Orchard People

Have you ever found mummified and immature fruit on your fruit trees? Learn what's happening and how to prevent this using botanical sprays in this episode of the Orchard People podcast.    Our guest is Plant Pathologist, Mycologist, and Bacteriologist Kerik D. Cox Ph. D. of the Cox Program at Cornell University .    The host of the Orchard People  radio show and podcast is Susan Poizner of the fr...

What fruit trees are illegal to propagate? Learn about fruit tree propagation law with with Jeremy Kent Tamsen of Washington State University. WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee Washington developed and introduced many new specialty crops over the years, including the popular Cosmic Crisp ® apple. During the show, we talk about the WA64 naming contest. Here is the naming c...

Learn about the best wood mulches for fruit trees with Linda Chalker-Scott, Professor of Horticulture at Washington State University in this episode of the Orchard People radio show and podcast. Linda is the award-winning author of six books including How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do (Science for Gardeners) . She also is one of the Garden Professors – a group of aca...

Learn when, why and how to grow fruit trees in fabric pots. Our show guest on the Orchard People radio show and podcast is Kevin Espiritu of EpicGardening.com. Kevin is the author of the book Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit and Flowers in Lightweight, Eco-Friendly, Fabric Pots . The images used in the video version of this episode were supplied...

Learn about grafting compatibility and what kinds of trees can be grafted together by understanding the science of graft unions! Our guest is Dr Kevin Folta , Professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida. Tune into Kevin's Podcast Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/talking-biotech-with-dr-kevin-folta/id1006329802 Additional Episodes on Grafting Here: Fruit Tree Graftin...

Learn about old apple cultivars with apple historian Daniel Bussey, author of The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada . The host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast is Susan Poizner of the fruit tree care education website www.orchardpeople.com .  Tune into The Urban Forestry Radio Show LIVE by going to RealityRadio101.com on the last Tuesday of every month at 1....

Join Greg Peterson from UrbanFarm.org as he shares five key fruit tree lessons that he has learned from starting a new orchard in North Carolina, applying lessons from 30 years of experience growing fruit trees on his urban farm in Phoenix, Arizona. Listen live to enter our contest to win this month's prize, UrbanFarm.org's Growing Food The Basics Course - $197 value. The host of The Urban Forestr...

Learn how to cultivate thriving fruit trees and gardens even if you don't have the best soil by using the Hügelkultur technique. Tune in to this Tuesday's live radio show and podcast with guest Paul Wheaton from Permies.com . Explore this month's recommended resource is the Garden Master Course by Helen Atthowe , an expert in "Beyond-organic" gardening, integrating fundamentals of a master gardene...

In this radio show and podcast, fruit tree educator Susan Poizner usually interviews experts in fruit tree care. But in this episode, Harold Thornbro of The Modern Homesteading Podcast interviews her! Topics covered include easy-to-grow fruit trees, how to prune fruit trees and improving harvest quality. Learn more about Harold and check out The Modern Homesteading Podcast here: https://redemption...

What do you do with your bumper crop of apples? In this episode, learn how to can apples easily while keeping your loved ones safe from risks like botulism and mold! Our guest is homesteading and canning expert Melissa K. Norris of the Pioneering Today Podcast and Academy . Listeners who tune into the show live will be able to enter this month's contest to win Everything Worth Preserving: The Comp...

In this episode, Susan Poizner talks to Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery in Hickman California about the book "How to Prune Fruit Trees and Roses". Tom is one of a team of experts who have updated and revised the classic fruit tree pruning book by R Sandford Martin. Listeners who tune into the show live will be able to enter this month's contest to win How to Prune Fruit Trees and Roses - The R...

Once you had to choose: Either grow American persimmons that are hardy, but not great for fresh eating -  or grow the sweet and tasty Asian persimmons that thrived in warmer climates. Well, now you can enjoy the best of both by sourcing a hybrid persimmon. So in this episode I will chat with Darren Bender-Beauregard of Brambleberrypermaculture.com about growing hybrid persimmons in this episode.

Learn how to turn fermented plant juice, eggshells and other locally sourced materials into effective fruit tree fertilizers with Nigel Palmer, author of The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments: Using locally sourced materials to make mineral and biological extracts and ferments . Learn more in this article on homemade fruit tree fertilizer sprays . Learn more about Nigel, his online...

