Grafting ornamental plants and fruit trees

The purpose of grafting is to combine one plant's qualities of flowering or fruiting with the roots of another that offers vigour and resilience. This is a difficult task and requires lots of skill and practice. In most cases, trees and shrubs are available to buy already grafted onto a rootstock.

Fruit trees are grafted because:
If they were grown on their own root system, many would be too vigorous.
Cultivars will not usually come true from seed.
A fruiting plant can be produced in a shorter period of time.
A weak-growing cultivar can be invigorated.
Ornamental shrubs and trees are grafted when:
It is difficult to propagate by other means, such as cuttings or cultivars do not come true from seed.
In order to strengthen plants that grow weakly on their own root systems.
In order to produce a larger flowering plant in a shorter period of time.

When to graft
Ornamental plants are usually grafted in early spring before the sap starts to rise, but it can also be done in autumn.

Fruit trees are grafted at different times of year, depending on the technique. Chip budding and T-budding are undertaken from mid-summer into early autumn, while whip-and-tongue grafting takes place in late winter or early spring.

How to graft
Most plants need to be grafted within their own species i.e. Acer palmatum cultivars onto an Acer palmatum rootstock. However, it is sometimes possible to graft within a genus i.e. Acer japonicum, A. circinatum and A. shirasawanum can all be grafted onto Acer palmatum rootstock.

A few plants can be successfully grafted onto different species, providing they are within the same family. For example, Fothergilla onto Parrotia rootstock, as both are in the Hamamelidaceae family.

For grafting pines, a rough rule of thumb to remember is a five-needle pine can be grafted onto a five-needle pine. The same applies for three and two needle pines. There are always exceptions to these rules and it can be a case of trial and error.

The most important things to remember when attempting to graft a plant is to use healthy material, have a very sharp knife that is regularly sterilised, and cut straight so surfaces meet flush.

Ornamental trees and shrubs: spliced grafts

Side-spliced grafting is usually undertaken in late winter or early spring before bud break. Scion-wood should be from healthy one- to two-year-old wood. The best rootstocks are two-year-old seedlings, ideally about pencil thickness.

Cut the scion wood just above a bud into 15-25cm (6-10in) lengths.
Cut the rootstock down to about 7.5cm (3in).
Make a downward nick about 3cm (1¼in) below the top of the rootstock.
Then, starting at the top of the rootstock, make a downward sloping cut to meet the first cut. Remove the slither of wood.
Take the scion-wood and make a cut along one side the same length as made on the rootstock.
Make a short angled cut at the base of the scion wood.
Fit the base of the scion wood into the rootstock so that the cambiums (green layer just beneath the bark) meet.
It is preferable that they touch on both sides of the stem, but usually satisfactory if they only meet on one side.
The key to grafting is to make straight cuts so the rootstock and scion fit snugly.
The graft should then be wrapped with grafting tape, polythene strips or raffia and any exposed cut surfaces painted with grafting wax.
If possible, place in a propagator or greenhouse. Do not over-water the compost but mist regularly. If successful, the graft should start to show new growth in about six to eight weeks.

Fruit trees: whip and tongue grafting

This method is used for the production of fruit and some ornamental plants. It is normally undertaken in March or early April on rootstocks planted 12 months previously. This technique uses two cuts on both the scion and rootstock, which enables the two parts to be 'locked' together. This gives a structurally strong graft suitable for field conditions.

In December or January select healthy and vigorous shoots from the scion tree. Note that both rootstock and scion material need to be about the same diameter – preferably 2.5cm (1in). Remove a 23cm (9in) length by cutting just above a bud on the tree.
Bundle five or six scions together and heel them into a well-drained, sheltered site, leaving 5-7.5cm (2-3in) showing above the soil. This will keep them moist but dormant. Alternatively, wrap them up in a dry plastic bag and keep them in the fridge until spring.
In February, before bud break, cut the top off the rootstock at about 15-30cm (6-12in) above ground level and trim off the sideshoots.
Make a 3.5cm (1½in) upward-sloping cut on one side that exits half way through the stem.
Follow this with a downward cut, one-third of the way down the exposed face of the first cut.
Make this 0.5cm (¼in) deep to form the ‘tongue’ into which you will insert the ‘tongue’ of the scion.
The scion (three to four buds long) is prepared by making a flat sloping cut 5cm (2in) long, just behind a bud.
Follow this with an upward cut 5mm (¼in) deep to form the corresponding ‘tongue’. Both are brought together with the tongues interlocking.
Match the two cambiums together as well as possible and bind firmly with grafting tape or raffia.
Remove this when a callus is clearly visible (about eight weeks later).

Problems
Generally, failures occur when the callus between the scion and rootstock does not form. This can be due to poor cutting and joining, or inferior quality plant material. However, a few loses are to be expected.

However, sometimes graft unions can fail many years after they were, seemingly, successfully made. Wisteria is a common example of this, and the reason is usually given as 'graft incompatibility'.

All About Growing Melons

Delicious and packed with nutrition, melons have delighted gardeners for about 2,500 years. Their rambling vines grow best in warm weather, and fruit flavor and texture improve if rain becomes less frequent as the fruits mature. Melons come in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors, providing a multitude of options for summertime fare. All melons grow best in fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.

Types of Melons

Finding the right melons for your garden will take some experimenting, because varieties that thrive in dry climates may fail under moist conditions, and vice versa. Check out our chart of melon types, which includes our recommended varieties of melons for home gardeners.

Watermelons mature after 80 to 100 days in hot, humid climates — they won’t grow well or taste good without plenty of warmth and sun. Watermelons tend to be the easiest melons to grow in organic gardens because of their pest and disease resistance.

American cantaloupes, properly called muskmelons because of their fruity fragrance, produce 75 to 85 days after planting. Some varieties have smooth rinds, but the most popular and nutritious varieties have orange flesh beneath heavily netted rinds.

Honeydew melons have smooth rinds over white or green flesh. Most varieties need about 100 days of warm weather to make a good crop.

Casaba and crenshaw melons are oblong with wrinkled rinds and juicy, salmon-pink flesh. Most varieties need more than 100 days of warm weather to produce high-quality fruits.

Specialty melons vary in size and maturation time, and some are much sweeter than others. Asian melons are fast-growing and productive, but aren’t as sweet as European or Middle Eastern varieties.

When to Plant Melons

Sow muskmelons, honeydew and other Cucumis melo varieties in prepared beds or hills after your last frost has passed, or sow seeds indoors under fluorescent light and set the seedlings out after about three weeks. Direct sow watermelon seeds in late spring or early summer, when your soil feels warm to the touch. In short-season climates, plant watermelon seedlings started indoors to get a jump-start on the growing season.

How to Plant Melons

Fertile, well-drained soil is essential to growing great melons. Prepare raised planting hills within wide rows or along your garden’s edge. Space 3-foot-wide hills 5 to 6 feet apart. Loosen the soil in the planting sites to at least 12 inches deep. Mix in a 2-inch layer of compost and a light application of organic fertilizer. Melons love composted manure (from cows, horses or poultry), which eliminates the need for supplemental fertilizer. Use a rake to shape the hills into 6- to 8-inch-high, flat-topped mounds, and water well. Plant six seeds per hill, poking them into the soil 1 inch deep. Ten days after sowing, thin plants to three per hill. If planting seedlings, set out three seedlings for each hill.

Consider installing protective row covers after you finish planting melons. Row covers benefit melons by raising soil surface temperatures, taming wind and excluding insects. Remove covers a week after plants begin to bloom so insects can pollinate the flowers (learn more about how to use row covers to protect plants and extend your growing season).

Harvesting and Storing Melons

Most muskmelons naturally separate (“slip”) from the vine when ripe, which means you can pick these melons with just a gentle tug. The rinds of some varieties of honeydew and watermelon change color when ripe, making it easier to learn the melon-picker’s art. Watermelons are ripe when the curled tendril nearest to the melon dries to brown, and when the melon sounds deep and solid if thumped. Pecking from birds often indicates imminent ripeness.

Keep muskmelons at room temperature for two to three days after harvesting to help bring out flavors, and then move them to a refrigerator. Always keep honeydew and Asian melons in the refrigerator. Watermelons stored in a cool place (about 55 degrees Fahrenheit) will keep for several weeks.

Saving Melon Seeds

To keep seed quality high, select a perfect fruit from the densest part of a planting of open-pollinated melons and mark the fruit for seed saving. You can set aside seed from all melons as you eat the fruits, then rinse the seeds and allow them to dry at room temperature for about three weeks. Select the largest, plumpest seeds for replanting and store them in a cool, dry place. If given good storage conditions, melon seeds can stay viable for at least five years.

Melon Pest and Disease Prevention Tips

Melons often face challenges from insects, namely aphids and squash bugs. Cucumber beetles also pose a threat, spreading bacterial wilt when their doo comes in contact with feeding wounds in the plants’ leaves. Watermelons are resistant to bacterial wilt, but other types of melons are susceptible. Your best defense is to use protective row covers.

Melon plants that stay full and leafy until the fruits ripen produce better crops, but powdery mildew can rob plants of their energy, which in turn reduces sugars, flavor and nutrition. In addition to using resistant varieties, some gardeners ward off powdery mildew by using a spray made of 1 part milk to 6 parts water, applied every two weeks during the second half of summer.

Melon Growing Tips

Learn how to grow melons using vigorous, disease-resistant hybrids. As your skills develop, switch to open-pollinated varieties so you can save your own seed.

All melons love rich compost, so try planting them in an old compost pile.

Grow honeydew and small-fruited Asian melons on trellises to save space: They’re great for vertical culture.

How to Raise a Baby Horse

Raising a baby horse can be difficult and overwhelming if you aren't familiar with horses. Raising a baby horse is a big job! If you've decided to keep your baby horse to train and ride one day, it's important to work with your baby horse as you raise them from a young age. 

The most important thing to remember is that manners learned when you are raising foal will carry into maturity, and bad habits that are cute for a baby horse can be deadly when that baby becomes a 1100 pound adult horse.

Suckling Age:

One of the best things you can do to help responsibly raise your baby horse is to work with them regularly. Commit to work with your baby horse 3-6 times a week- the more the better, although short, positive session work best. Get the baby horse used to being brushed and touched all over their body. Teach them to pick up their hooves for you when you ask. Get your baby horse used to having a foal-sized halter put on.

Leading and Tying

It is much easier to teach a small baby horse to lead and tie than it is to teach a large animal. Teaching a baby horse to lead will require the assistance of a helper. A baby horse will naturally want to follow where his mother goes- therefore, a few times a week, have a handler lead your mare around as you lead the foal behind the mother. Do not let the foal rush ahead or lag behind, gently encourage and reprimand, and praise for walking by your side. If done regularly, you will save you and your horse from the dangerous experience of halter breaking an adult horse.

As you raise him, teach your baby horse to tie - after he begins to understand leading. For the first time, tie in a stall or small corral, with mother nearby. Feed your leadrope around a sturdy pole, hold the end, and leave some slack in the line, allow the horse to realize he is tied. Your foal will likely pull back, do not release the rope unless the foal becomes tangled. The baby horse must learn struggling will not release him. When he stops pulling on the line, praise him and turn him loose. This skill is much easier to teach a baby horse than an adult horse.

Weaning

Somewhere between four and six months your baby horse will need to be weaned from its mother to allow the mother time to recover from nursing. Weaning can be traumatic but try separating mother and foal a few hours a day, in safe pens or stalls so they can still see each other. Gradually extending the time and distance apart is the safest way to wean a foal. If your baby horse can have another foal as a companion or even an older gelding, he or she will do much better.

After the baby horse you've raised is a weanling the fun of ground work can begin! Again, keep sessions with your still-baby horse short- but do it regularly or you'll be faced with an unruly, unmanageable adult! If your baby horse is a male, 6 months to 1 year is an ideal time to geld and save yourself the attitude and hormones of a stallion around. As you raise your foal from 6 months to 2 years you should work with your baby horse regularly. Take the baby horse for walks in all sorts of environments, teach your baby horse to load in a trailer, to take bathes and be sprayed by the hose, to stand for the farrier to trim and shoe their hooves (you can practice this by having them lift their feet as you mess with their feet and gently tap their hooves with a small hammer) to walk over tarps and not be afraid of plastic bags. Teach your weanling and yearling to yield to pressure all over their body- for instance, when you touch their side, to sidestep away. As a yearling, begin teaching your baby horse to wear a surcingle and allow it to be cinched up. And acclimate the horse to having ropes tossed over, under, and around their body without shying.

