Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Mycorrhizal Planet
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1957
WEBSITE: http://www.herbsandapples.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
AU website: http://www.groworganicapples.com/ * http://commonsensehome.com/mycorrhizal-planet/ * https://www.chelseagreen.com/farm-garden/mycorrhizal-planet
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 98022922
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n98022922
HEADING: Phillips, Michael, 1957-
000 00598cz a2200169n 450
001 4617392
005 20160510075303.0
008 980310n| azannaabn |n aaa
010 __ |a n 98022922
035 __ |a (OCoLC)oca04678648
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC |d DNLM |d CSt
046 __ |f 1957-07-17 |2 edtf
100 1_ |a Phillips, Michael, |d 1957-
670 __ |a The apple grower, c1998: |b CIP t.p. (Michael Phillips) data sheet (b. 7/7/57)
670 __ |a The herbalist’s way, c2004: |b ECIP t.p. (Michael Phillips) data view (b. 07/17/1957)
670 __ |a Email from the publisher, Dec. 7, 2004 |b (b. 7/17/1957)
953 __ |a jb11
PERSONAL
Born July 17, 1957; married; wife’s name Nancy; children: Grace.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Farmer, apple grower, writer, carpenter, orchard consultant, and speaker. Lost National Orchard, founder.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Michael Phillips helped found the holistic community orchard movement, which helps people grow healthy fruit. Based in Northumberland, New Hampshire, Phillips is an organic farmer, apple grower, writer, carpenter, and orchard consultant. He set up the Lost Nation Orchard, part of a medicinal herb farm. He writes about planting, fungus, soil fertility, and orchard growing.
In 1998, Phillips published The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist, which was updated and revised in 2005. Phillips contends that fruit tree growers don’t have to spray their trees with toxic chemicals in order to control insect and fungal pests. He advocates an organic method and intuitive farming that our great-grandparents did, with some added modern scientific research and innovation. With minimal input, orcharders can, for example, select the right site for weather, soil, and drainage; use kaolin clay against curculio and borers; create a healthy orchard ecosystem with management of nutrients and microorganisms; and create a small apple business that focuses on heritage and regional varieties. He also offers advice on pruning, training the trees, and protection from frost, as well as tips for the backyard grower. Writing in Booklist, reviewer George Cohen said the book is a valuable guide for novice and commercial growers and that “Phillips’ style of writing is best described as cornball.”
Phillips next collaborated with his wife, Nancy, to publish The Village Herbalist: Sharing Plant Medicines with Your Family and Community. Advocating a more natural path to wellness, the authors describe various herbs and their medicinal properties to maintain good health and alleviate sickness and pain. They revive the ancient practice of herbal medicine with modern knowledge of the healing value of plants, offer advice on earth-based healing and wellness, and provide instructions on herbal preparation and use in decoctions, salves, and oils. Observing that the book does not offer in-depth information on specific herbs and cultural use, Jonathan Hershey said in Library Journal, “It instead introduces a philosophy as old as humankind.” Hershey added that the New Age tone of the book should not make readers suspicious because the authors’ writing style is feisty and spiritual, promoting their philosophy of natural healing.
Michael and Nancy contend that herbal medicine can coincide with modern medicine. Online at Herbs and Apples, they explained the place of herbal medicine in today’s modern world: “Herbal medicine has always been the medicine of the people. This ancient and ever-evolving science and art is just as valuable and relevant today. . . . Our tradition shares resources, skills, information and natural remedies to help people feel better. Empowering people to nurture and take charge of their own health is deeply satisfying for all.” They added that they “delight in teaching others how to grow, harvest and prepare food and medicine” and that “our way of practicing health care is often one and the same.”
Continuing their guide to the use of herbal medicine, Michael and Nancy published The Herbalist’s Way: The Art and Practice of Healing with Plant Medicines in 2005. After providing an introduction to the roles and responsibilities of the herbalist in family and community healing, the authors profile inspirational herbalists across the country. Drawing on cultural practices, the writers describe growing, drying, and preparing herbs; licensing, marketing, and legal issues; creating a healing practice that includes listening to patients; and recommending holistic treatments for basic wellness. The book also includes herbal workshops, conferences, resources, and education centers.
In 2017, Phillips published Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility. The microscopic organisms mycorrhizal fungi are ubiquitous in old growth forests and are important in making dynamic soils and contributing carbon in more meaningful ways than artificial farming methods. Mycorrhizal fungi form the connective tissue that binds most plants, exuding chemicals and dissolving minerals, wood, and insects to create nutrient-rich soil. Rather than killing insects and fighting disease, farmers can understand the importance of fungi in plant growth.
Too much use of fungicides on apple, blueberry, and peach crops have created fungicide-resistant blights and susceptible crops. Phillips says in the book, “What a grower understands, a grower will do.” Therefore he explains how these fungi support plant health, build soil structure and plant fertility, boost the immune function of plants, grow in community-wide networks, contribute to ecosystem resiliency, and contribute to the nutrient density of the foods we eat. With permaculture, the purpose of no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, shallow cultivation, and forest-edge orcharding is to encourage plants and fungi to prosper.
Drawing on his own experience as well as scientific research, Phillips in the book explains the science of fungi; offers planting advice to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers; explains how to nurture fungal networks; and describes how to gather edible mushrooms. Chapters provide information on mycorrhizal ascendancy, healthy plant metabolism, underground myco colonies, healthy fungi, nondisturbance techniques to encourage fungal growth, and soil redemption. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that unlike slimmer books that provide just an overview, “Phillips’s poetic, conversational, rambling, humorous writing encourages readers to settle in for a thoughtful read.”
On the Common Sense Homesteading Website, reviewer Laurie Neverman commented: “Michael Phillips provides information that everyone who works with plants should know. The information in this book will radically change the way you look at soil and plant health.” Neverman also praised Phillips for his exhaustive study of the role of mycorrhizal fungi in plant health and for his passion for the subject.
Calling Mycorrhizal Planet a breakthrough book that provides valuable information, Tom Gibson said in Gardenopolis Cleveland: “You would expect such a book to be densely packed, and it is. But it is also logical, good-humored, and down-to-earth, which should be more than enough to lead the committed gardener down a productive path toward a new set of best practices.” Gibson added: “Phillips goes into considerable detail. Yet what makes the appearance of this book especially exciting is how readable the author is able to make it. . . . So, readable, yes, but also dense and complex. Did I mention that this book is for gardening nerds?”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August, 1998, George Cohen, review of The Apple Grower: A Guide to the Organic Orchardist, p. 1944.
Library Journal, February 1, 2002, Jonathan Hershey, review of The Village Herbalist: Growing, Making, and Marketing Your Own Herbal Products, p. 122.
Publishers Weekly, February 6, 2017, review of Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility, p. 64.
ONLINE
Common Sense Homesteading, https://commonsensehome.com/ (March 31, 2017), Laurie Neverman, review of Mycorrhizal Planet.
