Differing approach for next year.

 Greeting on Christmas Eve! Hope everyone has a fine and enjoyable holiday with safe travels for all.


With other issues reducing scion purchases the coming year; I will shift most focus onto rootstocks and a greatly reduced scion buying budget. Hopefully 30-40 new types.

However talking around I've learned how I did rootstocks last year was not optimum. I had heard it was ok to keep rootstocks for a short while in the moist sawdust. However I feel this may had lead to reduced root development which contributed to last years fireblight attacks. 

From here on out I will till an area just prior to rootstock arrival and heel it in the ground immediately. 

Then a wise fellow with the Geneva program said to consider summer chip budding as a way to escape a large chunk of our wet weather fireblight pressure. And this makes a lot of sense given our leaf fall often happens in December. Allowing the new chip grafts to heal over and take. 

Setting them out un-topped and dormant. And topping above the bud just before spring. Apparently this is called dormant whips. On the downsides; you add another year to the plan. And budwood is not nearly as common as dormant scions.

Anyway this makes a lot of sense.

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