Javier Rivera of Stone River Nursery in Central Florida talks about the potential of grafting when creating multi-cultivar trees, fruit salad trees, and even trees that grow in places that you wouldn't expect them to - like apple trees in Florida!  The prize for today's show is ColourPoint Bypass Pro Pruners by Dramm valued at $28.62. The prize winner will be able to pick the vibrant colour of the...

If you want to enjoy a harvest, you need to protect the blossoms on your fruit tree from late season freezing events. Learn how to do that with Dr Kevin Folta, Department Chair, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The prize for this episode's contest is Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden: Planting and Tending Small Fruit Trees and Berries in Gardens and C...

Learn how to find and propagate wild fig trees with Sam Hubert, a passionate "fig hunter" and nursery manager of One Green World Nursery and Garden Center in Portland Oregon. The host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast is Susan Poizner of the fruit tree care education website www.orchardpeople.com .  Tune into The Urban Forestry Radio Show LIVE by going to RealityRadio101.com on the last...

B9? EMLA107? What's the difference between the many different types of rootstocks used for apple trees. And which is the best for you? In this episode, John Strang, Retired Extension Fruit and Vegetable Specialist from the University of Kentucky, will chat with us about apple rootstocks. If you listen to the show live, you can enter this month's contest to win The Modern Homestead Garden: Growing...

If you love growing fruit trees and other edible plants, you might consider a career as a "foodscaper." Matt Lebon of Customfoodscaping.com talks about how to transform a garden into an edible oasis and about his upcoming summit for professional foodscapers . You can download a free PDF with Matt Lebon's favorite "funky" foodscaping plants for zone 6 here . ABOUT Orchard People, formerly known as...

Learn about some of the best tasting hardy apple trees available to northern growers with Bob Osborne, the owner of Corn Hill Nursery in New Brunswick, Canada and author of Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates . The host of the Orchard People  radio show and podcast is Susan Poizner of the fruit tree care education website www.orchardpeople.com .   Susan is the author of four books on fru...

Hardy kiwi vines produce berries that are sweeter than table grapes and they have more vitamin C per ounce than an average orange. And while the fruit is similar to the larger, fuzzy kiwis that grow in New Zealand and California, kiwiberries have edible skin. In this episode our guest is Iago Hale, Associate Professor in Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems at the University of New Hampshire an...

According to Entomologist Thomas M. Dykstra, Ph. D. of Dykstra Laboratories in Gainesville, Florida, insect pests can't attack healthy plants. Learn more and ask your questions in this live radio show. In the show, Thomas mentions that anyone can measure leaf brix with two tools:  A garlic press that you can easily clean A refractometer   Thomas also mentions a PDF Leaf Brix Chart. Here are two ve...

There are some fantastic heirloom peach cultivars that are not available at your local supermarket....but you can grow them at home! Lawton Pearson of Pearson Farm talks about his family's history of growing peaches in Georgia and his favourite cultivars. You can find a video excerpt from the show here . Also check out Peaches of New York by U.P. Hedrick. The host of the Orchard People  radio show...

Commercial growers are increasingly growing sweet cherries and other fruits in an easy to prune, maintain and harvest fruiting wall structure. Matthew Whiting , Extension Specialist from Washington State University, played a key role in developing the UFO cherry fruiting wall system and he explains how they are grown. During the interview, Matthew mentions this document which describes the steps f...

Learn how to transform your backyard into a food forest, integrating existing fruit trees and shrubs into the design. Dani Baker, author of The Home-Scale Forest Garden: How to Plan, Plant and Tend a Resilient Edible Landscape is our show guest. Dani is the owner of Cross Island Farms in Wellesley Island, NY and the creator of The Enchanted Edible Forest . The host of the Orchard People radio show...

Fruit trees can be productive, they can be beautiful, AND they can fit in small spaces! In this episode learn how to create an espalier fruit tree planting where the tree is trained up against a wall or fence. Our expert guest will be Ron Perry, Ph. D., Professor in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University (MSU) (Retired) and Co-Author of Espalier Fruit Plantings for Northern Ga...