Feb. 12 update – the orchard seminar was incredible.  Full house, lots of energy, people leaving the seminar in the afternoon apparently full of info.

The Thursday, January 31, 2013 full-day ORCHARDING seminar  SOLD OUT SOLD OUT SOLD OUT – DO NOT COME IF NOT PRE-REGISTERED.

Michael Phillips will present a full-day program, sponsored by Ecological Farmers of Ontario.  Michael is an expert organic orchardist from New Hampshire, who will offer his skills, knowledge and tips on fruit production.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT INFO ON WORKSHOP TIMES – you must be at UC103 by 9.45 am (at the latest) to register:

**Starts at 10.00 am in Guelph University Centre Room UC103 (south end of the building) – see campus maps

**Goes till noon, then a lunch break till 1.15 pm

**Starts up again, same room, 1.15 pm-4.15 pm

**By January 14th, order the organic $12 box lunch which will be delivered to the room, (see REGISTER HERE – this lunch available by pre-order only) or buy lunch in nearby café.  NETWORKING: over lunch, many workshop participants will stay in room UC103 to network with other guests and to talk with EFO staff

THE FULL DAY MICHAEL PHILLIPS SEMINAR PROMISES TO BE ONE OF THE BEST OVERALL PRESENTATIONS EVER OFFERED AT THE GUELPH CONFERENCE.

Note that EFO members (and students with valid student I.D. CARD) will receive the discounted $40 CDN + HST rate for the full-day program.  If you are not yet a proud member of the Ecological Farmers Of Ontario, please consider joining before mid-January, to get the $40 rate.  The rate for all others is $65 + HST  -  See: www.efao.ca  -  Note that EFO, with roots going back to the 1979 era in Ontario, is one of the Official Sponsors of the Guelph Organic Conference.  As such, while you are at the Feb. 2-3 Organic Expo in the Guelph University Centre, you can meet EFO staff in the middle of the Main Level Expo ‘power alley’ and purchase all of their courses, tours, books and other materials.  Get involved – join EFO !

Orchard Health With Michael Phillips

 

Join Michael Phillips for an in-depth workshop on the in’s and out’s of orchard health, geared towards fruit-growing enthusiasts.

Fruit tree culture has been stuck in allopathic mode for far too long, solely seeking out short-term fungicides and antibiotics to destroy disease-causing organisms from without. We never understood that the tree’s own immune ability could be coupled with the stimulation of friendly microbes to defeat disease from within. Looking at fungal progression and bacterial opportunism in the light of competitive microbes, balanced tree nutrition, and primed immune function changes everything. Yes, we will review the old school ways of mineral fungicides and what place that might still have. Yes, we will “go deep” in terms of understanding how to reinforce the arboreal food web and balanced nutrition from the perspectives of the soil food web and soil chemistry. Growing flavorful, nutrient-dense fruit requires that we invest in a robust biology rather than react to symptoms. This full-day program with orchard health expert Michael Phillips will inspire you to recognize the paramount priorities in your own home or community fruit planting.

BIO

Michael Phillips is known across the continent for helping people grow healthy fruit. The “community orchard movement” that he helped found at www.GrowOrganicApples.com provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard is part of a medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. Michael’s newest book, The Holistic Orchard, speaks for all fruits and recently received Garden Book of the Year honors from the American Horticultural Society.

 

LATE BREAKING NEWS

DO NOT COME TO THE GUELPH UNIVERSITY CENTRE IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY PRE-REGISTERED.  SORRY.

 

BUT ! LOOK AT THIS – space still available. — he is having a welcome dinner in downtown Guelph at Artisanale so if you want to take in this part of the festivities, register directly with ARTISANALE – Attn: Ami.  Thanks to Artisanale French Country Cooking for doing this.