Apple Grower Hour
Call Summaries
Every Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. join organic apple orchardist and author, Michael Phillips, and other growers for the Organic Apple Grower Hour, starting April 24th.
May 15 call
May 8 call
May 1 call
April 24 call
Notes from May 15, 2008 call.
Participants: (16 total) Bill Wright, Green Bay, WI, Patty McManus, Madison, WI, Peter Johnson, Waupaca, WI, Sam Atkins, Bayfield, WI, Dierdre Birmingham, Mineral Point, WI, Rob Hartman, location unknown, Tom Galazen, Bayfield, WI, Ken Mandley, Turtle Lake, WI, Doug Waples, Soldier, IA, Jim Lindemann, McFarland, WI, Peter Werts, Bayfield, WI, Paul Rasch, Solon, IA, Bob Willard, Rochester, WI, Harry Hoch, La Crescent, MN, Lisa DiPietro, Madison, WI, Michael Phillips, Groveton, NH.
Discussion Topics:
Weather and apple tree stage in the Midwest and in New Hampshire. Supporting wild pollinators. Spring as an important time for tree nutrient take-up. Surround: spraying before pink; spraying at petal fall; frequency of sprays; mixing with sulfur or Entrust or neem oil. Importance of trap trees when using Surround for PC. Managing internal feeders (CM, LAW, OFM): CM virus, Dipel, Entrust, mating disruption, Trichogramma wasps. Use of table salt for thinning.
Here is a word from Michael aimed at abetting the conversation:
The beauty of this weekly call arrangement amongst organic-minded apple growers is the chance to compare observations of what has worked (and not worked!) in your orchard. It’s fine for me to take the role of “talking head” and roll through what I have learned about holistic orcharding. Yet our time together becomes that much more powerful when we interact and explore fruit-growing nuance. You can do this in a few ways. Do email me with observations on varietal vigor, insect happenings, weather patterns, soil test results, spray needs, specific queries, and what have you. That way – if you’re hesitant about too many folks speaking at once – I can still weave in your contributions. My email is michael@herbsandapples.com Second, if you do have a take on the subject at hand, regardless if your action was successful or an outright blunder, speak boldly. This is where we fine tune nuance, and with subtler methods particularly, we very much need to understand the background underlying every righteous-sounding idea. Lastly, encourage others in the fruit tree network to get involved. A number of experienced growers who filled in orchard profiles have yet to join us. The option of hearing the call later at your convenience is great but let’s not let that hinder live-and-inspired exploration. Yes, this talking hour sacrifices a valuable working hour. Yes, we’re all too busy to justify even a single moment inside on a fine day. But remember this: Curculio plot all the time . . . and I won’t even tell you what borers do . . . so now’s the time to put our human brains together and outsmart the whole lot. Viva la Compagnie!
If you would like to hear the call recording, dial (712) 432-1284, then enter this access code: 868736. Each week’s recording will be available until it is erased by the following week’s call. If you want to download recordings of the Organic Apple Grower’s Hour, contact Lisa DiPietro at ldipietro@wisc.edu or 608.265.3637.
Notes from May 8, 2008 call.
Participants: (13 total) Bill Wright, Brown Co Extension, WI; Jim Lindemann, McFarland, WI; Doug Waples, Soldier IA; Tom Galazen, Bayfield, WI; Linda Hezel, Kearney, MO; Deirdre Birmingham, Mineral Point, WI; Sam Atkins, Bayfield, WI; Harry Hoch, LaCrescent, MN; Bob Willard, Rochester, WI; Patty McManus, Madison, WI; Lisa DiPietro, Madison, WI; John Aue, Richland Center, WI; Michael Phillips, Groveton, NH.
Discussion Topics:
The stage of growth of apples in Midwest and NH. Sightings of oblique banded leaf roller in 3rd instar, rosy apple aphid, mite predators, flower thrips. Wetting periods/spore release at night. Problems with some university organic apple research. Thinning effect of lime sulfur. Organic orchard yields. Fertilization: ramial wood chips, fish spray, compost, compost tea, manure, Gro Pro, etc.. Organic regulations for compost. Disease resistant trees: single gene resistance vs. horizontal resistance, favorite scab resistant varieties. Honeycrisp and calcium problems. Compost tea and insect suppression
If you would like to hear the call recording, dial (712) 432-1284, then enter this access code: 868736. Each week’s recording will be available until it is erased by the following week’s call. If you want to download recordings of the Organic Apple Grower’s Hour, contact Lisa DiPietro at ldipietro@wisc.edu or 608.265.3637.
Notes from May 1, 2008 call.
Participants: (16 total)
Bill Wright, Brown Co Extension, WI; Jim Lindemann, McFarland, WI; Doug Waples, Soldier IA; Tom Galazen, Bayfield, WI; Maury Wills, Adel, IA; Linda Hezel, Kearney, MO; Paul Rasch, Solon, IA; Deirdre Birmingham, Mineral Point, WI; Dan Kelly, Canton, MO; Sam Atkins, Bayfield, WI; Peter Johnson, Waupaca, WI; Harry Hoch, LaCrescent, MN; Lisa DiPietro, Madison, WI; John Aue, Richland Center, WI; Michael Phillips, Groveton, NH; (one participant did not announce their name).
