Apple Grafting - Part I

After months of waiting its time for serious grafting action! 22 apple trees grafted onto m.26 rootstocks to be specific. All the grafts were done using the whip and tongue method after extensive practice on plum prunings. I waited till mid September on the advice that the closer to bud break the grafts were done, the higher the success rate. I could have waited a couple more weeks but it was close enough!

This is me working on the big daddy of the rootstocks I bought. Most of the other plants had reasonable root balls but nothing like this, this ones a frigging mop! It has been granted pride of place in my orchard and I can report that its graft (seen below) is doing well.

Grafting's just not grafting unless you draw some blood. After 22 incident free grafts, I managed to slice myself while cleaning the knife! Good knife though, sharp too.

Clockwise from top left: A mysterious and delicious cooking apple from Corryong yet to be formally named (14 trees), Crofton (2 trees), Calville Blanc D'hiver (2 trees), Bramley's seedling (3 trees).

The apple bed with its many apple trees that I don't know what I'm going to do with.

One of the Calville's showing a tiny bit of growth. # Update: Appears to have died #

The mop rootstock with its Corryong seedling graft.