Growing Fruit Trees for Plant Parenthood and Joyful Living

What if your backyard could feed you for decades with way less work than a tomato patch? You can achieve this with fruit trees! I met arborist Allen Taylor at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show earlier this year. He's the founder of Conservation Tree Care, and he shares how to grow fruit trees in your own backyard with confidence and patience. I'm a homeowner now, and I am so excited to finally have fruit trees of my own!

 

In this episode, we learn:

• [01:52] Meet Allen Taylor, founder of Conservation Treecare!
• [02:17] What is forestry, and how did Allen get into it via a college course?
• [03:22] How arboriculture differs from forestry (individual trees vs. whole ecosystems)
• [04:45] The Overstory and tree climbers who work up in the canopy
• [09:37] How his passion for large trees relates to small fruit trees
• [10:51] Seattle's century-old orchard trees!
• [12:32] What are the two starting points for fruit trees? (assessing a bare site vs. inheriting mature trees already there)
• [14:07] Why you also have to think about harvest volume you can handle
• [15:02] Check out The Essential Guide to Ecological Gardening by the American Horticultural Society!
• [16:17] Set your fruit trees up right from planting with Espoma Organic!
• [18:21] Why it's okay to treat a fruit tree as a low-maintenance shade tree (that happens to fruit)
• [19:38] What makes something an "orchard" vs. just having a tree?
• [22:30] Why fruit exists (spreading seeds) and how domestication changed fruit itself
• [24:10] Fruit tree timeline! What age of wood trees fruit on?
• [26:55] Which fruit trees are most popular by region, and why local zone/climate matters so much?
• [29:19] Why local extension services and nurseries beat big box stores for picking trees
• [31:41] What does the yearly care for fruit trees look like (pruning, planting, harvest windows)?
• [34:17] Planting and transplant shock!
• [35:52] Fruit trees planting basics: hole size, soil, mulch, watering to establishment
• [39:03] Sun and site selection (full sun, flat ground, and thinking about ladder access)
• [42:38] Why you should prune fruit trees compared to other edibles
• [43:58] Why does dormant pruning work with the tree's stress response?
• [46:14] Should you remove blossoms in year one, or just leave the tree alone and wait?
• [47:33] Pruning vs. training explained
• [48:59] Pruning intensity tips
• [52:10] What are the top beginner mistakes you commit with trees?
• [57:10] The 3 types of pruning cuts (removal, reduction, heading) and how the tree responds to each
• [59:06] Why fruit trees are a great gateway into caring about trees generally
• [59:51] Allen's favorite fruit tree and the joy of sharing homegrown harvests with neighbors!
• [1:01:33] Where to find Allen, Conservation Treecare, and his work at the Amazon Spheres

 

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Robert Jan Van Pelt’s Books
• The Overstory by Richard Powers

 

For Allen's fruit tree tips,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

 

Follow Allen: