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RE: Building a Small Farm | Propagating for FREE Plants
Isn't plant propagation the absolute best! I'm a blueberry farmer (if I had to give myself a title) and have about 1200 plants growing in the fields. Not only do I make my money by harvesting and selling the berries but I found an additional income by selling plant clones. Essentially, they are free to make, just some time and effort. I recycle all my pots. My only expense is purchased peat moss for the planting media.
Lately, I've been doing some research on grafting. It seems so strange and difficult but the more I learn, the more comfortable I am becoming with it. I recently bought this book, The Grafter's Handbook, 6th Edition
by: Garner, R.J. and have been devouring it. It's a great book. I highly recommend it.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I've never attempted grafting - as you say, it's seems a strange and difficult area - but I would like to try it one day.
And 'Hi, I'm a blueberry farmer' is quite the opener! Love it. :D
I should use that line more often. Maybe I'll get a date out of it, haha.
give a liquid organic fertilizer made from rice water and goat urine for your plant food. you can see how to make it on our blog. Good luck. thank you
It really is not that difficult. It is very important to have a sharp knife with a thin blade. We have been using utility knives with good success. I highly recommend that you first practice on some branches you prune off. It really is a matter of practice.
We use paraffin tape to wrap the scion. I wrap it before I fit it to the rootstock. Less wiggling on the connection. One year, I ordered 50 rootstock - they were $1.30 each or something like that. Then I grafted them all. In the beginning, it took a long time for each. By the end, I got pretty fast. I sold some, planted some and gave many away. I sold enough to cover my cost.
Every year, before I start grafting a practice on a stick for a few times to get comfortable with the cuts again. Hope you try it - you'll have fun!
I keep trying to get fruit tree cuttings to root, I guess I should really be grafting them to rootstock! It does seem intimidating but maybe I'll work up the nerve soon...
Figs, pomegranates, goji berries, and grapes are easy to grow from cuttings and will do okay. But stonefruit and apples are not really such a good idea. Usually, the resulting tree is much weaker.
Rootstocks are bred to be disease resistant and such and you can choose one which does well in your particular climate and soil.
Of course, if you have a plum tree for example, it will shoot up suckers and they are from the root stock . Cut those with some root on it and you have your own.
also, you can grow from seed. But it will take 8-10 years before you get fruit and 80 % is not going to be that great. If you have a lot of land, that is a good way to go. You might develop the next sought-after variety :)
Wow. Thanks for the info! I'm definitely going to add this to me to-do's list! :D
Welcome :)
thanks so much for this info!
you are welcome