Gardenopolis Cleveland, http://www.gardenopoliscleveland.org/ (June 15, 2017), Tom Gibson, review of Mycorrhizal Planet.
Herbs and Apples, http://www.herbsandapples.com/ (July 3, 2017), “Heartsong Farm Healing Herbs: Village Herbalist Nancy Phillips and Apple Grower Michael Phillips.”
bar stripe
Home :: Herbalist :: Orchardist :: Family :: Farm
bar stripe
Heartsong Farm Healing Herbs: Village Herbalist Nancy Phillips and Apple Grower Michael Phillips
leftie
Herbs
Apples
Classes
Events
Books
About Us
Press
Links
Contact Us
Nancy, Michael & Gracie Phillips
Nancy, Michael and Gracie Phillips: Heartsong Farm family tree (photo: Frank Siteman)
Nancy, Michael and Gracie Phillips
(photo: Frank Siteman)
Our family farm is nestled in a picturesque valley surrounded by mountains and a babbling brook. The bountiful gardens, organic orchard, meadows and woods provide us with a deep sense of peace and well being. We grow much of our own food, make our own medicines and strive to live in harmony with all beings. We feel blessed to live here and share this peaceful spot.
Join us for an opportunity to connect with the earth and learn what we consider basic life skills. We delight in teaching others how to grow, harvest and prepare food and medicine ... our way of practicing health care is often one and the same. Working with the plants connects us to the heart and soul of the earth and nourishes our bond with creation and the Creator.
content
Avena got her name at the height of the healing harvest...
Avena: golden retriever pup at Heartsong Farm (photo by Michael Phillips)
Herbal medicine has always been the medicine of the people. This ancient and ever-evolving science and art is just as valuable and relevant today. A home herbalist in every family and a village herbalist in every community would be ideal. Our tradition shares resources, skills, information and natural remedies to help people feel better. Empowering people to nurture and take charge of their own health is deeply satisfying for all.
Avena
We should have known when this golden retriever pup joined our family that there'd be trouble up ahead. Avena got her name at the height of the healing harvest when we spend day after day picking milky oats (Avena sativa). Our faithful companion now takes charge of planning the day's hikes and ball play. This is a dog who's mastered the priorities in life!
content
The Holistic Orchard: Growing Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way by Michael Phillips -- click for book summary The Holistic Orchard: Growing Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way
Sassy
"Sassafras, Sassafras, we have a cow named Sassafras" goes the refrain of one of Gracie's songs about our adventures with a family cow. Our inspiration lies in a desire to drink Real Milk and be involved in the full cycles of life. There's something very right about lush pastures on a farm and scything green grass for nutritious hay to feed in winter. A healthy cow and family well-being go hand in hand. Add a touch of spunk, and that's our Sassy!
content Our dear Molly (who apprenticed here in 2004) was especially gracious about receiving cow kisses. (photo by Michael Phillips)
Our dear Molly (who apprenticed here in 2004)
was especially gracious about receiving cow kisses.
Now on DVD!
DVD: Holistic Orcharding with Michael Phillips -- click for dvd description and video Holistic Orcharding with Michael Phillips
Looking for an Orchard Mentor?
Want some guidance in the Art of Being Well?
Both Nancy and Michael can be called upon to share their respective knowledge in one-on-one consultations. Nancy thoroughly enjoys spending focused time with people to hear their health concerns and recommend alternative therapies. Sometimes it takes a Wellness Consultation with a knowledgeable herbalist to better be able to look at one's life as a whole. Michael meanwhile has a good ol' time teaching folks about apple growing from a holistic perspective. Homesteaders and small farmers alike can benefit from having a Grower Consultation when this apple guy offers specific advice tailored to localized challenges.
content
Gracie and Sassy settle in for a midday nap. (photo by Michael Phillips)
Gracie and Sassy settle in for a midday nap.
In the Spotlight
The good work that we've been blessed to share here at Heartsong Farm gets an occasional burst of attention. We'll keep you posted on our Press page about recent interviews and other goings-on that have touched our lives. What's most fun about these sorts of things is the serendipitous networking with other like-minded souls that inevitably follows.
Out and About
Meeting you here has been much too one-sided, you know. Perhaps our chance to meet will be when we leave the farm to present at assorted herbal and farm conferences across the country. Check Events to see our schedule, then do drop by and share a smile, okay?
content
The Herbalist's Way: The Art and Practice of Healing with Plant Medicines by Nancy and Michael Phillips -- click for book summary The Herbalist's Way: The Art and Practice of Healing with Plant Medicines
Farm Apprentices
Each growing season we delight in welcoming two apprentices to our farm to learn more about healing herbs and the homesteading life. These are live-in positions with a full heaping of harvesting and medicine-making responsibilities. We offer room and board in return, plus a spot in our full line-up of classes. Apprentices very much become part of our family, sharing meals with us and often weekend hikes and canoe outings. If you're interested in one of these positions, please contact Nancy for an application form and to further discuss how we can mutually help one another.
content Jenn brings in a basket of skullcap from the lower field while apprenticing at Heartsong Farm.
Jenn brings in a basket of skullcap from the lower field while apprenticing at Heartsong Farm. (photo by Michael Phillips)
Molly and Justine filled our hearts with laughter and song last summer. And what a pair of hard-working apprentices to boot! (photo by Michael Phillips)
Molly and Justine filled our hearts with laughter and song last summer. And what a pair of hard-working gals to boot!
Lost Nation Builders
Off the farm, Michael Phillips works hard at designing and building eco-savvy homes and historical renovations as part of a craftsman collaborative in northern New Hampshire and northeastern Vermont. Swinging a hammer to earn a day's pay fits into the seasonal patterns of working with the healing plants and apple trees. Michael and company come highly recommended to anyone with a desire for a home that suits the North Country landscape, places energy efficiency as a top priority, and appreciates fine craftsmanship.
bar stripe
Home :: Herbs :: Apples :: Contact Us :: Top
bar stripe
btm
recommend this page to a friend Heartsong Farm Healing Herbs: Village Herbalist Nancy Phillips and Apple Grower Michael Phillips btm
website credits
Sienna Moonfire Designs: website creation and maintenance
send website feedback to the Heartsong Farm webster
website by Sienna Moonfire Designs: SiennaMoonfire.com
last updated 3 July 2017 :: 6 pm Caspar (Pacific) time
this site generated with 100% recycled electrons!
website design and images copyright © 2003-2017 Sienna Moonfire Designs
website content copyright © 2003-2017 Heartsong Farm
all rights reserved, thank you
Skip to content
The Biodynamics Now! Podcast
THE BIODYNAMICS NOW! PODCAST
Investigative Farming and Restorative Nutrition
POSTED ON APRIL 5, 2017 BY ALLAN
BD Now! 036 Michael Phillips, Organic Orchardist and Author of “Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility”
185
EmailShare
Organic orchardist Michael Phillips is the author of “Mycorrhizal Planet”
Michael Phillips is a farmer, writer, carpenter, orchard consultant, and speaker who lives with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Grace, on Heartsong Farm in northern New Hampshire, where they grow apples and a variety of medicinal herbs. Michael is the author of The Apple Grower (Chelsea Green, 2005) and The Holistic Orchard (2011), and teamed up with Nancy to write The Herbalist’s Way (2005). His Lost Nation Orchard is part of the Holistic Orchard Network, and Michael also leads the community orchard movement at www.GrowOrganicApples.comMycorrhizal fungi have been waiting a long time for people to recognize just how important they are to the making of dynamic soils. These microscopic organisms partner with the root systems of approximately 95 percent of the plants on Earth, and they sequester carbon in much more meaningful ways than human “carbon offsets” will ever achieve. Pick up a handful of old-growth forest soil and you are holding 26 miles of threadlike fungal mycelia, if it could be stretched it out in a straight line. Most of these soil fungi are mycorrhizal, supporting plant health in elegant and sophisticated ways. The boost to green immune function in plants and community-wide networking turns out to be the true basis of ecosystem resiliency. A profound intelligence exists in the underground nutrient exchange between fungi and plant roots, which in turn determines the nutrient density of the foods we grow and eat.
Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman’s terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips sets the stage for practical applications across the landscape. The real impetus behind no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, digging with broadforks, shallow cultivation, forest-edge orcharding, and everything related to permaculture is to help the plants and fungi to prosper . . . which means we prosper as well.
Building soil structure and fertility that lasts for ages results only once we comprehend the nondisturbance principle. As the author says, “What a grower understands, a grower will do.” Mycorrhizal Planet abounds with insights into “fungal consciousness” and offers practical, regenerative techniques that are pertinent to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers. Michael’s fungal acumen will resonate with everyone who is fascinated with the unseen workings of nature and concerned about maintaining and restoring the health of our soils, our climate, and the quality of life on Earth for generations to come
DOWNLOAD this PODCAST HERE!
< SHOW NOTES Michael Phillip’s author page at Chelsea Green Press Michael Phillip’s website Community Holistic Apple Growers Suzanne Simard (“Mother Trees”) TED Talk on “How Trees Talk to Each Other” If you listen to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast, please help to to support the show by subscribing and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. The reviews help improve the show’s ranking in iTunes, so it is easier for new listeners to find it which is all good in the long run. Maybe we’ll find our secret benefactor one day if we get a wide enough reach! Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this. If you’ve never heard of the Biodynamics Now! podcast, I appreciate you checking it out in the iTunes Podcast Store. On a desktop machine you should be able to click on the link here and it will take you to the iTunes Podcast Store Preview page.You should see our Holstein logo there and under it a button that says “View in iTunes” Click on that button and it will take you to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast setup in the iTunes app on your own desktop. Find the section for leaving ratings and reviews. It would be great is you gave us one of each (The Highest Value possible, of course.) (Oh, and if this sounds like too much hassle, please take the time to leave a comment on this page so we know that you enjoyed the program and would like to ‘see’ more in the future.) This is the link to the iTunes Store Preview. Your Purchase of Books by Michael Phillips here Creates a Little Income for BDNow! at no cost you! Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work… $29.09$40.00 (8) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Ser… Chelsea Market Cookbook: 100 Recipes from New Y… $20.94$29.95 (32) Chelsea Market Makers: Recipes, Tips, and Techniques from the Artis… $15.82$29.95 The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biol… $28.74$39.95 (157) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist $28.31$40.00 (69) All Search Amazon Go Ads by Amazon CATEGORIESBIODYNAMICS, GARDENING, INTERVIEW, PERMACULTURE, PLANT MEDICINE, UNCATEGORIZED TAGSMYCORRHIZAL Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Name * Email * Website Post Comment Post navigation Previous Post PREVIOUS BD Now! 035 Julian Palmer, Plant Medicine Investigator and Author of “Articulations: On the Utilisation and Meanings of Psychedelics”Next Post NEXT BD Now! 037 Andrew Fisher Author of “Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate American and Anti-Hunger Groups” Hugh Lovel\'s Quantum Agriculture siteStephen McFadden\'s The Call of the Land blog Search for: Search … Search RECENT POSTS BD Now! Special Episode 03.1 Glen Atkinson: How Steiner’s Medical Course Informs Steiner’s Agricultural Course BDNow! Special Episode 02 Glen Atkinson “Who was Rudolf Steiner?” BD Now! 044 Dr Robin Miller “Healed: Health and Wellness in the 21st Century” BD Now! 043 Elvira DiBrigit, author of “Why We Farm: Farmer’s Stories of Growing Our Food While Sustaining Their Business BD Now! Special Episode Glen Atkinson – A Biodynamic Perspective on the Eclipse META Register Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress.org Proudly powered by WordPress Advertisment ad adsense adlogger Skip to content The Biodynamics Now! Podcast THE BIODYNAMICS NOW! PODCAST Investigative Farming and Restorative Nutrition POSTED ON APRIL 5, 2017 BY ALLAN BD Now! 036 Michael Phillips, Organic Orchardist and Author of “Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility” 185 EmailShare Organic orchardist Michael Phillips is the author of “Mycorrhizal Planet” Michael Phillips is a farmer, writer, carpenter, orchard consultant, and speaker who lives with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Grace, on Heartsong Farm in northern New Hampshire, where they grow apples and a variety of medicinal herbs. Michael is the author of The Apple Grower (Chelsea Green, 2005) and The Holistic Orchard (2011), and teamed up with Nancy to write The Herbalist’s Way (2005). His Lost Nation Orchard is part of the Holistic Orchard Network, and Michael also leads the community orchard movement at www.GrowOrganicApples.comMycorrhizal fungi have been waiting a long time for people to recognize just how important they are to the making of dynamic soils. These microscopic organisms partner with the root systems of approximately 95 percent of the plants on Earth, and they sequester carbon in much more meaningful ways than human “carbon offsets” will ever achieve. Pick up a handful of old-growth forest soil and you are holding 26 miles of threadlike fungal mycelia, if it could be stretched it out in a straight line. Most of these soil fungi are mycorrhizal, supporting plant health in elegant and sophisticated ways. The boost to green immune function in plants and community-wide networking turns out to be the true basis of ecosystem resiliency. A profound intelligence exists in the underground nutrient exchange between fungi and plant roots, which in turn determines the nutrient density of the foods we grow and eat. Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman’s terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips sets the stage for practical applications across the landscape. The real impetus behind no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, digging with broadforks, shallow cultivation, forest-edge orcharding, and everything related to permaculture is to help the plants and fungi to prosper . . . which means we prosper as well. Building soil structure and fertility that lasts for ages results only once we comprehend the nondisturbance principle. As the author says, “What a grower understands, a grower will do.” Mycorrhizal Planet abounds with insights into “fungal consciousness” and offers practical, regenerative techniques that are pertinent to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers. Michael’s fungal acumen will resonate with everyone who is fascinated with the unseen workings of nature and concerned about maintaining and restoring the health of our soils, our climate, and the quality of life on Earth for generations to come DOWNLOAD this PODCAST HERE! < SHOW NOTES Michael Phillip’s author page at Chelsea Green Press Michael Phillip’s website Community Holistic Apple Growers Suzanne Simard (“Mother Trees”) TED Talk on “How Trees Talk to Each Other” If you listen to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast, please help to to support the show by subscribing and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. The reviews help improve the show’s ranking in iTunes, so it is easier for new listeners to find it which is all good in the long run. Maybe we’ll find our secret benefactor one day if we get a wide enough reach! Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this. If you’ve never heard of the Biodynamics Now! podcast, I appreciate you checking it out in the iTunes Podcast Store. On a desktop machine you should be able to click on the link here and it will take you to the iTunes Podcast Store Preview page.You should see our Holstein logo there and under it a button that says “View in iTunes” Click on that button and it will take you to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast setup in the iTunes app on your own desktop. Find the section for leaving ratings and reviews. It would be great is you gave us one of each (The Highest Value possible, of course.) (Oh, and if this sounds like too much hassle, please take the time to leave a comment on this page so we know that you enjoyed the program and would like to ‘see’ more in the future.) This is the link to the iTunes Store Preview. Your Purchase of Books by Michael Phillips here Creates a Little Income for BDNow! at no cost you! Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work… $29.09$40.00 (8) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Ser… Chelsea Market Cookbook: 100 Recipes from New Y… $20.94$29.95 (32) Chelsea Market Makers: Recipes, Tips, and Techniques from the Artis… $15.82$29.95 The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biol… $28.74$39.95 (157) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist $28.31$40.00 (69) All Search Amazon Go Ads by Amazon CATEGORIESBIODYNAMICS, GARDENING, INTERVIEW, PERMACULTURE, PLANT MEDICINE, UNCATEGORIZED TAGSMYCORRHIZAL Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Name * Email * Website Post Comment Post navigation Previous Post PREVIOUS BD Now! 035 Julian Palmer, Plant Medicine Investigator and Author of “Articulations: On the Utilisation and Meanings of Psychedelics”Next Post NEXT BD Now! 037 Andrew Fisher Author of “Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate American and Anti-Hunger Groups” Hugh Lovel\'s Quantum Agriculture siteStephen McFadden\'s The Call of the Land blog Search for: Search … Search RECENT POSTS BD Now! Special Episode 03.1 Glen Atkinson: How Steiner’s Medical Course Informs Steiner’s Agricultural Course BDNow! Special Episode 02 Glen Atkinson “Who was Rudolf Steiner?” BD Now! 044 Dr Robin Miller “Healed: Health and Wellness in the 21st Century” BD Now! 043 Elvira DiBrigit, author of “Why We Farm: Farmer’s Stories of Growing Our Food While Sustaining Their Business BD Now! Special Episode Glen Atkinson – A Biodynamic Perspective on the Eclipse META Register Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress.org Proudly powered by WordPress Advertisment ad adsense adlogger ShareThis Copy and PasteSkip to content THE BIODYNAMICS NOW! PODCAST Investigative Farming and Restorative Nutrition POSTED ON APRIL 5, 2017 BY ALLAN BD Now! 036 Michael Phillips, Organic Orchardist and Author of “Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility” 185 EmailShare Organic orchardist Michael Phillips is the author of “Mycorrhizal Planet” Michael Phillips is a farmer, writer, carpenter, orchard consultant, and speaker who lives with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Grace, on Heartsong Farm in northern New Hampshire, where they grow apples and a variety of medicinal herbs. Michael is the author of The Apple Grower (Chelsea Green, 2005) and The Holistic Orchard (2011), and teamed up with Nancy to write The Herbalist’s Way (2005). His Lost Nation Orchard is part of the Holistic Orchard Network, and Michael also leads the community orchard movement at www.GrowOrganicApples.comMycorrhizal fungi have been waiting a long time for people to recognize just how important they are to the making of dynamic soils. These microscopic organisms partner with the root systems of approximately 95 percent of the plants on Earth, and they sequester carbon in much more meaningful ways than human “carbon offsets” will ever achieve. Pick up a handful of old-growth forest soil and you are holding 26 miles of threadlike fungal mycelia, if it could be stretched it out in a straight line. Most of these soil fungi are mycorrhizal, supporting plant health in elegant and sophisticated ways. The boost to green immune function in plants and community-wide networking turns out to be the true basis of ecosystem resiliency. A profound intelligence exists in the underground nutrient exchange between fungi and plant roots, which in turn determines the nutrient density of the foods we grow and eat. Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman’s terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips sets the stage for practical applications across the landscape. The real impetus behind no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, digging with broadforks, shallow cultivation, forest-edge orcharding, and everything related to permaculture is to help the plants and fungi to prosper . . . which means we prosper as well. Building soil structure and fertility that lasts for ages results only once we comprehend the nondisturbance principle. As the author says, “What a grower understands, a grower will do.” Mycorrhizal Planet abounds with insights into “fungal consciousness” and offers practical, regenerative techniques that are pertinent to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers. Michael’s fungal acumen will resonate with everyone who is fascinated with the unseen workings of nature and concerned about maintaining and restoring the health of our soils, our climate, and the quality of life on Earth for generations to come DOWNLOAD this PODCAST HERE! < SHOW NOTES Michael Phillip’s author page at Chelsea Green Press Michael Phillip’s website Community Holistic Apple Growers Suzanne Simard (“Mother Trees”) TED Talk on “How Trees Talk to Each Other” If you listen to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast, please help to to support the show by subscribing and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. The reviews help improve the show’s ranking in iTunes, so it is easier for new listeners to find it which is all good in the long run. Maybe we’ll find our secret benefactor one day if we get a wide enough reach! Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this. If you’ve never heard of the Biodynamics Now! podcast, I appreciate you checking it out in the iTunes Podcast Store. On a desktop machine you should be able to click on the link here and it will take you to the iTunes Podcast Store Preview page.You should see our Holstein logo there and under it a button that says “View in iTunes” Click on that button and it will take you to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast setup in the iTunes app on your own desktop. Find the section for leaving ratings and reviews. It would be great is you gave us one of each (The Highest Value possible, of course.) (Oh, and if this sounds like too much hassle, please take the time to leave a comment on this page so we know that you enjoyed the program and would like to ‘see’ more in the future.) This is the link to the iTunes Store Preview. Your Purchase of Books by Michael Phillips here Creates a Little Income for BDNow! at no cost you! Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work… $29.09$40.00 (8) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Ser… Chelsea Market Cookbook: 100 Recipes from New Y… $20.94$29.95 (32) Chelsea Market Makers: Recipes, Tips, and Techniques from the Artis… $15.82$29.95 The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biol… $28.74$39.95 (157) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist $28.31$40.00 (69) All Ads by Amazon CATEGORIESBIODYNAMICS, GARDENING, INTERVIEW, PERMACULTURE, PLANT MEDICINE, UNCATEGORIZED TAGSMYCORRHIZAL Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Name * Email * Website Post navigation Previous Post PREVIOUS BD Now! 035 Julian Palmer, Plant Medicine Investigator and Author of “Articulations: On the Utilisation and Meanings of Psychedelics”Next Post NEXT BD Now! 037 Andrew Fisher Author of “Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate American and Anti-Hunger Groups” Search for:Search RECENT POSTS BD Now! Special Episode 03.1 Glen Atkinson: How Steiner’s Medical Course Informs Steiner’s Agricultural Course BDNow! Special Episode 02 Glen Atkinson “Who was Rudolf Steiner?” BD Now! 044 Dr Robin Miller “Healed: Health and Wellness in the 21st Century” BD Now! 043 Elvira DiBrigit, author of “Why We Farm: Farmer’s Stories of Growing Our Food While Sustaining Their Business BD Now! Special Episode Glen Atkinson – A Biodynamic Perspective on the Eclipse META Register Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress.org Proudly powered by WordPress Advertisment ad adsense adlogger Skip to content THE BIODYNAMICS NOW! PODCAST Investigative Farming and Restorative Nutrition POSTED ON APRIL 5, 2017 BY ALLAN BD Now! 036 Michael Phillips, Organic Orchardist and Author of “Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility” 185 EmailShare Organic orchardist Michael Phillips is the author of “Mycorrhizal Planet” Michael Phillips is a farmer, writer, carpenter, orchard consultant, and speaker who lives with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Grace, on Heartsong Farm in northern New Hampshire, where they grow apples and a variety of medicinal herbs. Michael is the author of The Apple Grower (Chelsea Green, 2005) and The Holistic Orchard (2011), and teamed up with Nancy to write The Herbalist’s Way (2005). His Lost Nation Orchard is part of the Holistic Orchard Network, and Michael also leads the community orchard movement at www.GrowOrganicApples.comMycorrhizal fungi have been waiting a long time for people to recognize just how important they are to the making of dynamic soils. These microscopic organisms partner with the root systems of approximately 95 percent of the plants on Earth, and they sequester carbon in much more meaningful ways than human “carbon offsets” will ever achieve. Pick up a handful of old-growth forest soil and you are holding 26 miles of threadlike fungal mycelia, if it could be stretched it out in a straight line. Most of these soil fungi are mycorrhizal, supporting plant health in elegant and sophisticated ways. The boost to green immune function in plants and community-wide networking turns out to be the true basis of ecosystem resiliency. A profound intelligence exists in the underground nutrient exchange between fungi and plant roots, which in turn determines the nutrient density of the foods we grow and eat. Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman’s terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips sets the stage for practical applications across the landscape. The real impetus behind no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, digging with broadforks, shallow cultivation, forest-edge orcharding, and everything related to permaculture is to help the plants and fungi to prosper . . . which means we prosper as well. Building soil structure and fertility that lasts for ages results only once we comprehend the nondisturbance principle. As the author says, “What a grower understands, a grower will do.” Mycorrhizal Planet abounds with insights into “fungal consciousness” and offers practical, regenerative techniques that are pertinent to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers. Michael’s fungal acumen will resonate with everyone who is fascinated with the unseen workings of nature and concerned about maintaining and restoring the health of our soils, our climate, and the quality of life on Earth for generations to come DOWNLOAD this PODCAST HERE! < SHOW NOTES Michael Phillip’s author page at Chelsea Green Press Michael Phillip’s website Community Holistic Apple Growers Suzanne Simard (“Mother Trees”) TED Talk on “How Trees Talk to Each Other” If you listen to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast, please help to to support the show by subscribing and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. The reviews help improve the show’s ranking in iTunes, so it is easier for new listeners to find it which is all good in the long run. Maybe we’ll find our secret benefactor one day if we get a wide enough reach! Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this. If you’ve never heard of the Biodynamics Now! podcast, I appreciate you checking it out in the iTunes Podcast Store. On a desktop machine you should be able to click on the link here and it will take you to the iTunes Podcast Store Preview page.You should see our Holstein logo there and under it a button that says “View in iTunes” Click on that button and it will take you to the Biodynamics Now! Podcast setup in the iTunes app on your own desktop. Find the section for leaving ratings and reviews. It would be great is you gave us one of each (The Highest Value possible, of course.) (Oh, and if this sounds like too much hassle, please take the time to leave a comment on this page so we know that you enjoyed the program and would like to ‘see’ more in the future.) This is the link to the iTunes Store Preview. Your Purchase of Books by Michael Phillips here Creates a Little Income for BDNow! at no cost you! Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work… $29.09$40.00 (8) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist (Chelsea Green's Master Grower Gardening Ser… Chelsea Market Cookbook: 100 Recipes from New Y… $20.94$29.95 (32) Chelsea Market Makers: Recipes, Tips, and Techniques from the Artis… $15.82$29.95 The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biol… $28.74$39.95 (157) The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist $28.31$40.00 (69) All Ads by Amazon CATEGORIESBIODYNAMICS, GARDENING, INTERVIEW, PERMACULTURE, PLANT MEDICINE, UNCATEGORIZED TAGSMYCORRHIZAL Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Name * Email * Website Post navigation Previous Post PREVIOUS BD Now! 035 Julian Palmer, Plant Medicine Investigator and Author of “Articulations: On the Utilisation and Meanings of Psychedelics”Next Post NEXT BD Now! 037 Andrew Fisher Author of “Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate American and Anti-Hunger Groups” Search for:Search RECENT POSTS BD Now! Special Episode 03.1 Glen Atkinson: How Steiner’s Medical Course Informs Steiner’s Agricultural Course BDNow! Special Episode 02 Glen Atkinson “Who was Rudolf Steiner?” BD Now! 044 Dr Robin Miller “Healed: Health and Wellness in the 21st Century” BD Now! 043 Elvira DiBrigit, author of “Why We Farm: Farmer’s Stories of Growing Our Food While Sustaining Their Business BD Now! Special Episode Glen Atkinson – A Biodynamic Perspective on the Eclipse META Register Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress.org Proudly powered by WordPress Advertisment ad adsense adlogger ShareThis Copy and Paste
HOME
PROGRAM
REGISTRATION
MEDIA
SPONSOR & EXHIBIT
ABOUT US
|
MICHAEL PHILLIPS
MICHAEL PHILLIPS
BIOGRAPHY
Known across the country for helping people grow healthy fruit. The “community orchard movement” that he helped found provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard is part of a medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. Michael’s newest book, Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility, became available in March.
ALL SESSION BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
THE FULL SKINNY ON HEALTHY ORCHARDING
9:00-3:30pm
SEARCH
Type keywords...
CONNECT
facebook-icon twitter-icon
SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES
SUBSCRIBE
© Copyright Nofa, All Right Reserved
10/10/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1507669613827 1/3
Print Marked Items
Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work
with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build
Soil Fertility
Publishers Weekly.
264.6 (Feb. 6, 2017): p64.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility
Michael Phillips. Chelsea Green, $40 (256p)
ISBN 978-1-60358-658-0
Phillips, the inimitable author of The Apple Grower (2005) and The Holistic Orchard (2011), once again charms and
instructs with an in-depth philosophical and practical exploration of fungi. Branching off from Paul Stamets's
Mycelium Running, Phillips focuses on fungi's intimate relations with the plant community, revealing their essential
roles in botanical and soil health and how we can nurture them for our benefit and that of the entire biosphere. The
book includes extensive and specific information about the science of fungi and their symbiosis with plants; nurturing
and propagating fungal networks and functions; minimizing soil disturbance in gardens, forests, farms, and orchards to
build soil, capture carbon, and assist mycelial integrity and relationships; and gathering and growing edible
mushrooms. In refreshing contrast to the pared-down utilitarianism of many books in the genre, Phillips's poetic,
conversational, rambling, humorous writing encourages readers to settle in for a thoughtful read. Organic, biodynamic,
and permaculture practitioners will value this book, but Phillips writes for a general readership too. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility."
Publishers Weekly, 6 Feb. 2017, p. 64. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA480593901&it=r&asid=6a69408c23deafc23ee2c9c6663443f4.
Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A480593901
10/10/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1507669613827 2/3
Phillips, Michael & Nancy Phillips. The Village
Herbalist: Growing, Making, and Marketing Your
Own Herbal Products
Jonathan Hershey
Library Journal.
127.2 (Feb. 1, 2002): p122.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
Phillips, Michael & Nancy Phillips. The Village Herbalist: Growing, Making, and Marketing Your Own Herbal
Products. Chelsea Green. 2001. c.352p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 1-890132-54-3. pap. $24.95. GARDENING
At one time the only option for treating illness, herbal medicine has been superseded by modern "conventional"
medicine, even though many Americans regularly use herbal preparations as part of their health regimen. Longterm
practitioners of alternative farming methods (see, e.g., Michael Phillips's The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic
Orchardist), the Phillipses believe that while medical doctors are sometimes needed, herbalists still have much to offer.
Writing in a style that is sometimes feisty and frequently spiritual, the authors provide a broad overview of herbal
medical practice, offering their philosophy of earth-based heating and wellness, brief information on specific plants,
and instructions on preparing some herbal products (such as decoctions, salves, and oils). Given the New Age tone,
some readers may view this book with suspicion--but they are not the intended audience. This title does not present indepth
information on specific herbs and their culture and use--what most public library users want--but it instead
introduces a philosophy as old as humankind. Recommended for comprehensive collections.--Jonathan Hershey,
Akron-Summit Cty. P.L., OH
Hershey, Jonathan
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hershey, Jonathan. "Phillips, Michael & Nancy Phillips. The Village Herbalist: Growing, Making, and Marketing Your
Own Herbal Products." Library Journal, 1 Feb. 2002, p. 122. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA286255465&it=r&asid=241496e5eb82b0dbcc11913357b89b7f.
Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A286255465
10/10/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1507669613827 3/3
The Apple Grower: A Guide to the Organic
Orchardist
George Cohen
Booklist.
94.22 (Aug. 1998): p1944.
COPYRIGHT 1998 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Phillips, Michael. The Apple Grower: A Guide to the Organic Orchardist. Sept. 1998. 300p. index, illus. Chelsea
Green, $24.95 (1-890132-04-7). DDC: 634.
NOW that organically grown foods are the latest culinary craze, the time has come for the organic orchardist. Phillips,
who grows apples without artificial pesticides or fertilizers in Northumberland, New Hampshire, provides instructions
on growing and marketing. Selecting the right site (weather, soil, drainage, and proximity to markets are
considerations) and understanding the role of micro-organisms are top priorities, he insists. Phillips gives instructions
on planting, pruning, and training the trees, and on protection from frost. There are chapters on pests and diseases,
organic spraying, harvesting, and marketing. Interspersed throughout the text are tips for backyard fruit growers, a bit
of earth-friendly philosophy (Phillips' style of writing is best described as cornball), and lots of black-and-white
photographs and illustrations. A valuable basic guide for novice backyard and commercial apple growers.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Cohen, George. "The Apple Grower: A Guide to the Organic Orchardist." Booklist, Aug. 1998, p. 1944. General
OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA21236594&it=r&asid=a2ff54e58f9211dc7c03d6126116e909.
Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A21236594
GARDENOPOLIS Cleveland
Greening a City — news from the trenches
Skip to content
PASSION
PERIPATETIC
PERMACULTURE
PERTINENT
POETRY
POLLINATION
PRACTICE
PUNCHY
Home
Mission Statement
About Us
More Reasons to Love Cleveland
We Like These Plants
Link to Sites We Like
Search for:
Book Review: Mycorrhizal Planet
June 15, 2017PERMACULTURE, PRACTICE, PRESERVATIONTom Gibson
by Tom Gibson
Not to put too fine a point on it, but Mycorrhizal Planet, a new book by Michael Phillips, is a true breakthrough book, one that will provide new, valuable information for every serious organic gardener. The book describes how mycorrhizal fungi work with plant partners and gives detailed, practical information on how to maximize the power of fungi in all sorts of gardens—from backyard tomato patches to full-fledged agroforests.
The book combines a distillation of extensive scientific literature with decades of the author’s hands-on experience growing fruit and other crops. [As chance would have it, I just completed an Ohio State mycology course last fall and wrote my class paper on Maxmizing Positive Fungal Power in the Food Forest. So I know a little of the difficult scientific terrain Phillips had to traverse.] You would expect such a book to be densely packed, and it is. But it is also logical, good-humored, and down-to-earth, which should be more than enough to lead the committed gardener down a productive path toward a new set of best practices.
We need them.
The 20th Century produced some of the most brutal wars in history, but none so little noticed or comprehended as its War on Soil. Some background and at least a partial explanation of why the War on Soil was so unwitting:
Soil, understood as something orders of magnitude different than mere dirt, consists of minerals, dead organic matter, and multiple living organisms that are often measured, breathtakingly, in billions per teaspoon. Of these organisms, mycorrhizal fungi form the connective tissue on binds most plants. Their hyphae—microscopic filaments—exude chemicals that dissolve potential food—from minerals to wood to dead insects—and then capture it by forming the equivalent of a new stomach wall around it. See the graphic below where the red represents all the fungus’s external chemical activity. As its “stomach wall” expands, the fungus burrows its way tens of meters from its point of origin, all in the search for more food.
Much of the food it seeks, however, is not for itself, but for its plant partners. In return for the phosphorus, nitrogen and other elements our fungus gathers, it trades them in for plant sugars. These provide the fungus energy to expand and capture still more plant nutrients. Put simply, mycorrhizal fungi extend the reach of plant roots by factors of 10 or more—costing the plant far less energy than if they had to expand their root system to cover the same territory.
