LJApr 28, 2024

Guess what I'm doing today?? (Hint in the alt text!)

#peachTrees
#StarFieldFarm

Show threadLJApr 29, 2024

I actually did the grafting this morning! 15 wee little peach trees will be watched over in the shade until the grafts callous over. Then they can start to get some spring sunshine!

(More photos in the next post)

Show threadThomasApr 29, 2024
@LJ my grandfather did quite some grafting in his days. His method for stone fruit trees was to look for suitable small trees in a wild plum thicket, graft whatever he fancied right there, and collect the trees some time later. Besides, many apple trees in the family orchards still have two, three or even four cultivars.
Show threadLJApr 29, 2024
@tg9541 oh, that's so cool! I'm not quite confident enough to go find wild rootstock! But maybe someday!
Show threadThomasApr 29, 2024
@LJ did you buy the rootstock or did you experiment with, e.g., plum cores?
Show threadLJApr 29, 2024
@tg9541 I bought rootstock. Peaches are apparently finicky about rootstock.
Show threadThomasApr 29, 2024
@LJ I read some German sources - it depends. Wild cherries, rather easy to get by around here, might be a viable option. I also plum was mentioned. Apricot works, too, but that rootstock is said to require a mild climate. Peach seedlings were not recommended.
Show threadLJApr 29, 2024
@tg9541 oh! Thank you! We live in a climate with harsh winters (usually, not this past one). I'll keep my eyes open for wild root stock - we have 54 acres of mostly woodlands, so it shouldn't be too hard to find!
Show threadUlrikeApr 30, 2024
@LJ @tg9541
I'm listening to this episode of Poor Prole's Almanac right now, and around the 13 minute mark, they mention using a "veneer cut at the top and the bottom" for a higher survival rate when grafting trees.
Show threadThomasMay 1, 2024
@ulidig @LJ did you find a good description of how to perform this grafting technique?
Show threadUlrikeMay 1, 2024
@tg9541 @LJ
Nope. I'm not sure how you'd do it at both ends either.
Show threadThomas

@ulidig @LJ yesterday I found the description below. I believe that the function of the bottom cut is to allow the bark of the rootstock to be gently opened along the length of the contact surface.

https://propg.ifas.ufl.edu/06-grafting/02-graftingtypes/13-grafting-sideveneer.html

#grafting

Grafting Types, Side-Veneer Grafting

May 1, 2024 at 5:05amWeb
Show threadThomasMay 1, 2024

@ulidig @LJ

In the WikiPedia article on grafting I found the following statement:

"While grafting continued to grow in Europe during the eighteenth century, it was considered unnecessary in the United States as the produce from fruit trees was largely used either to make cider or feed hogs."

Now I understand why there are so few fruit trees in rural USA. Oh dear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting#Europe_and_the_United_States

Grafting - Wikipedia

Show threadLJMay 1, 2024

@tg9541 @ulidig wow! I had no idea. In our small homestead in Central MA, we have 2 plums, 3 peaches, 4 apples, 3 pears, 1 nectarine, 3 figs, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and aronia.

An edible forest w/something in season all summer long & into the fall.

#StarFieldFarm