Webinar: Full-season care for the small orchard

This workshop is for the farmer or homeowner keen to improve their skills in fruit tree care, whether they have one tree or a 1-acre orchard. I’ll discuss the key features of a management plan for the orchard year, highlighting how various organic practices integrate with each other throughout the year. Topics will include Integrated Pest Management (IPM), pruning, branch training, fruit thinning, understory management, and more. A significant portion of the workshop will be determined by the questions attendees have – there are opportunities to address questions of propagation, the best species for our area and their unique needs and challenges, rootstock choices, breeding, and so on.

Matt Soltys: Matt is a fifth-generation Guelphite and a long-time community orchardist. Matt managed Ignatius Farm’s community orchard from 2019-2022, and in 2021 he founded his business, The Urban Orchardist, specializing in fruit tree consulting and pruning, and operates a diverse fruit & nut tree nursery. He completed a permaculture design certification in 2005, organized food security projects like the Guelph Fruit Tree Project throughout his 20s, and recently graduated from an interdisciplinary biology and philosophy degree at the University of Guelph. He lives with his family on a large urban property which he has turned into a diverse food forest with more than 25 species of fruit and nuts.