Discussion Topics:
The stage of growth of apples in IA, MN, WI, MO, and NH. Providing early spring forage for wild bees. Degree-day tracking for scab. Targeting definite spore release events by monitoring rainfall, temperatures.
Using lime sulfur as a kickback material. Thinning strategies: lime sulfur and fish oil. Increasing the apple tree’s systemic resistance to infection. Colonizing leaf surfaces with beneficial organisms using compost tea, Serenade. Penn State study of the effectiveness of several organic scab materials. Study showing fruit sprayed with fewer chemicals contain more anthocyanins (which are beneficial to health). Cedar apple rust on scab free varieties. Managing diseases on non-bearing trees. Using Dipel, oil, for red banded leaf roller and green pug moth
If you would like to hear the call recording, dial (712) 432-1284, then enter this access code: 868736. Each week’s recording will be available until it is erased by the following week’s call. If you want to download recordings of the Organic Apple Grower’s Hour, contact Lisa DiPietro at ldipietro@wisc.edu or 608.265.3637
Notes from April 24, 2008 call.
Participants (13 total):
Jim Lindemann, McFarland, WI, Ron Schaeffer, Chippewa Falls, WI, Dierdre Birmingham, Mineral Point, WI, Harry Hoch, La Crescent, MN, Tom Galazen, Bayfield, WI, Doug Waples, Soldier, IA, Bob Willard, Rochester, WI, Peter Johnson, Waupaca, WI, Linda Hezel, Kearney, MO, Bill Wright, Green Bay, WI, John Aue, Richland Center, WI, Lisa DiPietro, Madison, WI, Michael Phillips, Groveton, NH
Discussion Topics:
Determining whether participants' orchards are at similar points in the season: Growers reported on the stage of growth of their apples, how many degree days they had accumulated, and how much precipitation they had recently recorded. From the reports, we learned that callers' orchards were generally at similar points, with one orchard in cool Northern WI being behind the others.
Call Orientation: Michael emphasized that he considers himself to be one voice in a circle of very knowledgeable people; he invited growers to share their insights during the hour. He also mentioned that since participants have widely varying philosophies on apple growing, he hopes that everyone will be willing to listen to different perspectives.
Michel requested that growers tell him of any site that they might use to track their degree days. This will help him to stay informed about the what growers in the Midwest are experiencing.
Reducing the need to spray sulfur by promoting leaf decomposition and supporting the soil biology: Michael noted that sulfur based disease programs can vary greatly; from 2-4 sprays to 24 sprays. Using many sulfur sprays can damage the health of the orchard ecosystem. He pointed growers to his websites, HerbsAndApples.com and, for more information on managing disease and for a graph of the “fungal curve.”(which can be found within the orcharding article entitled “Honoring the Orchard Ecosystem”).
Michael explained that as we rapidly go into spring, it is the time to complete the orchard sanitation effort. Flail mowing, compost spreading, and liquid fish sprays will encourage leaf decomposition. Compost and liquid fish help to activate beneficial soil organisms, including a fungus that decomposes scab. Micheal recommends liquid fish over fish emulsion as it has more beneficial components. (The February newsletter found on GrowOrganicApples.com details fish products and provides source links.)
Michael has also introduced neem oil to help him reduce sulfur sprays. He uses raw neem oil because it has important components that neem formulations lack. Because raw neem oil solidifies when cool, the oil must be warmed before using it in cool spring weather, and the spray water must be somewhat warm as well.
When Michael does use sulfur (about 2-4 times a season) he uses micronized sulfur. He uses about 10 lbs micronized sulfur per acre. For those who may be anticipating a major release of spores at one time (60-70% spore release) he recommends up to the 15 lb rate. Michael does not recommend lime sulfur or copper – except in certain extenuating circumstances – because he considers these to be too damaging to beneficials in the soil.
Michael mentioned that due to consistent snow cover this past winter, ascospores will probably be maturing more quickly this year. John Aue concurred, and emphasized that this condition highlights the need to get the scab ascospore dose down.
The need for more research of unconventional methods. Michael noted that he is having success with his holistic approach, but that there is a frustrating lack of research to support and confirm the work of holistic orchardists. John Aue suggested that growers conduct experiments on their own orchards to see if they can observe any benefits to trying a more holistic approach. The research pages at GrowOrganicApples.com offer some ideas and initial results that Michael hopes to see considerably expanded in the years ahead as more growers become aware of this effort.
Reducing deer damage. If one wishes to stay in the orchard business for the long term, Michael asserts that one must get a deer fence. One grower reported having success with a 10-12 foot, very thick hedgerow as a barrier to deer.
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