If you raise your baby horse properly you can build an incredible bond with your baby horse and produce a well mannered, educated horse that will be easy to saddle break.

Raising a foal can be a rewarding and memorable experience and some people who raise a baby horse go on to professional careers with horses. A vet tech degree (which can be earned from online degree programs in some states) can prepare you not just for a career as a vet tech, but make you a more hireable candidate for a career working at a horse breeding farm or veterinary clinic that specaializes in equine reproduction.

How to Choose Animals and Crops to Raise on Your Farm

So you've decided to start a small farm. But you're not sure what animals to raise, or what to plant. How do you decide?

What Appeals to You?

It seems obvious, but the most likely candidates for farm animals are the ones that you're drawn to naturally. If goats seem odd or strange, maybe they're not for you. Perhaps you have fond memories of petting cows on your grandparents' farm, or have a fondness for pigs.

If your goal is to start a business with your farm, think carefully about markets for your product, and do some research to see if there is demand for it. If your goal is self-sufficiency, you'll want to consider what kind of food you and your family like to eat. Don't raise pigs if you never eat pork!

Be Cautious About the Unusual

Often, people are drawn to unusual or exotic animals. Their thought process is often that something that isn't "what everybody else is doing" will be marketable. This isn't always a logical conclusion. While specialty crops can be a great way to generate income, sometimes this can backfire. Be sure there's a market for your unusual animal, herb, vegetable or fruit before investing a lot of money in it.

Make a List

Make a list of your potential animals and crops. Leave room for notes, and make sure to list the reasons why you are considering this particular animal or crop. Use this list to gather tidbits of information as you get further into the research process.

Read About It

Go to the library or your local independent bookstore and look at everything you can find about the animals and crops on your list. Use the Internet to search for basic information on raising each animal. At this point, you might start narrowing down your list as you find out more details. Whenever you lose focus, look back at your goals for your farm and ask yourself: does this animal or crop further my goals?

Talk to Farmers

You've pondered it, read about it, and thought some more about it. Sometimes you just have to experience things to figure out your path, and nowhere is this more true than farming.

Find some local farmers who are raising the animals or crops you're considering. Ask them about their successes and their challenges. Go pet the animals, see the housing and fencing that the farmer has chosen, experience the animals in three dimensions.

Now you've had a chance to thoroughly explore some potential animals and crops for your farm. You're ready to choose some to start with! How exciting!

Raising Healthy Turkeys from Poults

If you're starting your turkey flock with day-old poults, you are probably wondering how to make sure they grow into healthy, happy adult turkeys. With some preparation and care, your baby turkeys will thrive.

Set Everything Up

Just like for baby chicks, you'll need to set up a brooder for your turkey poults. A turkey poult brooder is just the same as one for baby chickens, so you can use these resources to design your brooder. The key is to have everything set up and warmed to 95 to 98 degrees before your poults arrive. Also similar to baby chicks, the poults will huddle under the lap if they're too cold, or stay at the edges of the heat source if they're too hot. So while a thermometer can be a helpful guide to temperature, especially before the poults arrive, use their behavior as your guide.

You will raise the heat lamp a few inches each week (and roughly 5 degrees lower) until the temperature is the same as the outdoors or the poults are 6 weeks old. You'll also want to have feeders and waterers filled and placed properly. You don't want them right under the lamp, but you also don't want them too far from the center. Place them so that the poults can get to them easily without getting either chilled or overheated. Hanging feeders can prevent poults from standing - and pooping - in the feed or knocking it over.

Use pine shavings - never cedar - for the bottom of the brooder. Once poults are three weeks old, some farmers like to use clean sand. It can be cleaned just like cat litter and keeps the brooder dry.

Finally, make sure you have their roosts and pen ready for them to move to after they outgrow the need for the heat lamp and are ready to move to pasture.

As Soon As They Get Home

Once your poults arrive home from the feed store or from the post office, inspect each one as you remove it from the transport box. Dip its beak in water as soon as you put them into the brooder, so they learn where the water is and how to drink. Remember that especially for shipped poults, they will be stressed from the transport process. Make sure they eat and drink well for the first two weeks.

Preventing Problems

Turkey poults are particularly prone to "starving out," which means that some poults will get pushed away from the feeder or hang back, and will actually starve to death despite food being available. Keep a close eye on poults while they're feeding to make sure this doesn't happen.

Overcrowding can also contribute to starving out, so make sure you have plenty of room for your poults. You'll want at least a 10x10 space for a dozen day-old poults, and as they get bigger they will need more room.

Add a Roost

By three weeks of age, you can add a roost to your brooder. Teaching turkeys to roost early helps when they're eventually moved to roosts later. Plus, they will sleep warmer and more comfortably.

Feed Them Properly

There are many different feeds for poultry. Medicated, nonmedicated, starter, grower - what to pick? Turkeys need high protein, more so than chickens. A gamebird or poultry starter that has around 28 percent protein works for the first 12 weeks. Medicated or not is your choice; many small growers like to use nonmedicated feed. After 12 weeks, the feed can be lowered to 20 percent, but any lower and your turkeys won't grow as big as they could.

Move Them Outside

As your poults grow, you will need to make the brooder bigger so they aren't crowded. As mentioned above, each week you will raise the lamp and lower the temperature about five degrees. Or, you could switch to lower-wattage bulbs as they grow. Much like vegetables, you will need to "harden off" your turkey poults by gradually exposing them to outside temperatures. By three weeks, they can have access to an enclosed "sun porch" on nice days - but keep them inside on rainy or cold days.

Make sure they are fully feathered and at least eight weeks old before moving poults to their new outdoor housing. You can give them access to outdoors but still provide the lamp at night for a week or two, and then finally move them to their new, grown-up turkey roosts and pen. Check on them nightly for a few days after the transition. Make sure they don't get damp or chilled.

Electronet and Chicken Tractors

If you decide you want to raise pastured poultry, whether for eggs or meat, you'll need to provide your chickens with fresh grass, bugs, weeds and such to eat. How? By making sure they always have a new patch of grass to munch.

When I first started raising chickens, I didn't understand the different options. What was electric fencing for? How often would I have to move it? Did they need a chicken tractor too? Could they be raised in just a chicken tractor with no outside pasture? I found the answers and want to share them with you as you venture into the world of keeping chickens.

Electric Net Fencing, aka Electronet
Electric net fencing, also called electronet, is one option for containing poultry. Light, movable, and quickly installed, electric net fencing is used for sheep, goats, and even cattle. For poultry, high netting is usually recommended - 42 or 48 inches - and the nets are spaced closer together, preventing small hens from escaping.

How does electronet work? Electronet consists of horizontal electrified wires held in place with vertical plastic strings. You need an energizer, which is powered by a connection to electricity, a battery, or a small solar panel, and a ground rod, which is driven into the ground near the energizer.

One other key with electric net fencing: you must move it often and mow underneath, because brush in contact with the fence will reduce the voltage on the fence and therefore its effectiveness.

Chicken Tractor
A chicken tractor is simply a movable coop for a flock of chickens. The idea behind a chicken tractor is that the birds can be somewhat confined and moved often to a fresh patch of grass, eliminating the need for a permanent coop area and bedding, and allowing the hens to eat fresh grass, grubs, bugs, seeds, and weeds without having them roam completely freely over the land.

Chicken tractors can work one of two ways. Sometimes they're used in conjunction with electronet, and chickens are moved less frequently. This allows the chicken tractor method to work with larger flocks where a coop large enough to comfortably house the whole flock would have to be so large, it wouldn't be very portable.

Or, the chicken tractor is built large enough for the entire flock to live in it all the time, and move it as the patch of grass underneath is used up. Oftentimes these chicken tractors have part of the tractor enclosed only in mesh and part with a roof, so the chickens can have sunshine and shade. (Chickens love shade!) The benefit to this design is that you don't have to move both a fence and a chicken tractor. The drawback is you may be moving the tractor more often, and the chickens are truly confined all the time. This method works better with smaller flocks, where the chicken tractor doesn't have to be very large for the hens to be happy with the space. It works particularly well in suburban or urban settings where electric net fencing would be unwieldy or unattractive.

There are many plans and ideas for chicken tractors available on the Internet, and they range from tiny, for 3 or 4 hens, to large.

Happy New Year