Here's a post I made earlier this evening on GIM in response to TnAndy's reply to a photo of an apple tree someone else had put up:
TnAndy said of the other person's tree photo, "Looks like an awful small tree to have that much fruit. I remove mine for the first 3 years or so, and don't let them bear."
So I asked, "Andy, my trees are starting to bud. Should I just pluck the buds?"
But I haven't gotten an answer yet. How should I prune the tree at this point to get maximum fruit and overall growth later? This is brand-new to me. Here's a closeup shot of the buds on one of the trees: