Treehugger Tuesday

The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic

From the Kickstarter campaign to produce a full length documentary about the largest permaculture orchard in eastern North America and on the future of fruit growing:

For the past 20 years, biologist and educator Stefan Sobkowiak has worked on transforming a typical apple orchard into an abundance of biodiversity that virtually takes care of itself. Located one hour outside Montreal, Canada, Miracle Farms is a 12-acre commercial orchard of which five have been converted to permaculture, and where trees, birds, bees, and other creatures all collaborate to help fertilize, pollinate, and maintain over 100 cultivars of apples, pears, plums, cherries, as well as countless herbs, shrubs and vegetables. Inspired by permaculture principles, this orchard is proof that a better, more regenerative model is possible for small- or large-scale fruit growing. We believe that this is a glimpse of what the future of fruit-growing can be.