Really cheap fruit trees and the garden economy – make your own by grafting

ceridwen

...I had gathered that there is the "feast" situation for 1/2 months a year for those with existing apple trees. So - I presume its not possible to graft another "variety" or two onto an existing tree? Too new to all this to know - so am wondering on that....

Me - I've still got my eye out for a recipe for that longlasting type of apple juice Patrick Holden (Soil Association) mentioned recently that people in Transylvania make apparently - all he knew is that theres ginger in it and he wondered whether that is the ingredient that (naturally) preserves it for so long. I've run around the Web fruitlessly (ouch - pun alert!) looking for some idea how to so far. That would be one way, if we could find it, to "spin out" the worth of a crop from an existing fruit tree across as much of the year as possible..

I'll carry on keeping my eye out for this.....

RAS

Thanks for the ideas folks

Ceridwen, yes you can graft an additional variety onto an existing tree. I got a tiny bit of canker on one tree last year and cut the branch back hard. IF that branch is ok this year, I will graft another variety onto it next autumn.

If you have a mature stem a few inches long, you can graft to it.

Your comments take me back to childhood when we had a small orchard (by farm standards). There were a number of trees whose fruit was hard and sour when we picked it in October. I remember my parents explaining that these fruit would ripen in the spring.

My job in winter, often on Sunday afternoon, was to go up to the spare bedroom (just above freezing) and sort through the apples. Pick out any that has gone off and take to the kitchen any that were showing signs of going off, plus any requests.

I remember eating the first Beauty of Bath before the summer term ended and we had apples in store until about Easter. Personally, since rhubarb is in by then followed by goosgogs,then the rest of the soft fruit, I could live with very few apples from April to June.

I am sure I have posted this but I bought a preserving book that made a huge amount of sense. Basically, it suggested harvest and store in the autumn and eat the fresh fruit/vegetables. In the New Year, when stored stuffs start to soften and deteriorate, make preserves, pickles and chutneys, since you are not coping with harvest, Christmas or sowing the next crops.

RAS

ceridwen wrote: »

Re the pollination - a lot of people are in the same position as myself. So I was specifically looking for self-fertile trees - so I could just have the one and know it would "do its thing" okay - without the need for another suitable tree nearby or me wondering whether I was supposed to "make with a paintbrush" or whatever and try and sort it out myself??

Been looking up my apple book.

Do you grow your duos in the ground of in pots?

If they are for pots, then the lists suggest Sunset, a mid season desert apple with a very good flavour, self-fertile and attractive blossom, suitable for less favoured climatic areas. Buy a maiden or cordon on M27.

ceridwen

RAS

You were asking about community orchards. Have you seen todays post on Rob Hopkins' blog:

http://transitionculture.org/2009/05/13/a-wonderful-about-400-transition-fruit-trees-in-kilkenny/

cjb02

RAS wrote: »

Another link for northerners http://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/index.asp

sadly this link doesnt work :-(

Citysam

I dont know if anybody has posted this before - or if it even works...

My friend recommended that you put a fancy bottle over a baby apple or pear as it is growing on the branch. Then as it grows the fruit will get trapped inside the bottle (think ship in a bottle effect). Then you can carefully remove the bottle with fruit in, fill it with alcohol, slap a nice label etc on it and it makes a nice, cheap gift.

RAS

cjb02 wrote: »

sadly this link doesnt work :-(

Try this one then? http://www.lythdamsons.org.uk/

RAS

ceridwen wrote: »

RAS

You were asking about community orchards. Have you seen todays post on Rob Hopkins' blog:

http://transitionculture.org/2009/05/13/a-wonderful-about-400-transition-fruit-trees-in-kilkenny/

Yep, really inspiring piece. Was speaking to someone who runs the community orchard network in Scotland this week. We do not have one in England!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rosie383

As a real novice, can I ask a question please? We want to have an apple tree in the garden, and don't have a lot of room. I was looking at family apple trees and wondered if they are a good idea to buy. There is Worcester Permain/ Egremont Russet/ Golden Delicious, OR Greensleeves/ Queen Cox/ Fiesta, OR Fortune/ Falstaff/ Idared. I am edging toward the latter as it seems that we would get the longest eating season with this one. Can anyone guide me here?
Also we want to put in a dessert cherry tree also, so any suggestions as to what is a good self-fertile variety?
I have 2 areas to plant them. One is in shade until afternoon, when it gets sun for a few hours into the evening. The other area is against a south facing fence which would get sun for most of the day. Which do I put where?
Any help appreciated. Thank you.

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Hello,

I am quite new to this board.

I want to try my hand at grafting new trees to grow flat along a fence. I have an old apple tree I want to graft from. This tree is very old and still productive. The houses were built in the 1930s on what was an orchard. It may date back from those days.

My question is where can I buy just the root from?

Can I try a graft of two trees combined? One is eating, the other cooker.

Is this do-able? Or should I go to a nursery and buy a ready dwarf tree. How many fruits would one of these produce and how soon?

My soil is clay. I have a sunny, sheltered fence.

I 've looked on the internet but couldn't find dwarf root stock for sale......