| Growing Fruit Trees Southern Highlands |
 |
WHERE: Moss Vale Community Garden
After a few days of wintry wet weather, we were relieved when a sunny day unfolded for our propagation workshop focusing on the many ways that the backyard food grower could multiply their stock of fruiting trees and shrubs inexpensively.
The schedule for the day was ambitious, and promised a fast and furious pace to cover all the topics planned: seed-raising, plant division, layering, cuttings and grafting.
After a warming morning tea and home-made bikkies and cake (thanks Lorraine & Annie) we launched into the day's activities, trying not to be distracted by Polly Wally Doodle All the Day (our resident sulky doll) who was intensely watching the antics of the bantam and her baby chicks in the chicken tractor.
Jim kept the home fires burning and cooked to a tee the sausages for our lunch sizzle.
After lunch we got stuck into learning about grafting fruit trees, in this instance, dwarf apple trees, which are highly suited to backyard growing systems as they take up so little space whilst producing good crops of apples. We all took turns at using grafting machine, kindly loaned to us by Ray Theissen, to create a new apple tree of our choice to take home and nurture.
Hopefully, the culture of producing new fruit trees from existing ones is a little less a mystery and our participants feel more confident to have a go at it at home. Especially if a neighbour has a nice variety of fig, stone fruit, apple or pear that you have been coveting - it's just a matter of asking for a bit of young wood and by this time next year you could have a juvenile tree.
Thanks to those who attended our workshop.
I would also like to offer a huge vote of thanks to the community garden members and volunteers; Arthur, Kathi, Paul, Lorraine, Heather, Annie, Jennifer, Jim and Natalie for their time and effort in setting up and contributing to the success of the day.
|
|
