Orchard Supplies

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.

Ever wondered about the mysterious 'Holistic Spray' we mention? Learn all about how we care for our trees without the use of harsh chemicals it in this workshop. Crooked Farmz will also be hosting a compost tea pop-up at the nursery during our workshop, see below for details!

Join us to discuss spraying, the ingredients in a holistic spray, when, where, and most importantly, why we use this method! We will show you our set up and offer advice to make your own spray, for your own localized pest and disease pressures. 

We are offering two different dates this year (select from below), for you to join for our 2026 Holistic Spray Workshop in order to accommodate a growing interest.

We are offering you a choice of either Friday, April 10th, 2026 (5:30pm-7:30pm) OR Saturday, April 11th, 2026 (9am-11am OR 1pm-3pm).

Registration includes a 2 hour mini-workshop, where you’ll learn:

-the theory behind this method/what is a holistic spray
-how to make a holistic spray
-what ingredients you’ll need
-how to tweak it to suit your needs based on your localized pest pressures
-when to spray (seasonally + time of day)

What to Bring: a lawn chair and note taking material. We will pass around a handout with the basic recipe. Michael Phillip’s book will also be available for purchase; it is an 
invaluable resource!

Please also dress for the weather: we will be outdoors or in an unheated hoop house depending on the weather, followed by a quick tour of the orchard when when we do a demo spray.

Crooked Farmz Pop-Up and Workshop

Crooked Farmz will be hosting a compost tea pop-up and a Soil Health & Microbial Life Workshop at the nursery during the Holistic Spray Workshop!

Compost Tea must be pre-ordered ahead of time and the last date to place an order is April 8th. Compost tea must be picked up either April 10th or April 11th. See HERE for more details and to pre-order!

The Soil Health & Microbial Life workshop will be hosted by Sean Smith, owner of Crooked Farmz. This FREE workshop on Soil Health & Microbial Life on Friday, April 10th from 4pm-5pm. See HERE for more details and to register! 

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.

Unsulphured blackstrap molasses are a great way of getting some much-needed nutrients to your trees in a more natural way, generally being considered high in iron, calcium, and magnesium. It is also a key ingredient in our Holistic Spray if you are using effective microbes.

Please note the molasses we carry is not food grade.

Contents: Organic, unsulphured, pasteurized, non-GMO blackstrap molasses

Size: 945mL bottle

Application: 

• Root Drench - 1tsp per 1L of water during vegetative state every 7-14 days
  
• Root Drench During Bloom - 2tsp per 1L of water every 7-14 days
• Foliar - 1/4tsp of water per 1L of water every 14 days

Soil: Any

The high oil content of a fish hydrolysate is known to benefit the development of soil mycorrhizae, which are excellent in themselves at breaking down organic soil matter and releasing the valuable nutrients into the soil.

We use this in our orchard for all trees (both in our experimental orchard and nursery stock) as part of our holistic spray system. You can download the holistic spray recipe here.

Fish Hydrolysate, in its simplest form, is ground up fish transformed into a liquid, by means of a cold process, where the breakdown of molecular bonds occurs through various biological and enzymatic processes. This breaks down the smaller pcs of fish body- bones, cartilage and meat- into a nutrient rich soup that also contains a high concentration of valuable fish oil.

Fish hydrolysate is different from fish emulsion. The latter is also made from ground up fish waste. However this is commonly done under a heated process, where the fish meal and more importantly, the fish oil are then removed and sold separately. This makes fish emulsion a less desirable product for soil and plant health than fish hydrolysate.

The fish used for the production of our fish hydrolysate are wild fish waste from the cold waters of the Pacific West Coast.

This product is approved for organic use.

 Pawpaws is the first in-depth guide to small-scale commercial cultivation of pawpaws. Also known as Indiana bananas or hipster bananas, this almost forgotten fruit, native to North America, is making a huge comeback with foodies, chefs, craft brewers, and discerning fruit-lovers.

In this DVD—a culmination of workshops recorded in Mexico, Florida, and Massachusetts—plant specialist Eric Toensmeier introduces gardeners to more than 100 species of little-known, underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such delights as ground cherry, ramps, air potatoes, the fragrant spring tree, and the much-sought-after, antioxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as the goji berry), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and culinary satisfaction. Toensmeier also takes viewers on a plant-by-plant tour of his garden in Massachusetts.