What did you do in your orchard today?

[CrealCritter]

I started in on my fruit tree trimming. They are all small but the water shoots are way tall. Luckily they are young enough that I can bend them down to get some height off them. I can't use a step stool cus it sinks in the mud.

Last year I snapped a water sprout of my mother in laws peach tree. I bud grafted a bud low and bark grafted the remaining water sprout on top of a root stock, that I had potted from a fallen peach tree in our orchard.

This year that water sprout wants to give me peaches. I'll keep the bark graft and prune off the bud graft. Then I'll plant it out in the orchard and care for it. I have no idea the peach variety, so I'm just going to call it Marge Peach, after my mother in laws name. Something for the family to remember.

Flowering bark grafted water sprout.

Bark graft on top of the rootstock, bud graft lower. Very surprised rabbits didn't eat the bud graft over winter.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Tank and I bark grafted and straightened up this peach root stock. Unknown peach variey was blown over, I want to believe it was a contender but dont know for certain. . Roots keep shooting up suckers, so I let a few grow and that's what we grafted on to. I harvested sions in February from the original blown over tree before i took the chainsaw and cut it level with the ground. I have no idea the peach variety, only that it was known to be a productive tree. Originally came from starkbro and planted in the 70's. The bark slipped awesome today, with it being cool and recent rains, which made bark grafting easy.

Then tank and I whip and tongue grafted this M111 rootstock that I air-layed two years ago. Then planted in the early spring last year and pruned to grow multiple branches. We grafted 6 varieties of apple, from scions I harvested back in February, for a apple fruit salad tree.

I believe we did good work, but we'll see how many take.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Professional grafting crew video play list. Packed full of great information.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE870687C82260C3C

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Cherry one of the more difficult to graft. Here is a very good wedge graft howto from a pro.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Its been two weeks since peach rootstock had been grafted. 7 of 12 grafts took, that's approximately 58%. Three more are showing promise, but haven't broke bud yet, so they don't count.

I'll see if I can find some scions out of the orchard and re-graft, if not then I'll baby sit the rootstocks over the summer and try again next year.

Just a personal obvesrvation... Peaches have a soft/somewhat hollow heartwood. So it seems better suited to bud, bark or cleft graft, than it is to whip and tongue graft. However a few of my whip and tongue grafts did take. Also I know peach rootstocks need well drained soil. But it seems best to keep them good and wet until the grafts. Take then carry on as usual. Kind of mimic wet rainy early spring weather.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

I checked the remaining peach grafts that have not broke bud yet. I checked by cutting a ultra thin flap of bark to expose the cambium layer on the grafted scions. All the scions' cambium layer is still green. This a great sign and means all the scions are all still alive, so there is still hope. I'll wrap the scions in parafilm and set outside them outside, in the kiddie pool tomorrow. Being inside climate controled, they may just need some variation in temperature and real sunlight instead of LEDs to break bud. I'll check them again in another week or so.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Last night, tank and I grafted pear scions I harvested back in February onto Pyrus OHxF97 rootsocks. I purchased the rootstocks from Fedco last season and babysat them over the growing season.

We grafted 6 varieties of pears. I believe we did a good job but we'll have to wait and see. The grafted pears are the ones in red coffee cans. We'll set out the takers in the orchard this fall.

Still waiting of mazzard cherry roots stocks and flowering crabapple scionwood from fedco. USPS was supposed to deliver yesterday. But looks as though it is stuck in Ohama, NE

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

2024 grafted peaches, I believe I'm done grafting peaches this season. We'll set out the takers in the orchard this fall. Learning to graft is the most cost effective way I know of to get a orchard established.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[Mini Horses]

That will be a SIZEABLE or hard one day !!

 

[CrealCritter]

That will be a SIZEABLE or hard one day !!

I need to put a drain in those kiddie pools, make my life easier. Thinking about putting a valve stem for tire rim as a drain.

Jesus is Lord and Christ