From my father I learned to question the sense of many agricultural practices and not just follow the textbook. At the age of thirty, I took over the “Tappeinerhof” in Kortsch near Schlanders from him. As the second eldest brother, my father had built up the farm with a small inheritance, much diligence, and skill, and today I run it according to organic principles. Long before organic was practiced at the “Tappeinerhof”, sustainable measures were already part of our everyday life – such as installing bird nests, sowing, and using “juice traps” made of vinegar, apple juice, and water against pests. Activities that made sense back then and still do today.

Together with my daughter Amalia, I love the diversity of fruits and their colors. In total, we cultivate 10 different apple varieties, including Ambrosia, Bonita, Sweetango, and Cosmic Crisp – relatively new varieties for Vinschgau. It is also remarkable that although all our orchards are only a few kilometers apart, they can almost be assigned to different “climate zones”: at 750 meters the trees blossom very early, while at 1,000 meters they take things more slowly. The soils also differ in terms of soil life, depth, and parent rock. As an organic farm, we naturally use no chemical fertilizers or herbicides but rely on compost management. In this way, we close the cycles within our farm and ensure that soil fertility even increases through cultivation – for agriculture fit for future generations. We do not want to “force-feed” the apple tree unnecessarily to generate fruit size and mass, but rather let it find its own way in exchange with its environment: the soil, neighboring plants, insects, fungi, and microorganisms. This fosters resilience and activates self-healing powers – to its benefit and to ours as farmers in the apple paradise of Vinschgau.

Of course, the switch to organic was not easy. Above all, it was a mental challenge to manage with the very limited plant protection options and to get to know their effects in detail. Timing their use well requires presence and careful observation of the apple trees. An organic farmer thus develops a feel for the life cycles of nature. He allows his crops to endure minor issues and intervenes only when serious imbalances loom. At the same time, I realized that organic presents itself damn honestly – completely unvarnished, natural, and somehow incredibly strong.