Tree fruit are an important component of the agricultural and homeowner landscape. Planting and management of apple and other tree fruit orchards is a rewarding hobby and business, but you cannot simply plant trees and expect good fruit. There's a lot that goes into successful orcharding!

This course trains beginning tree fruit growers in fundamental concepts in orchard planning and management. Content will include site selection and management, rootstock and cultivar selection, orchard systems, pest management, nutrient management, and harvest considerations for commercial orchards tailored to the northeast region of the U.S.

Target Audience

All levels – The course is for beginning tree fruit growers, or experienced growers seeking a refresher on basic concepts in orchard management. The topics covered will be specific to orchard systems in the northeast region of the U.S. and may not be appropriate for all climatic zones.

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course, you will:

• Understand of the basics of tree fruit production economics for retail and wholesale markets
• Have information to help you site and prep your future orchards
• Have a comprehensive listing of tree fruit varieties well suited for production in the northeast
• Recognize training systems for the major tree fruit crops, and have resources to train and prune your trees to these systems
• Have a basic familiarity with tree fruit thinning and fertilization
• Know the basics of grafting your own trees
• Know the basics of trellis construction for high density fruit systems
• Recognize some of the major pest issues in tree fruit production, and have the tools to put together a pest management strategy for your orchard
• Understand how growers determine when to pick their tree fruit
• Know some of the key marketing outlets for tree fruit

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from outside presenters and ask questions to address your farm issues in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing. Access details will be posted in Teachable once you have registered and logged in.

Webinar Schedule

Incorporating feedback from previous years, we expanded this course to include additional webinar content. In 2025, this course will be offered live for 6-weeks every Thursday from 6:30 - 8:30 PM (Eastern) from February 27 – April 3. In addition, to the weekly Thursday webinars, two additional live webinars will occur in weeks 4 and 5 on Monday evenings March 17 and March 24 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM (Eastern). Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for all 8 live sessions!

We understand that it might be difficult to join us two nights a week, so homework will only be based off the Thursday night material. While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all 8 webinars will be recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish.