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Lost Nation Orchard


June 17 & 18, 2023 

Hands-on learning with Todd Parlo
of Waldon Heights Nursery and Orchard

 

This Orchard Intensive begins Saturday morning on June 17  at 10am and runs through Sunday afternoon June 18, till 4ish.

 

Cost: $350 includes instruction, materials, meals (lunch and dinner on Saturday; breakfast and lunch on Sunday) along with the cider tasting on Saturday evening.

To register, send a check to Heartsong Farm at this address:

Heartsong Farm

859 Lost Nation Road

Northumberland, NH 03582

 

or send $350 via PayPal to LostNationOrchard.NH@gmail.com 

Holistic Orchard Intensive

For many years Michael has offered an apple intensive weekend here at our Lost Nation Orchard. This annual event has been a long time favorite. Michael did the teaching and Gracie and Nancy did the cooking.

This year, Gracie will give a tour of our Lost Nation Orchard and we have invited Todd Parlo to carry on this tradition as our featured teacher. Todd is an experienced teacher whose orchard work and philosophy aligns with ours. Todd and Michael have been friends and fellow orchardists for years, so we know Michael would approve!

This organic apple everything weekend with Todd Parlo inspires people to pursue their own orchard dreams. Come gain the practical insights needed to establish your own fruit planting based on the biological systems approach used here at Lost Nation Orchard.

Holistic orcharding involves a wide breadth of knowledge and timeliness, yet one fact stands clear – we can have beautiful fruit grown without chemical intervention. Regenerative agriculture thrives when we have fun and get people involved with growing healthy food in the places where we each live. This course points the way for all orchardists to meet their unique site challenges. Our time together ends with a rambunctious wassail sure to kindle those hopes of offering the good fruit to one's own family and community.

Todd will lead participants in a walk through the orchard season. He will discuss the key role understory management and soil health plays in an organic orchard, and look at varietal and rootstock choices. Tree planting, pruning, grafting, branch training, and trunk protection will be woven into our time together along with a look at righteous equipment for the small-scale orchard. Todd will also identify insect and disease dynamics from a holistic perspective aimed at achieving maximum diversity, pointing out a few of the culprits and beneficial allies on hand around bloom time. Saturday evening includes a special farm to table four course meal paired with regional ciders and lots of good fellowship with other apple lovers.

 

 

a view of Lost Nation Orchard in bloom

What better place than here to learn about biological approaches to growing healthy fruit?
 
I mark as an important life pivot my experience of coming to see the deep web of relationships in the natural world through your books and the orchard intensive. Once you grasp the paradigm and gain the tools to engage and observe, the practice is endlessly fascinating. Entry for me was the key, and I thank you for that.
Pete Lankford, New Hampshire

 

Tree-Focused Curriculum

Michael will lead participants in a walk through the orchard season. We will discuss the key role understory management and soil health plays in a biological orchard, and look at varietal and rootstock choices. Pruning, grafting, branch training, and trunk protection will be woven into our time together along with a look at righteous equipment for small-scale orchards. Michael will also identify insect and disease dynamics from a holistic perspective aimed at achieving maximum diversity, pointing out a few of the culprits and beneficial allies on hand. Check out this past syllabus for fuller detail.

 

Michael teaching in the barn

Listening and learning together!

 

Lodging Options

We aim to be as accommodating as we can when people come to the farm for one of our classes. Setting up a tent to camp in the orchards and woods can be a great part of the experience. Two outhouses are available for what needs to be done. Understandably, some of you may want to spring for a real bed with private facilities. There are several places to stay nearby that come complete with a definitive share of northern New Hampshire character.

 

 

Seeing your farm firsthand after years of evolution was amazing. You share your orcharding knowledge with such passion that we [the students] go home fully enthused to do right by our trees.
Ian Colquhoun, New Jersey

About Todd Parlo

Todd Parlo is an orchardist, farm consultant and horticulturist living in Northeastern Vermont. He founded and operates Walden Heights Nursery and Orchard, a 25 year old certified organic family farm specializing in tree fruits, berry and vine plantings, and nursery stock. The arboretum contains over 500 distinct apple varieties.

Todd holds a degree in education and has taught classes in horticulture for decades, as well as consulting/mentoring for commercial farmers as well as homesteaders and gardeners.

He is the moderator and co-manager of the Holistic Orchard Network, a group created by Michael Phillips and dedicated to helping holistic, organic and biodynamic growers be successful.

He can also play the guitar and juggle.

Check out Todd's educational and inspiring website



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