The first copies of “Growing Urban Orchards” have arrived! The book was written by Susan Poizner and illustrated by Sherry Firing. Susan and Sherry are the founders of the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto. To order your copy click here or visit www.urbanfruittree.com.

We’ll it’s been almost five years since we planted our first fruit trees in Ben Nobleman Park. It’s been been two years since Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard founders Susan Poizner and Sherry Firing embarked on a quest to write an illustrated fruit tree care book that will help aspiring orchardists grow fruit trees organically. And now, finally, their published book has finally arrived.

Growing fruit has been such a journey for Susan, Sherry and all the volunteers of Ben Nobleman Park. There have been so many good times including planting, stewardship festival days and our first harvests. But there have been hard times too, as we have grappled with pest and disease problems and reached out to learn the long forgotten skills of organic fruit tree care.

Over the years, Susan Poizner worked with professional orchardists, scientists and agrologists to learn how to grow fruit trees organically in the challenging urban environment and with this book she hopes to share these lessons with others so they can grow fruit successfully, right from the start.

This book weaves the story of the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard with instruction on how to choose, plant, and care for urban trees and includes chapters on annual pruning, nutrition, pest and disease prevention and more. And Susan Poizner has also integrated the stories of urban orchards that she has visited and learned from across North America, from Seattle to Boston and from Vancouver to Milwaukee.

This book has been a huge team effort for the Ben Nobleman Park volunteers. The group’s founder and coordinator Susan Poizner researched and wrote the book. Founder and Head Gardener Sherry Firing Illustrated it. Admin and Volunteer Coordinator Lynn Nicholas edited it a number of times and Jack Kirchoff, Sherry’s husband, was in charge of the final copyediting.

We hope you enjoy the book and learn lots more about how to grow fruit trees successfully in an urban environment. To order your copy click here or visit www.urbanfruittree.com.  See you in the orchard this spring!