It’s winter here in New England. And if you haven’t heard, we’re getting walloped by snow! It seems every few days there’s more white stuff to shovel. Meanwhile my friends in places like Minnesota report bare ground. We live in strange times for sure.
All this snow might be enough to drive some gardeners stir crazy. In fact, some would argue I don’t need any help in the crazy department with all the ideas I have for a farm/homestead/land someday. So for now I’ll try to focus on dreaming of spring gardening and all it’s possibilities. It’s like starting with a clear slate. The smell of fresh earth… Green springing forth again from the gray-brown landscape… Ah, the wonderful potential for new projects…
So indulging my tendency for going… shall we say a little overboard… I ordered a bunch of dwarf apple rootstock from Fedco this weekend: ten each of Geneva 11 and Budagovsky 9 (aka G11 and Bud 9, respectively) and scions of several varieties of cider apple. At first, you might be thinking, “What’s the big deal? That’s not that many.” And in the grand scheme of things, you’d be right – if we weren’t near the city, have limited space, and most importantly, renting. Especially once those trees get growing – even though they’re dwarf rootstock.
Fortunately, there’s a method to my madness. At least that’s what I’m telling myself to justify the purchase. You see, Fedco recommends their clonal rootstock be planted for a season to establish a better root system and grow a bit larger before grafting. So if any are large enough, I’ll graft the cider scions this year. Otherwise, I have a few Antonovka rootstocks (a full-sized, Russian apple tree rootstock) left over from grafts that failed to take last season that I can graft them to.
I plan to nurse the rest at my community garden plot this season before grafting next spring. From that point, I should have another year or two before needing to find them a more permanent home. By that point I hope to either have bought land or work something out with someone ho does. Worst case, I’ll keep a few to grow in containers and give the rest away to friends and family. Either way, I have some fun gaining more experience grafting. Stay tuned to see if my crazy ideas pan out!