Orchard care: tools, management

[Lazy Gardener]

Cane fruit: I've been plagued by raspberry cane borers. It appears that more vigilance is in order. And, if I do better at noting girdling, I can eradicate the damage in my cultivated berry patch, even though there are wild berries all around. I think this is the reason why it's recommended to cut all new growth back 6" every fall.

UNH extension re cane borers

 

[Britesea]

That's so cool! I've always been interested in grafting, but never had the gumption to actually do it.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

That's so cool! I've always been interested in grafting, but never had the gumption to actually do it.

It's stupid simple.

The only supplies I need are: clippers, a razor knife, or other super sharp knife, a roll of electrical tape and grafting wax. Instead of buying the expensive grafting wax, I bought a wax toilet ring. That contains enough wax to last my life time!

Once supplies are gathered, it takes about 10 minutes to do a cleft graft. I cut my scion wood, with intent to graft the same day it's cut. I do my grafting when buds are swollen, but before they break. That way, I'm sure there's a lot of sap traveling up the tree to nourish the scion.

While the instructions in the following article states that clefting is used with a LARGE root stock, I cleft graft any root stock that is a bit larger than the diameter of a pencil.

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-make-a-cleft-graft-3269523

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Not too late to start a few pear or apple seeds!!! And, I believe you can bud graft even later on in the summer. I've not tried that yet, but it looks to be fairly easy. That would be a good way to add an extra variety or two to an existing tree.