Leaves are turning gold and starting to fall, marking the end of a cycle of growth and the beginning of another as the leaf donates its goodness back to earth. All those tiny openings left by detached leaves makes it a prime time to get a biological spray on – nothing beats it for strong, robust, productive trees.
My favourite mix of EM and slow brewed NZ seaweed or hydrolysed fish coats fruit trees and the surrounding ground in a crew of beneficial organisms that out-manoeuvre and out-compete detrimental fungi and bacteria. Whoever occupies the space wins!, so get the good guys on the job.
A thriving life force boosts ‘good’ fungi for balanced nutrition and speeds decomposition so infected leaf litter and fruit mummies disappear by spring – too good! Neem can be added in the same mixture as an extra layer to smother/ prevent hibernating pests.
Copper is what we have traditionally reached for, but I encourage you not to. It has a much bigger impact than we’ve realised, and really sends the world of your garden reeling. Backwards infact, if you consider forwards to be a resilient, low input orchard.
Persistent, fungal disease means you need to look at your whole orchard system and chip away at improving all the layers. Often the solution is as simple as removing the beleaguered trees and choosing a variety that is stronger and better suited to your environment.
As you build strength, fungal issues will abate. And in those seasons, where pathogenic fungi raise their head – your strong, diverse system will handle it A-OK. All you need do is fill the space (trunks, branches, leaves, ground) with beneficial organisms and leave no room in the house for anyone else. It works!
Thanks to Michael Phillips, “The Holistic Orchard”, for all his teachings