Orchard Supplies

Buddy tape is a flexible, rubbery tape holds bench grafts together and keeps in moisture! We have two options available:

1. Packs of 50 pieces - each piece is 30mm x 75mm
2. Individual rolls (perforated) - each roll is 60m long and has ~850 pieces of 30mm x 75mm sections of tape

To use this tape, simply wrap it around the graft union slowly moving it up and down around the union to ensure none of the cambium is exposed to the air. You can then rip a tiny bit off the end and use it to seal the tip of your scionwood as well so it doesn't dry out.

The tape will naturally biodegrade over time and fall off from the tree. However, be careful not to wrap the tree too tightly such that the tape becomes a thin strand rather than stays flat. This may begin to girdle your tree, a lesson we unfortunately learned the hard way.

Are you thinking of growing fruit trees? Are you in a hurry to enjoy a delicious organic harvest? Fruit trees don’t grow overnight, but the choices you make and the care you give them can speed up the process. You don’t need a degree in horticulture, and you don’t need to use toxic sprays. Growing fruit trees successfully is simply a matter of knowing what to do and when to do it—and if you know what to look for, your trees will tell you exactly what they need.

This book is for you if you:

• Want to grow fruit trees (like apple, peach, pear, cherry, apricot and plum)
• Are looking for easy techniques that will give you abundant harvests
• Don’t have a lot of time to devote to fruit tree care
• Have never planted a thing
• Are an experienced gardener
• Want to avoid the frustration of trial-and-error learning

If your goal is to grow fruit trees fast, take an hour to read this book. Follow the simple steps inside and you’ll be enjoying a healthy harvest in record time.

Growing Figs in Cold Climates is a complete, full-color, illustrated guide to organic methods for growing delicious figs in cold climates, well outside the traditional hot, arid home of this ancient fruiting tree. Coverage includes:

• Five methods for growing figs in cold climates including overwintering
• Cultivar selection for cool and cold climates
• Pruning techniques for a variety of methods of growing figs in cold climates
• Pest problems and solutions
• Harvesting, including ways to speed ripening, identify ripe fruit, and manage an overabundance
• Small-scale commercial fig production in cold climates.

Fresh figs are juicy, full-bodied, and filled with a honey-sweet flavor, and because truly ripe figs are highly perishable, they are only available to those who grow their own.

By choosing the right cultivars and techniques, figs can be grown across cool and cold growing zones of North America, Europe, and beyond, putting them within reach of almost every gardener. Easy and delicious — if you can grow a houseplant, you can grow a fig.

Fruit trees are delicate and need specialized care, especially when they’re planted in an urban environment, which comes with its own unique challenges. Whether you want to plant a single fruit tree or an entire orchard, this book will show you how to save time and money and be successful right from the start.

Susan Poizner lives in Toronto, and is an excellent resource to anyone seeking to plant fruit trees in their back-yard. We find her book easy to read with clear, concise information and excellent pictures and diagrams.

Made from Alberta-grown hemp, these square mats are helpful in retaining moisture around the bases of trees and plants and suppressing weeds. These mats are more flexible than cocodiscs which makes them easy to mould to the earth, especially once they are wet.

Life Design for Resilient Living

Lac Balsam is a premium European wound sealing product made from natural tree resin.  This is simply the best solution for sealing those irregular wounds caused by such things as rabbits, mice, ice storms and string trimmers.  It also works reasonably well as a grafting wax.  We have been using Lac Balsam around the nursery for as long as we can remember... and we're super super happy with this stuff. 

A little bit goes a long way too; one of these 200mL tubes will last a long time for the backyard orchardist. However, for those looking for a larger quantity we also have 1kg tubs as well!

Connecting with plants—a guide to belonging, ecological resilience, and permaculture design.

The plants in our world not only nourish and sustain us, they root us within our human and ecological communities. Mulberries in the Rain explores these vital connections, combining evocative storytelling with detailed crop profiles and permaculture design tools to mentor and inspire you.

Central to permaculture is the art of creating beneficial relationships—crafting inherently regenerative food systems modeled on nature. As growers, we tend to interpret this idea literally—think companion planting, edible ecosystems, and food forests. Where do social relations and community-building fit in?

Authors and permaculture experts Ryan Blosser and Trevor Piersol:

• Demystify plant guilds, showing how to create biodiverse, low-maintenance ecological systems
• Integrate tried-and-tested permaculture frameworks such as the Scale of Permanence and the Ecology of Self, with tools from economics, mental health, and other disciplines
• Provide cultivation primers for permaculture plants classified according to function, identifying out- standing anchor plants, nitrogen fixers, barrier plants, beneficial attractors, and dynamic accumulators
• Use plant narratives to illustrate how our inner landscapes are inextricably intertwined with the way we show up in the world.

This unique, beautifully illustrated handbook breaks new ground in social permaculture while providing a deep hands-on dive into creating thriving foodscapes. Required reading for anyone who seeks a deeper connection to people and place, and a more resilient future.

Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman’s terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips (author of The Holistic Orchard and The Apple Grower) sets the stage for practical applications for working with mycorrhizal fungi 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.