Tree Pittsburgh & Grow Pittsburgh Present Small Scale Orcharding Classes

Apple photo by Liz West, "Muffet" October 2005, via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution

Tree Pittsburgh and Grow Pittsburgh present a fruit tree-focused class, Small Scale Orcharding, taught by Michael Phillips, renowned organic and holistic apple grower and author of the bestselling book The Apple Grower (1998). The class will cover orchard basics with a focus on small spaces and community gardens, and will include holistic orchard management practices and organic growing fundamentals.  Register for a Small Scale Orcharding Basics class here!

The one-day will run from 9am-4pm, and will be offered Friday July 13th at Chatham Univeristy’s Eden Hall Campus in Pine-Richlard and Saturday July 14th at the Carnegie Library in Homewood. Preregistration is required.

Chatham University’s School of Sustainability and the Environment is co-sponsoring the class at Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus where a historic orchard is being stewarded as a heritage orchard. Small Scale Orcharding is made possible through a grant from the Alliance for Community Trees and the USDA People’s Garden Program. The Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees) People’s Garden Grant Program is a new national initiative launched in 2012 to explore and deepen the connection between trees and urban agriculture. With support from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture,
ACTrees has provided funding to 30 communities in 21 states to plant trees that produce fruit
and nuts or provide shelter to community gardens.

Class Description:
Friday July 13th, 9am-4pm, Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus (15 miles from Pittsburgh)

Special Outdoor In-Orchard Component: 

Small Scale Orcharding Basics & Practical Orchard Health: This class will have include this outdoor orchard component. Understanding the underlying principles for growing healthy fruit becomes clear when walking through an orchard with Michael Phillips at the height of the growing season. Major insect challenges can be resolved safely and organically when you perceive who, what and when. Dealing with disease from a holistic perspective requires an in-depth understanding of nutritional cause-and-effect. Biodiversity brings in untold connections. The challenges you face at your locale will become far more manageable as you build a holistic system that keeps trees and berry plantings healthy from the get-go.

OR

Saturday July 14th, 10am-5pm, Carnegie Library in Homewood

Zoom in on holistic orchard basics with Michael and thereby add “fruit sufficiency” to your list of neighborhood skills. Finding room for an array of tree fruits and berry plantings in community gardens and even the tightest yard setting becomes that much more fun when you have the confidence to do things right!  

Register for either of these classes here!