple production and marketing in the U.S.

# Organic apple production techniques for different regions of the country.

# Disease control with organic fungicides and disease-resistant varieties of apples.

# Insect and mite control with kaolin clay, pheromones, and new-generation pesticides.

# Farmscaping to optimize biological control with beneficial insects.

# Control of vertebrate pests in orchards such as deer and voles.

# Non-chemical weed control in organic apple orchards.

# Economics and marketing of organic apples — how can I make a profit?

Registration

The speakers for the event are Tammy Hinman, a horticulturalist, and Guy Ames, an experienced apple grower.

The webinar is free but registration is required.

To register for the webinar, visit this weblink: 

www2.gotomeeting.com/register/282739802

I watched this, did anyone else?  I am completely ignorant, or was, about apple growing, so the organic cultivation info -- mostly about pest and disease control -- was very interesting to me.  The marketing info not so much but maybe useful for those in the position to use it.

I watched the recording tho, not the live webinar, and so discovered that website has a ton of info, I bookmarked it and will explore more later.  this is focused on Appropriate Technology -- so meaning to support sustainable growing practices.......  probably some real good stuff in there tho not specifically a permaculture focus.

just thought I'd post a mini review and toss it out there, did anyone else check this out?  What did you think?

Here is their main website, from here it looks like you can access a ton of videos and documents.... 

http://www.attra.ncat.org/index.php

I am going to be honest, the description scared me away.  This is a permaculture forum and for me when you start adding fungicides, and chemicals it stops being that.  The only part that intrigued me was,

Farmscaping to optimize biological control with beneficial insects.

but the rest made me not want to look, specially being on a farm w/out highspeed access.

Pakanohida wrote:
I am going to be honest, the description scared me away.  This is a permaculture forum and for me when you start adding fungicides, and chemicals it stops being that. 

Sounds like greenwashed industrial farming to me.  As an alternative, here's a book about Akinori Kimura's "Miracle Apples":

http://imaginepeace.com/miracleapples/?p=56

The man’s name is Akinori Kimura. The first time I met him was at the end of 2006, some twenty years after the time he’d spent days staring at inchworms under his fruitless apple trees.

‘Miracle apples’ was what people called them. Miraculous or not, getting hold of them was certainly difficult. With a third of the apple juice made from his apples being bought by a certain politician, and a French restaurant in Tokyo serving an exquisite soup made with his apples, his order books were full for one year ahead. I’d heard endless such rumours. He has spent the best part of thirty years growing apples without using pesticides. I was sure he’d be the cranky type, but when I called him from Tokyo to ask for an interview, he sounded charming.

Wow, I am reading and absorbing.. thank you so much for the book!!! 

Yes, thanks for the book!

Just to say, too, the webinar was really not that great as I said, it was focused largely on pest management of various kinds and then some on marketing.  However, it was organic based, no pesticides or chemicals involved.  Even so, not very great.  The one thing I found really most interesting was the info about the different conditions in different areas of the US and how that affects apple growing.

No, not permaculture by a long shot, but I will still probably visit around some of their other material.  Maybe I will learn something.