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Event
Fruit Tree Propagation Practicum: Grafting and Top Working
Description:
Free yourself from the expense of nursery-bought fruit trees! A fundamental skill of the self-sufficient orchardist, grafting gives you the freedom to save desirable varieties, produce your own trees for free, and swap out varieties you dont like without having to take out the whole tree.
This workshop will give you the confidence and practical skills needed to do all of your own grafting at home without any fancy tools. Bob and Matt of Small Ones Farm, will also demo and provide hands-on instruction in topworking, a technique that allows you to renovate or replace already planted trees with more desirable varieties.
There will also be discussion and examples of how to plant and care for your newly grafted trees. All participants will come away with a grafted apple tree of their own making
About the Instructor:
Bob Fitz and his wife Sally are the co-owners of Small Ones Farm, a 63-acre property with nearly 10 acres of Certified-Naturally Grown apple, pear, peach and plum trees. They also grow raspberries, blueberries, table grapes, and pumpkins. Bob has been growing fruit for 14 seasons using innovative, organic approaches.
Matt Kaminsky is a young farmer, cider-maker, and writer from Montague. A recent graduate of Hampshire College, he focused his undergraduate studies on sustainable farming with particular respect to wild and heirloom apples. A self-proclaimed "vagabond orchardist," he has authored a field guide to wild apple foraging and has worked at numerous orchards in the region, including Small Ones Farm. He offers workshops and trips throughout the year via his blog, Gnarly Pippins.
Information on NOFA/Mass www.nofamass.org/membership
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