Maureen, I would say in Maine its not all that hard to grow apples organically, if you don’t mind some cosmetic damage. Do make sure to get scab resistant varieties as scab can be a big problem there. The hardest part is getting the Surround down to keep the curculio and moths at bay, it is something that takes experience and is not nearly as straightforward as a poison spray. Michael Phillips’ apple book is a good starting point, he is in New Hampshire so has a similar climate. Under the Guides category here there is also my low-impact spray schedule which gives my summary approach.