The two heirloom apple trees I grafted this winter using Peter the Hermit's Golden Delicious apple scion wood from Hester in Mahoenui have both grown, much to my great surprise and joy.
This was my first attempt at grafting, and to be honest I thought I botched it badly. I'm not great with sharp knives, and John was too busy at the time to supervise (maybe that was a good thing?!).
I grafted the wood taken in July in September, kept everything wrapped in plastic bags and damp paper towels in the fridge. I used a proper grafting knife and grafting tape, and grafted them onto Northern Spy rootstock I've had growing at the back gate for the past year. Maybe having the right gear helped. The scion wood was meant to be as thick as a pencil or your finger, and the rootstock basically that same diameter. I researched, read, and did my best, which seems to have been enough.
I'm trying to keep them watered well in our growing bed at the back gate, and hope the apple gods keep smiling. This is a very special crisp heirloom apple, it would be wonderful to have a tree or two growing in our orchard from which we could then propagate more for others in the community. Normally I'm not a fan of Golden Delicious, I find them too mealy. But I've tasted this apple, and it seems this early cultivar was quite different from today's Golden Delicious.
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