Market Farming

["Rose & Fred Lieberman" <pyrite AT clarityconnect.com>]

Right now, I'm in the throes of acquiring catalogs, calling the "Fruit and
Vegetable Science" professor, and buying various publications.

I'm tired before I dig my first hole!

So, here's what I want:
.    about a half-dozen apple trees: 2 early, 2 mid, 2 late
.    a couple of pear trees
.    the goal is to supply our own home fruit needs and any spillover could
be sold thru the farmers markets where we will be anyway to sell our
cutflowers and veggies.

I will be planting other fruit - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries,
but not in the "orchard".

I spoke to my local (Cornell) fruit professor and he said the following:

.    organic doesn't mean no spray
.    no apple trees are immune to insects, although they may be immune to
disease
.    I, most likely, will not be able to get away with not spraying
.    pesticides with "natural" origins may not be less harmful than
their "synthetic/petroleum-based" counterparts


He offered the following cultivars as possibilities for me in central New
York, zone 5: Liberty, Williams Pride, GoldRush, Redfree, Jonafree,
Priscilla, and Enterprise.   He also said not to ignore the antique russets.

He also offered the following catalog choices:

Stark, Adams County, Wafler's, Bear Creek Nursery, St. Lawrence Nursery.

Two sprays to consider if I chose to go that way: Sevin and Imidan

I'm also ordering a couple of publications from Cornell, as well as the
NRAES (Northeast Regional Agricultural Extension Service).

The pub from Cornell is called The Home Fruit Planting.  That seems to be
the all around basic foundational info on the subject.  I also have a great
book "The Apple Grower: A Guid for the Organic Orchardist" by Michael
Phillips, published by Acres USA.

The author is decidedly on the organically grown side, but admits that the
intelligent use of a least-toxic pesticide makes all the difference between
having an edible crop and making apple sauce with insect parts.

He does talk about various traps - sticky and pheromone, and other no-spray
ways to manage pests, but depending on the insect stress in your particular
area, it may or may not allow for a "marketable" product.

Well, that's the extent of my knowledge about orchards.

I've decided to go for it anyway.  I'll probably use all the no-spray
techniques available.  If that works, GREAT!  If it doesn't I'll just simply
use the sprays that organic growers use.

Rose