Uploaded February 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Wade Muggleton, apple addict, shares how you can grow your own fruit trees in small and large spaces.
Wade has been growing fruit trees for over 20 years. He has over 30 varieties in his permaculture back garden – Station Road Permaculture – and more recently over 100 varieties in his field orchard.
Here Wade chats with Maddy Harland, Permaculture magazine editor, who has been growing a range of fruit on chalk downland for 30 years.
Learn how to grow fruit trees on various scales; how to choose the right rootstock for your space; how to find the best varieties for you; the best orchards to visit; how to prune for maximum yields; and how to keep your orchard healthy with chemical-free methods.
Wade and Maddy also explore the importance of adding biodiversity for wildlife and beauty, how to use your harvests and how to encourage others to get involved.
Orchards, whatever their size, provide delicious local food for pollinators, birds, bats and of course people. They can be beautiful and enjoyable spaces for communities, families and anyone who wants to connect more with nature while growing food.
0:00 Introduction
01:56 How fruit trees can be scaleable
5:56 Rootstocks and how to select the right ones for your garden
13:55 How do you decide what varieties work best in the garden/field?
18:48 Best places to see orchard systemsin all their glory
20:46 Chemical-free maintenance strategies
26:51 The best way to learn pruning
31:46 Using yourharvested fruit
33:40 Adding biodiversity and beauty
39:14 How to encourage other people to get involved
42:42 The most surprising thing to happen in an orchard
All of this and more features in Wade's 'The Orchard Book' available with 10% off at: bit.ly/34bEqUq
Wade Muggleton, apple addict, shares how you can grow your own fruit trees in small and large spaces.
Wade has been growing fruit trees for over 20 years. He has over 30 varieties in his permaculture back garden – Station Road Permaculture – and more recently over 100 varieties in his field orchard.
Here Wade chats with Maddy Harland, Permaculture magazine editor, who has been growing a range of fruit on chalk downland for 30 years.
Learn how to grow fruit trees on various scales; how to choose the right rootstock for your space; how to find the best varieties for you; the best orchards to visit; how to prune for maximum yields; and how to keep your orchard healthy with chemical-free methods.
Wade and Maddy also explore the importance of adding biodiversity for wildlife and beauty, how to use your harvests and how to encourage others to get involved.
Orchards, whatever their size, provide delicious local food for pollinators, birds, bats and of course people. They can be beautiful and enjoyable spaces for communities, families and anyone who wants to connect more with nature while growing food.
0:00 Introduction
01:56 How fruit trees can be scaleable
5:56 Rootstocks and how to select the right ones for your garden
13:55 How do you decide what varieties work best in the garden/field?
18:48 Best places to see orchard systemsin all their glory
20:46 Chemical-free maintenance strategies
26:51 The best way to learn pruning
31:46 Using yourharvested fruit
33:40 Adding biodiversity and beauty
39:14 How to encourage other people to get involved
42:42 The most surprising thing to happen in an orchard
All of this and more features in Wade's 'The Orchard Book' available with 10% off at: bit.ly/34bEqUq