Fungally-derived nutrients are so important to plants that they may devote one-third of all the sugars they produce to feeding fungi. It is no exaggeration to say that this trading system forms the core of life on earth. It has been in place since both plants and fungi crawled their way out of prehistoric seas. The relationship is so tight that mycorrhizae and plants have evolved to cooperate at the cellular level with the most prevalent mycorrhizal type—arbuscular mycorrhizae—actually penetrating the cell walls of a given plant root.
But that’s only the beginning. Individual fungi merge with other members of their own species to further increase their reach. The resulting network forms microscopic highways for beneficial bacteria to travel the landscape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnsYh6511Ic And fungi emit a soil protein called glomalin which binds soil minerals and organic matter loosely together in a way that allows the overall soil complex to both breathe and retain water. We call the resulting aggregation soil “tilth” —-the exact opposite of that gardening curse: soil compaction.
LW
The modified dry litter waste management system uses dry available carbon materials such as chipped coconut husks and woods as bedding materials that reduces exposure of pollutants and pathogens from animal manure to ground and surface water resources.. It requires no water. Pigs are comfortable in their bedding. Pig activity turns and aerates the litter promoting decomposition of waste materials. The system allows farmers to safely manage animals while promoting a healthy and clean environment.
Surprisingly, much of this knowledge has only emerged recently. Glomalin, for example, was identified by a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture scientist in 1996!
It is this tightly-woven mineral/fungal/plant interrelationship that 20th Century agriculture and horticulture ripped apart. Tillage and plowing chopped up all those fungal hyphae. Artificial fertilizers fooled plants into happily dropping their partnership with living food providers (sort of like satisfying children with a perpetual diet of macaroni and cheese!). Disconnection from fungal partners, however, limited the availability of trace elements that fungi help scavenge. These trace elements—molybdenum, boron, etc.–are essential to full plant health. Fungally-trapped soil carbon also disappeared. All together, the negative cascade of disappearing nutrients left a void that growers filled with ever more fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The ultimate result: ever less nutrition for both plants and their human consumers.
Phillips explains our downward agricultural slide in nuanced detail. But his greater emphasis is not on what went wrong, but how to make one’s own garden right. The three chapters (“Provisioning the Mycorrhizosphere,” “Fungal Accrual,” and “Practical Nondisturbance Techniques”) that make up the bulk of the book tell how to energize and expand fungal networks.
The committed gardener will find numerous possibilities for fungal enhancement of soil, ones that will require rereading and also rethinking of one’s approach to gardening. Out of dozens and dozens ideas the book offers, here are a few that I’m either implementing now or plan to in the near future.
Ramial wood chips. These are wood chips made from fresh twigs and branches, the ones where a tree’s most recent growth has occurred. As one might expect, such high growth portions of the tree carry the highest concentration of nutrients—calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, etc. Fortunately, these young branches are often the ones professional arborists insert into their chipping machines and which they often have to pay to dispose of as landfill. So it’s easy to persuade neighborhood tree cutters to dump a truck load. I’ve done that and the chips have made my soil darker and richer and my plants happier.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Direct feeding of mycorrhizae by air-knifing holes in the soil under a tree’s drip line, then injecting (often proprietary) fungal food. I had this done last fall to reinvigorate what my arborist diagnosed as oxygen-deprived oak trees. The result: more vigorous-appearing oaks, but also a tripling (!) of fruit production of my pawpaw and peach trees planted under the oak’s drip line.
Planting of what Phillips calls “bridge trees.” These are trees planted specifically to connect more of the separate fungal pathways of a given orchard or food forest and thus, as fungal networks tend to do, share nutrients to those plants which need them most. Fruit trees typically work with arbuscular mycorrhizal partners, while oaks, maple and hickory work with ectomycorrhizal partners. Typically those two groups of fungi don’t “talk.” But a few tree species—willows, poplars, alders—partner happily bridge with both fungal communication gap. Within a broader landscape, they and their fungal partners open the possibility of tapping a much wider nutrient pool. So I’ve begun to encourage alders—already self-seeding to some extent in my food forest—by planting more in strategic locations.
As readers can now gather, Phillips goes into considerable detail. Yet what makes the appearance of this book especially exciting is how readable the author is able to make it.
A typical passage will begin close to the “duh” level of simplicity; e.g. “Mycorrhizal fungi are the principal means plants have for obtaining phosphorus…the middle letter in NPK as represented by those three omnipresent numbers on a bag of fertilizer.” But then Phillips escalates quickly into a discussion of slow- vs. fast-release phosphorus and the relative “cost” to the plant of exuding organic acids to feed phosphorous-gathering fungi. Similarly, when Phillips must dip into scientific language—like “anastomosis,” the merging of separate fungi—he always defines it in understandable terms.
So, readable, yes, but also dense and complex.
Did I mention that this book is for gardening nerds?
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)More
Related
Overcoming Mushroom Timidity
January 10, 2017
In "PERMACULTURE"
Of Plants, Trees, and Soil: for Gardeners
January 20, 2017
With 1 comment
Winds from Africa, Part Three
March 22, 2016
In "GENERAL INTEREST"
Post navigation
← 13th Annual Shaker Heights Gracious Garden Tour Chimney Swifts →
Search for:
Search …
Press the Green Button to Subscribe
Sign Up Now
For Email Newsletters you can trust.
Recent Posts
Of Birds and Bugs and Trees
Nutrition News I
The Peripatetic Gardener Visits the Jersey Shore
The Peripatetic Gardener Visits Hocking Hills
Canadian Anemone: A Frenemy Becomes My Enemy
Recent Comments
ware on Of Birds and Bugs and Trees
Elsa Johnson on The Peripatetic Gardener Visits the Jersey Shore
Elsa Johnson on The Peripatetic Gardener Visits Hocking Hills
Mary Lou Holly on The Peripatetic Gardener Visits Hocking Hills
Laurie Buss on The Peripatetic Gardener Visits Hocking Hills
Archives
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
Meta
Log in
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
WordPress.org
Click Here To Subscribe
Sign Up Now
For Email Newsletters you can trust.
Proudly powered by WordPress
Common Sense Homesteading
Follow us!
Home
Homesteading
Home Remedies
Gardening
Blog
Homestead Library
Recipes
Preparedness
Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission to support the site at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Mycorrhizal Planet – Nurturing Fungi to to Build Soil Fertility and Support Plant Health
March 31, 2017 by Laurie Neverman 9 Comments
Share It!FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestStumbleUponRedditEmail
Mycorrhizal Planet shifts the focus from killing insects and fighting disease to building vigorous, thriving ecosystems with plant and fungi partnerships.
“Mycorrhizal Planet – How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Fertility” by Michael Phillips provides information that everyone who works with plants should know. The information in this book will radically change the way you look at soil and plant health.
