LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

By Liza Gabriel

 

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

 

When we moved to this abandoned hayfield in 2012, the first thing we did was plant a small orchard of 20 trees. In those first few years, we mulched to prevent weeds, learned to prune, and waited. I dreamed of our small children one day frolicking naked, picking and eating organically grown fruit.

 

All but one of the sweet cherry trees died, presumably because of the clayey soil. The others seemed to be thriving. Eventually, we had multiple years of epic peach harvests, perfectly ripe, sweet, delicious fruit. We filled our bellies, traded for beef or honey, and stocked the pantry with jars. The apples would produce some fruit, but the brown or mushy spots meant we let the birds have them. The plum and apricot trees were gorgeous, but never flowered. The Asian pears raged, in size and with fruit. 

 

Eventually, brown rot took over the peaches. We watched, devastated, as pounds of fruit mummified on the tree or rotted overnight on the counter. I had to do something.

 

In 2022, I focused solely on tree health. I meticulously reread the Holistic Orchard and made a schedule for our orchard accordingly. I spoke with orchardist friends (several of whom have written articles in this issue) and tried to learn about the diseases and insects that affect fruit trees, their dormant and active cycles, what and when to spray them, and, more importantly, how to make our orchard more resilient to attack.

 

I dug out my scythe from behind the electric mower in the shed and delayed mowing. I mulched with the mowed grass, wood chips, compost, and straw.  The delayed mowing and diverse mulching would avoid disturbing the soil ecosystem and build a diverse, active fungal network. I made teas with compost, horsetail, nettle, and garlic scapes and added these to my sprays.  I integrated the orchard into our chicken and sheep rotations based on weather and fruit bud development stage. I planted dozens of diverse perennials, such as comfrey, daffodils, nettle, chives, lemon balm, and bee balm, in the mulch ring of each tree to welcome pollinators, deter pests, fix Nitrogen, and provide way more than I am able. I picked off any fruit set that year, so the trees could just receive.

 

In 2023, a late Spring freeze killed all bud development on the trees (except the pears, of course, which seem resilient to everything). Perhaps the trees needed more time to receive my offerings. 

 

Since then, our peach and apple harvests have been abundant. In 2024, we harvested plums enough to make jam that lasted the year. In 2025, a warm spring meant we were even gifted a few dozen apricots - a well-discussed miracle of some growers in my area. 

 

The lessons from this orchard are endless. I've learned that it’s usually best to observe and not intervene. I’ve learned that no relationship works well without patience, acceptance, and reciprocity. 

 

Today, part of our orchard includes currants, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. And, from June to October, I watch my two young children run out the door to harvest their breakfast, usually completely naked.

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I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I do. It’s an excellent balance of practical and scientific information, with personal stories and reverence for fruit. A common theme throughout the articles is how much we receive from our fruit trees, not only in fruit but also in stability, serenity, peace, community, and more. 

 

Our upcoming themes are Women in Agriculture (deadline May 1), Organic Dairy (deadline August 1), and Agroforestry (deadline November 1).  I hope you’ll consider sharing your story - we’d all love to read it.   

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In This Issue
Cover Story

• Plant Pears for Your Heirs, a Story of Fruit and Friendship, by David Fried 

From Afield

• Sowing Solidarity, Cultivating Community: the Urgenci Symposium, by Elizabeth Henderson 

Policy

• Realizing the MAHA Agenda, by Steve Gilman 

• Black Farmers at the NYSABPRHAL Caucus, by Omowale Adewale 

Articles

• From Aviation Officer to Orchardist: An Interview with the owner of Autumn Harvest Orchard, Joanna Charon, by Xochitl Garcia 

• Organic Orchard Management: A New Paradigm, by Mike Biltonen

• Can You Taste a Place, by Autumn Stoscheck 

• Pruning & Chill Time,  An Interview with Founder of Old Frog Pond Farm & Studio, Linda Hoffman, by Donald Sutherland 

• The No-Spray Orchard: 20 Years at Redbyrd, by Eric Shatt & Deva Maas

• Keeping it Simple in the Organic Orchard, by Jason Townsend  

• The Joy of Peaches, by Chris Negronida  

• Late Season Apple Sprays at Hemlock Grove Farm, by Brian Caldwell 

• An Interview with Greg Peck, Cornell University, by Lauren Axford 

• Singing to the Apple Trees, by Maria Schumann  

• Lucky Damn Mess, by Melissa Madden 

• So You Want to Start an Orchard, An Interview with the Manager of Maine Heritage Orchard, C.J. Walke, by Richard Robinson 

• Less, But With Feeling, by Justin Kamm 

• Uncovering the Strawberries, by Amy Smith 

• Persimmon / Permission, by Timothy Lane 

• Lessons from Apples, by Abey Rae Scaglione 

• Going Nuts in the Northeast, by Jono Neiger 

• Bob Quinn: Forty Years Farming with Grain, by Katrina Stanislaw and Rachel Myers 

• Interview with Stuart Farr, Hudson Valley Hops & Grains, by Hannah Shafer 

• Regraining Ground, by Emma Davis  

• Garden Cover Cropping with Small Grains and Legumes, by Elizabeth Henderson 

Lessons from the Land

• Tasting Hope: One Year of Farming in the Finger Lakes, by Jonathan Dean

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Embodied Gift Economies 

• growing ourselves and seeding new worlds, by Petra Page-Mann, Evan Hoyt, and friends 

Book Reviews

• Radiance of the Ordinary, by Tara Couture, reviewed by Andrew Simon 

• Survival Gardening, by Sam Coffman, reviewed by Mary A. Nelen