My son Felix looks forward to the new apple trees.
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Telser Reinhard
Organic Producer - Hof am Ort
„Reading the soil is a great challenge.“
Planting apple trees is teamwork.
Many hands make light work.
Everything has to be fixed to allow the trees to grow peacefully.
The young trees are cut for the first time.
My story
Even though I had been thinking about organic for many years, it took quite a long time until I finally converted to organic production. For a long time, my wife and me had a healthy respect for the additional work and the higher business risk which organic production inevitably involved for a long time. But when the first great food discounters started buying organic apples from our cooperative (GEOS), our initial concerns disappeared.
In the end, however, it was our son’s enthusiasm for organic. Felix studied agriculture and also gathered valuable experience abroad. He again and again emphasizes the importance of soil in fruit-growing. How active is the soil life? Is there the risk of acidification of the soil? Which grasses have settled? Lots of questions that we try to answer day by day. But only the soil itself can give a definitive answer. This doesn’t, however, happen immediately but only after a reaction period of up to 10 years. In the meantime, we can only hope to have taken the right decisions for biodiversity.
As far as varieties are concerned, we decided to produce different varieties including club varieties such as Kanzi to be on the safer side. My son and me regularly attend trade fairs, watch the market and complement each other very well in the apple orchards that are situated in Corzes, Lasa and Prato. We get our organic fertilizers from livestock farming. Our motto is „Look at nature and you will understand everything!“ Especially soil has to be interpreted correctly. Felix takes soil samples and sends them in. As soon as the results are back, a satisfied smile projects on my son’s face and then on my own. I look at him and know that everything is fine.
In the end, however, it was our son’s enthusiasm for organic. Felix studied agriculture and also gathered valuable experience abroad. He again and again emphasizes the importance of soil in fruit-growing. How active is the soil life? Is there the risk of acidification of the soil? Which grasses have settled? Lots of questions that we try to answer day by day. But only the soil itself can give a definitive answer. This doesn’t, however, happen immediately but only after a reaction period of up to 10 years. In the meantime, we can only hope to have taken the right decisions for biodiversity.
As far as varieties are concerned, we decided to produce different varieties including club varieties such as Kanzi to be on the safer side. My son and me regularly attend trade fairs, watch the market and complement each other very well in the apple orchards that are situated in Corzes, Lasa and Prato. We get our organic fertilizers from livestock farming. Our motto is „Look at nature and you will understand everything!“ Especially soil has to be interpreted correctly. Felix takes soil samples and sends them in. As soon as the results are back, a satisfied smile projects on my son’s face and then on my own. I look at him and know that everything is fine.