Mycorrhizal Planet shifts the focus from killing insects and fighting disease to building vigorous, thriving ecosystems with plant and fungi partnerships. Strong plants are naturally resistant to attack – and provide more nutrient dense food. Mycorrhizal networks are the glue that holds everything together, partnering with plants and bacteria in ways that are only now becoming better understood. Kill the fungi, and you cut off the plant's access to more nutrients.
This is particularly troubling, given how many crops are now routinely treated with fungicides. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated the following for 2009:
Fungicides were the most common type of pesticide used on apples, blueberries and peaches. They were applied to 87 percent of the blueberry acres and 85 percent of the peach and apple acres. Insecticides were applied to 87 percent of apple acres, 84 percent of blueberry acres and 81 percent of peach acres.
The article “Fungicide use surging, largely unmonitored” notes that, “Fungicides were routinely applied on up to 30 percent of the nation's 220 million acres of corn, soybean and wheat, according to a 2009 estimate.”
Farmers are facing disease pressures, so they spray, or treat the seeds. Nature, being nature, adapts.
We're now seeing headlines like, “Early blight disease on potato is becoming immune to fungicides“. The CDC quotes, ” Just like some bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics, some fungi no longer respond to the antifungal medications that are designed to cure them.” I don't know about you, but I think it's time for another approach.
Mycorrhizal Planet – Regenerative Practices for the Farm, Garden, Orchard, Forest and Landscape
Chapters in Mycorrhizal Planet are as follows:
Mycorrhizal Ascendancy – Describes mycorrhizal types, how they partner with plants and how they propagate
Healthy Plant Metabolism – A more detailed look the plant/fungi partnership, with emphasis on building plant immune systems
Underground Economy – Establishing and sustaining robust and widespread myco colonies
Provisioning the Mycorrhizosphere – The conditions and amendments your healthy fungi need to thrive
Fungal Accrual – How to introduce healthy mycorrhizal fungi and the environments that foster them
Practical Non-disturbance Techniques – Protecting the fungi in the garden, landscape, orchard, forest and farm
Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms
Soil Redemption Song
Michael's passion for his subject is obvious. Like his earlier books, The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard, he bases his writings on a combination of experience and intense research. (Remember when late blight devastated tomato crops up and down the eastern seaboard? Michael's garden sailed through without a problem while his neighbor's plants fell to the blight.) He provides an exhaustive study of the role of mycorrhizal fungi in plant health, and how we can use this information to our advantage.
He sums up his approach at the end of the book:
One: Promote healthy plant metabolism as the guiding paradigm in growing anything. And two: think and think again about ways to least disturb the soil ecosystem. Our overarching goal needs to be to amplify mycelial connection everywhere.
Mycorrhizal Planet shifts the focus from killing insects and fighting disease to building vigorous, thriving ecosystems with plant and fungi partnerships.
Take Care of the Fungi and They'll Take Care of Us
The growth difference for plants with and without fungal support was amazing, but mycorrhizae do more than double the size of a tree. A few of their many benefits include:
Improving uptake of trace minerals
Reduced transplant shock
Improved production
Suppression of root pathogens
Reduced fertilizer requirements
Helping plants to cope with salinity and soil compaction
If your reaction to this book is anything like mine, like me you'll be working to add more mycorrhizal fungi to your garden and orchard. This book has changed my entire perspective on gardening, giving me encouragement to keep pursuing alternative plant and soil building techniques. The answer to feeding the world is right under our feet.
You may also enjoy:
Working with Nature – Shifting Paradigms and The Essence of Organic Gardening
Holzer Permaculture – A Lifetime of Food Growing Innovation
Restoration Agriculture: Real World Permaculture for Farmers
Mycorrhizal Planet shifts the focus from killing insects and fighting disease to building vigorous, thriving ecosystems with plant and fungi partnerships.
Shop Related Products
Wallace Organic Wonder Premium Mycorrhizal In…
$21.95
(3)
Endo Mycorrhizae (4 Species, 1LB Package)
$20.15
(9)
MycoBloom Mycorrhizae, 10 pound box, Granular In…
$69.99
(1)
OG Tea Veganic Special Sauce VSS 15lbs + Root Webstar 1lb + Pure 1lb Bu…
$310.00
All
fungi inoculant
Go
Ads by Amazon
Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Reviews, featured, mycorrhizal fungi, Mycorrhizal Planet, plant health, soil health
Comments
Cathy says
April 1, 2017 at 10:03 am
Thank you for this information. I am excited about experimenting with mycorrhizae to my garden this year. It’s so important not to disturb your garden soil, so these networks can grow strong.
Reply
Laurie Neverman says
April 1, 2017 at 4:22 pm
Yes, some sort of soil cover is critical.
Reply
Amy says
April 1, 2017 at 1:11 pm
I think I want to read this! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Reply
Laurie Neverman says
April 1, 2017 at 4:22 pm
You’re welcome, Amy.
Reply
Jerry "G" says
April 1, 2017 at 1:39 pm
I see bags labled “mushroom manure” is this the same ?
Reply
Laurie Neverman says
April 1, 2017 at 4:15 pm
No. Mushroom manure is the spent growing medium from commercial mushroom farming. Not a bad thing to add to your garden, but only one strain of fungi (whatever they were growing), and probably not active spores.
Reply
Chipmunk says
April 1, 2017 at 5:01 pm
Looks like an awesome book. I got some mycorrhizal innoculant for planting some new fruit trees, but only have a vague idea that it’s a good thing to use. It looks like the book can explain it to me. Thanks!
Reply
Laurie Neverman says
April 2, 2017 at 10:51 am
You’re welcome. We just put in 25 balsams on the treeline yesterday and they all got a dose. I’m hoping they’ll take off faster than previous plantings.
Reply
Cindy @ Holistic Health Traditions says
April 3, 2017 at 8:40 pm
Wow, I had no idea some plant diseases were becoming resistant to conventional fungicides. Very concerning! The idea of adding mycorrhizal fungi to the soil is fascinating. I’m going to look into it further. Thanks!
Reply
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment
Name *
Email *
Website
Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.
Post Comment
Confirm you are NOT a spammer
Search this website …
Search
Popular Posts
Never Buy Bread Again
Home Freeze Drying - Yes, you can!
When the Power Grid Fails - 10 Things You Need to Prepare
10 Ways to Have a Hot Meal With No Power
12 Tips for Keeping Your House Cool w/o AC
Root Cellar Design and Mistakes to Avoid
Home Canned Salsa
Natural Mosquito Repellents That Work
Buy Your Copy of Never Buy Bread Again
Featured on THE PREPPER WEBSITE
Meet Laurie Neverman
Name:
Email:
Sign Up for Weekly Updates
Need Something Online?
Start your amazon.com shopping here, and I earn an affiliate payment at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Direct amazon.com link:
http://amzn.to/1qtO6to
Copyright © 2017 · Dynamik Website Builder on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in
Terms of Use - Privacy Policy - Disclosure
AN ELITE CAFEMEDIA HOME/DIY PUBLISHER
×Sumo
Focus Retriever