Author: Todd Parlo
Anoka
Mercer X Duchess of Oldenburg : selected 1918, introduced 1920. Anoka is a large apple with yellow skin striped and patched with red. A good apple for pies and sauce. Pick early for firmer piemaking. Only good fresh eating if … Read more
Walden Heights in the News
Species variety in the Orchard
Haralson
History : A Malinda cross, the pollen parent formerly thought to be Ben Davis, but DNA testing has shown that Wealthy is the likely pollen parent developed at the University of Minnesota. Selected in 1913 and released in 1923. Originally … Read more
Antonovka 1.5
Tart yellow fall apple from Russia.… Read more
Reading as Meditation
Ok, maybe not meditation really. I have been shuffling through some self help/mindfulness/zen musings a bit these days. It is the stuff of rural winters… rest, calm, and reflection. The trouble is, I really don’t like the methods of most … Read more
Hedge your bets by betting on your Hedge
There are a lot of species out there being sold as hedges. That is all well and good, but the truth is, a good deal of woody plants, including trees, can work nicely in this respect even if they haven’t … Read more
Coppice or Pollard
alder coppice photo by Cat James
These will be new words for many of you. These are age old methods for being able to continuously harvest a woody plant. In most cases this really means a proper tree. Some species … Read more
New Classes at Lazy Mill
If you like what we do here at Walden Heights, you’ll likely be turned on by what our good friends are offering the next town ove
Organic Certification 2017
… New for 2017
Fruit CSA We will be offering a membership that will include fruit and fruit products from July through December, featuring apples, pears, apple cider, fruit juices, frozen berries and other fruit, fresh berries, and extras. All products are certified organic … Read more
Attention Hard Cider makers !
Attention hard cider makers ! We are making weekly pressings with a huge diversity of apple varieties for brewing. This is unpasterized and super fresh.
Ordering ahead of pickup is required. Use the contact box, or email [email protected]
7.00 gallon … Read more
Biochar – fact or fiction ?
Biochar is being touted as the latest silver bullet in both the agricultural realm and that of environmental stability. There is some evidence that the substance can improve productivity in poor soils, and as another (of many) temporary sequesterers of … Read more
Branching Out Article
Overstating the Organic Revolution
Growing your own food may not just be a way to fill our plates more economically, it may be the only way to obtain healthy and sustainable food with certainty. While it is apparent that grocers now stock their shelves … Read more
Teen earthskill programs continue on…
A great experience to counter our current cultural desert. These guys are good friends and we highly recommend attending !… Read more
Natural Pools
After being intrigued by Butler’s ideas in a podcast I recently heard, I found the following introduction to producing an aesthetically pleasing and healthy alternative to a chlorinated swimming pool.
Hard Cider Material
We will have cider blends available for hard cider makers, but you need to pre-order. Email or call 802 563 3012… Read more
Cider Pressin’
Well over a hundred varieties have found their way into the blends adding to maximum flavor. It is all our fruit, all certified organic, all tree picked.
Available in half gallon plastic jugs for 5.00. Also available in nice glass … Read more
Walden Heights interview on WGDR
Listen to the interview with Todd on “Curse of the Wild Turnip”, with Alan Lepage on WGDR.… Read more
F.H. King : Professor of Agriculture, Organic Pioneer
… Read more“Man is the most extravagant accelerator of waste the world has ever endured. His withering blight has fallen upon every living thing within his reach, himself not excepted; and his besom of destruction in the uncontrolled hands of a generation
Evaluation of apple and pear varieties for cold humid climates under certified organic management
The supporting tables and documents can be viewed by clicking: Pome Study Tables and Documents
Made possible through a grant from the SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education)
Click to view the study as a PDF document
Summary
The aim … Read more
Pome Study Tables and Documents
Scionwood
Scionwood is still available and will be until May 1st. Wood is dormant and in the cooler. This will be good news for latecomers, and those who want to do late spring bark grafting while topworking old trees.… Read more
Protected: Apple Test Results 2014
Record Breaking Cold in 2015
The only thing that annoys me more than nay sayers of global climate change (that’s right not global warming), are those ready to embrace some idea of a local warming trend. That is, with the newly restructured zone hardiness map … Read more
HMO Transfer
To the question of whether or not GMO apples can transfer genetics to other apple specimens, the answer is, you bet. Any alteration in the dna of an organism is transferable through sexual reproduction. It should be kept in mind … Read more
GMO Update
An update, for those interested in such things. That homey little biotech company (supporters of the new technology were loving this referral of the
tiny less than a dozen concern)…has…who’da thunk…been aquired. Yes, a week after the release of ARCTIC … Read more
Orchard Cleanliness Reduces Apple Scab
The following was authored by Louis Lego of Elderberry Pond, with assistance from Brian Caldwell of Cornell University.
Summary
Apple Scab is perhaps the most devastating of all disease or insect disorders impacting apple production in the Northeast. While there … Read more