Lost Nation Orchard Orchard Intensive
at Heartsong Farm, New Hampshire - June 14-15
For many years Michael Phillips offered an Orchard Intensive Weekend here at our Lost Nation Orchard. This annual event has been a long time favorite. This year, Gracie and Nancy have invited Mike Biltonen (yours truly!!) to carry on this tradition as our featured teacher. Mike is an experienced teacher whose orchard work and philosophy aligns with ours.
This “organic apple everything” weekend inspires people to pursue their own orchard dreams. Come gain the practical insights needed to establish your own fruit planting based on the biological systems approach used here at Lost Nation Orchard.
Holistic orcharding involves a wide breadth of knowledge and timeliness, yet one fact stands clear — we can have beautiful apples grown without chemical intervention. Sustainable agriculture works only when we have fun and get people involved with growing healthy food. Our workshops point the way for organic apple growers to meet their unique site challenges.
Mike Biltonen will lead participants in a walk through the orchard season. He will discuss the key role understory management and soil health plays in an organic orchard, and look at varietal and rootstock choices. Tree planting, pruning, grafting, branch training, and trunk protection will be woven into our time together along with a look at righteous equipment for the small-scale orchard. Mike will also identify insect and disease dynamics from a holistic perspective aimed at achieving maximum diversity, pointing out a few of the culprits and beneficial allies on hand around bloom time. Saturday evening includes a special farm to table dinner paired with regional ciders and lots of good fellowship with other apple lovers.
Details
Dates 2025: June 14th & 15th. This Orchard Intensive begins Saturday morning at 10 and runs through Sunday afternoon around 4.
Times: 10:00 Saturday to 4:00 Sunday.
Meals: Tasty farm meals will be provided for Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner (special farm to table dinner and hard cider tasting), Sunday lunch.
Course Cost: $350
Accommodations: Rustic Camping is available at the farm for $25 per person. Tenting spaces, outhouses and drinking water are available. Bring all your camping gear with you.
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Check Payments:
To send a check, use the registration link below and choose check payments at check out. Make check out to: Heartsong Farm. Mail to: 859 Lost Nation Road, Northumberland, NH 03582
About Mike Biltonen
Mike has spent nearly 40 years in agriculture – working mostly with orchards, vineyards, and specialty veg and fruit crops. He specializes in all aspects of sustainable orchard production of apples, pears, and stone fruit. An early passion for sustainable agriculture evolved into a profound dedication to the principles and practices of ecologically-focused, biodynamically-driven farming. The last fifteen years Mike has worked as a consultant to novice and seasoned farmers and orchardists alike on all aspects of establishing and managing regenerative and integrated farmscapes. Mike also conducts workshops, seminars, webinars, and has a free newsletter for the truly dedicated. He co-owns Know Your Roots, a novel and innovative family-owned company, with his wife Debbie where they are synchronously using farming and herbalism practices to heal the Earth. https://knowyouroots.com/index.html