Grafting – varttaminen in Finnish – is a traditional gardening technique used to combine different sorts of fruit trees. Today we learned how to combine the roots of a strong and resilient but otherwise not so tasty apple tree with the branches of all kinds of very tasty apple trees. In that way we can grow healthy trees that survive harsh finnish winters and can bear delicious apples at the same time.
The upper parts of the trees are called scion. We started by cutting them at a 45° angle between two buds and keeping them in mallow-infused water, that contained a special hormone to help plants growing. While most plants only contain this hormone during a short time period, mallow is rich in this hormone all year around. With soaking the branches we help our small baby trees to heal and grow quicker after the traumatic experience of being combined with a foreign root.
The lower parts are called rootstock. They should still be asleep and should not have started to sprout yet. We cut them the same way between two buds at a 45° angle, making sure that scion and rootstock are the same size. Now came the tricky part: connecting the two pieces. One person held the pieces firmly together while the other one wrapped a special stretchy tape around them. You will have to roll the tape pretty firmly around so that a strong and stable branch can form. After wrapping we used wax to secure the tape.
The final step was putting the roots into pots with soil and watering them well. Now our self-crafted trees are waiting inside, being kept safe from sunlight and wind to heal. Soon they will be planted outside to grow tall and strong and survive harsh finnish winters with their new roots. After five years they will start producing their first apples – a perfect time for a volunteers’ reunion in Kurki ecovillage. 🙂