The Blairmont Apple Project

 Got two buckets of water holds parked in soil. All the Georgia origin and heritage apples are grafted. Also whipped out a number of USDA types as well. While I was busy grafting my eye spied this fellow trying to get into a chicken pen: This will be a daily thing from here on out...lol Well; looks like I have about 14 grafts done and they are all done.

 Got 6 Shockley and 3 Spice of North Georgia grafted. You can get a ton of grafts done on Spice of North Georgia. So many tiny buds.  Had a batch that had been water parked a day longer then I liked. Got those 9 broken in 2 pots with soil for now.  Completely off the G.214 rootstock now. Saving the last 7 to stool. Realized I've used a ton of P.2 as well. Not sure how many of those cuttings will root on either type. But will likely do a lot more interstems. And grudgingly do some straight M111 grafts too. Pretty confident on the interstems. I'm using Dermarite under black tape for vice like unions. And have figured out I can roll the Derma-rite back and separate it from itself. So no girdling should occur. Looking at Poly grow bags in a 2 gallon size. Helps you can also write on them. They are very cheap too. Lastly have to amend that soil. Seems dry and chalk like. The bio-char I guess? I like the chippiness of my weather mulch. And will add weathered manure too.

 Great thanks to the UGA Botanical Gardens Heritage Curator. Gareth sent me a handful of scions with 4 new to my Georgia Origin Apple collection. Earlier I sent her some scion types missing from UGA Botanical Garden's collection. She also sent 4 extra sticks of Shockley . But Mrs.Bryan, Old Fashion Limbertwig , Rabin Bald and Spice of North Georgia are now included on my G.214 rooted mother tree collection.   Had: Shockley, Disharoon , Parks Pippin , Tarbutton , Terry Winter , Tanyard Seedling , Wallace Howard , Blairmont , Magnolia Gold , Yates , Hackworth , King Soloman , Red Detroit and Cranberry of Georgia.   Now need: Black Limbertwig , Bart , Candy Stripe , Catawba , Clark , Coffee Seedling of Rabun County {Not Coffey Seedling/Dula Beauty} , Cooper's Market / Etowah , Forward Sour , Golden Harvest , Jim Kell / Fort's Prize , Kennedy , Kimrome , Rabun{not Rabun Bald} , San Jacinto ,  Shockley-Cantrell , Shockley-Grizzle , Striped Sweeting and Summer ...

 Still the number one goal here is to create a repository of Fruit of Georgia Origin. And also Varieties you can go back and find selling in Georgia Nurseries 200 or so years ago. And varieties noted for growing from the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. But there are some other side aims too. A] Low Chill apples. Not just Anna or Dorsett Gold nor Schell {from Alabama and the one from Virginia}. But also ones we rarely see. Beverly Hills, Galacia, Marquesa, Vered, Tropic Sweet, Tropical Beauty, Subtropical Apple, Joy of Florida, Coast Apple and others. Some of these might not be so great. Galacia and Vered sound like great pollination partners and are prolific bearers of small fruit. Some have had issues. Many of the Heritage apples are also low chill. San Jacinto and Jim Day for example.  B] Prepper delights ie...rootable by cuttings. Turns out there are many. I will attempt to compile many. C] Everbearing Apples for the family trees. Want just a few trees that pass out ripe apples...

 Well all the high heavy water made the ants move to some of my pots. Got bit and stung a lot inspecting grafts today. Should have some nice ole  Diatomaceous  earth for them tomorrow. Wife had to go to town as a hot water pipe burst in the kitchen sink. She got a replacement while I managed the monkeys{granddaughters}. So after a late start got everything watered and checked. Cut back some long scions and regrafted them. And made 8 more grafts.  Down to 10 G.214's to set for stooling. Have a goodly amount of M111 and P.2. Plus live and healthy trimmings of all three. Made a Polish P.2/Piervomaiskoi graft just to honor Poland I guess. And did a fair amount of interstems and a pair of straight M111 and P.2 grafts

 Only park potted the 15 or so grafts from yesterday. But did a lot of checking on earlier grafts. Well over a dozen are about to open up. I always feel a bit anxious until I start to see mass movement.  Found 3 top grafts I think may be bad. Ones I did not fully tape up to boot.

 Of course!...lol Lakes and rivers everywhere. No this is not normal here. Water rarely stands here because our lot stands elevated next to a swamp behind the pond. However both are higher then we ever seen them.