423 - Grow Organic Apple Trees: what to do in years 1-3 with Susan Poizner
The Beginner's Garden with Jill McSheehy
Jill McSheehy
4.4 • 734 Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2025
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ever wondered if you can actually grow apple trees organically—and get fruit? Or maybe you’ve got a tree that’s not thriving and you’re not sure why. In this episode, certified arborist and fruit tree expert Susan Poizner joins me to answer the most common questions about growing apple trees at home.
We’ll talk about:
🍎 Choosing the right variety & planting tips
🍎 What your young tree needs in years 1–3 for long-term success
🍎 How to revive a neglected or underperforming tree
🍎 Organic pest control that actually works
🍎 When and how to prune for health and productivity
Plus, we tackle listener questions about borers, bark peeling, spraying schedules, squirrel damage, watering, and where to buy quality trees.
If you’ve got an apple tree—or want to grow one—you don’t want to miss this episode!
🎧 Listen now and grow with confidence.
Follow along with Susan on Facebook & Instagram: @orchardpeople
Thank you to our sponsors: Organic REV | Garden in Minutes | Heirloom Roses
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The Beginner's Garden
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Have you ever wondered if it's really possible to grow apple trees organically and actually get a harvest? |
| 0:06.8 | Or maybe you've planted a young tree and you aren't sure how to care for it in those first critical few years, |
| 0:12.9 | especially when it comes to pruning. And what if you've got an older apple tree like I do that just isn't |
| 0:19.6 | producing like you hoped or maybe there's some problems with it. |
| 0:22.7 | If you have asked any of these questions, you are in the right place because today I am joined by |
| 0:28.0 | Susan Poisoner, an expert in fruit tree care in someone who has helped thousands of home |
| 0:33.7 | gardeners grow healthier, more productive trees. Susan is the founder of Orchardpeople.com. |
| 0:40.6 | She is a certified arborist, and she is the author of Fruit Tree Pruning, Grow Fruit Trees Fast, |
| 0:46.5 | and More. She brings both the science and the hands-on experience to help make growing fruit |
| 0:52.0 | trees feel a lot less intimidating. I'll tell you, I have learned |
| 0:56.0 | so much from her just by talking to her and starting to read her book and I already know what I |
| 1:00.9 | want to do with my trees that I already have and more that I plan to plant. And in this episode, |
| 1:06.7 | she's going to share with you. She's going to walk us through exactly how to care for apple trees |
| 1:12.1 | in particular, from organic strategies through actually working on your trees and knowing what your |
| 1:18.3 | fruit tree needs, and particularly its first three years. And we'll also talk about how to revive |
| 1:24.7 | an established tree that might be struggling. I can't wait for you to learn |
| 1:28.7 | from her and I think you'll come away with a whole new confidence in your apple growing journey. |
| 1:34.1 | Let's dive in and welcome Susan to the podcast. Before I get started in this conversation with |
| 1:39.6 | Susan, I just wanted to let you know that today's episode is in part sponsored by organic rev. |
| 1:45.5 | If you've heard this podcast before, you know how much I enjoy using organic rev, especially at |
| 1:50.7 | planting time. But as we go into the season, I'm also using it throughout the year. I will take |
| 1:56.6 | an ounce of organic rev and mix it with a gallon of water and I'll water my plants with it throughout |
... |
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