The Urban Farm Podcast’s Top 10 Episodes for Growing Fruit Trees.
Everything You Need to Know About Fruit Trees!
(in 10 podcast episodes and 3 videos)
From September thru March it’s fruit tree season at The Urban Farm (click here to learn about our fruit tree program), so we’ve decided to compile a list of The Urban Farm Podcast’s top episodes for growing fruit trees in your yard. With these episodes under your belt you’ll be well prepared to grow, prune, and harvest an abundance of fruit from your own backyard!
1. Stella Otto on Backyard Fruit Trees – Listen Now
Do you buy your fruit trees from a nursery? According to Stella, there are some very real reasons you may want to rethink that. In this interview, Greg and Stella (author of The Backyard Orchardist: A complete guide to growing fruit trees in the home garden) agree
2. Jake Mace’s 10 Favorite Trees and Wood Chips – Listen Now
Which trees give you the most bang for your buck? What are the most nutritious fruits to grow? Urban farmer Jake Mace weighs in on his Top 10 favorite trees to grow, some tree-growing tips, and what he loves about each of these trees (and you don’t have to listen to reap some of the info – check out the page for images and descriptions for each of the trees). Jake’s secret for growing thriving trees? Wood chips! Listen for how to use them and why he is convinced they may be the BEST thing you can do for your trees.
3. Jake Mace: Humanity’s Global Future is Local – Listen Now
“We have to start taking responsibility for the happiness, health, and the well-being we have as humans in this life.” We couldn’t resist putting Jake on here twice because he is a fruit tree wizard with tons to share on how he’s been so successful. Listen in to learn what he means by the quote you just read, how he was even able to eat solely out of his urban yard during a 5-day experiment, and three more keys to thriving fruit trees. Hint: They have to do with the way you water them (17:50), what you feed them (20:00), and how you prune them (21:50).
4. Cory Williams on Tropical Fruit Trees – Listen Now
Cory’s story is mostly focused on tropical fruit trees and how he refused to listen to those people who told him he could not grow certain fruit in the Southwest Desert; the key was developing micro climates that would sustain the trees he wanted to grow. And whether you are interested in growing tropical fruit trees, or standard ones, his can-do attitude is exciting and can help you find the encouragement to try growing a fruit tree you might have dismissed before. Above all, he advises you to pay attention – find out why in this podcast!
5 & 6. Tom Spellman on Urban Orchards – Listen to Part 1, then Part 2
“Tom Spellman knows more about fruit trees than anyone I have ever met, so you are NOT going to want to miss these two episodes” says Greg Peterson founder of the Urban Farm. Tom has spent his life learning and teaching about fruit trees and the best ways to grow them in our urban areas and small yards. It is different than growing an orchard “out there” somewhere; “out there” we let our trees get to be very tall and have the equipment and technology to manage and harvest them. In our yards, however, we need to keep the trees small for several very important reasons. Listen to our 2 part series to find out why! Here’s a hint – they are easier to manage, plus if we keep our trees small (5 to 8 feet) we can put in more varieties that ripen at varying times.
7. Craig Jenkins on Tree Selection and Planting – Listen Now
Craig is the landscape designer you wish lived in your city. With an eye for making the end result not just beautiful but also long-term when he turns the project over to the client, he brings some basic permaculture techniques to all his his projects, ensuring a long-lasting nature composition. And he has trained his employees to use the skill of observation and to make adjustments that are important for the long term viability of the projects. In this podcast he addresses the importance of tree planting with critical details about how deep to plant a tree and how to ensure you are picking a healthy tree from the nursery.
8. Susan Poizner on Orchard People – Listen Now
This is an EPIC story of one woman’s journey to transform her local park into a public orchard, and along the way she learned everything she could about growing fruit trees. Like most of us, she learned a lot just through trial and error, yet she was not content to leave it at that. Susan took it upon herself to seriously research every aspect of tree growing and she now shares that with others. If you have one fruit tree or several in your backyard or orchard, this podcast has great information for you.
9. Scott Murray on Avocado Farming – Listen Now
Scott runs a large avocado farm in California, using ingenuity and persistence to grow them using organic and sustainable methods. He is a wealth of knowledge and helps explain some key aspects of growing avocados, plus shares some advice for anyone growing more that one fruit tree.
10. David Burns and Austin Young from Fallen Fruit – Listen Now
OK, So this one isn’t so much of a “how to” as it is some serious inspiration! David Burns and Austin Young are transforming the LA Landscape in the tastiest way possible: with fruit trees! David Burns and Austin Young to talk about the placement of fruit trees throughout urban spaces as a means to cultivate community and food security. Fallen Fruit is a collaborative art project that began in Los Angeles in 2004 with mapping public fruit. Their artworks encourage the public to experience their city as a fruitful, generous place, inviting people to engage in sharing and collectively explore the meaning of community and collaboration through public participation and exhibition projects.
Ready to get planting? Check out these 3 how-to videos:
