GIY, Ballinasloe - talk on Apple Tree-Grafting - 20th March 2019

At 8pm On 20th March GIY (Grow it Yourself) Ballinasloe are hosting a  demonstration with Stephen March on how to do apple tree grafting.  You are welcome to bring along a 10-12 inch section of your favourite apple tree, but the club will have plenty to practice on.
 
The cost is €10 if you want an actual grafted apple tree to take home afterwards (first come first served) and €5 if you just want to learn the technique. 
 
March is apparently the ideal time to do grafting, but you need to gather your grafts and root stock now and keep them until March.  So if you want a particular tree, you need to collect 10-12 inch branch of new growth (not growth that had apples on it, something that grew fresh since April 2018).  Choose from the sunny side of the donor tree and choose an un-diseased clean branch.  Cut the branch cleanly with a sharp secateurs.  Take the branch and wrap it in damp newspaper, put the branch(s) in moist peat in a tall pot buried up to the tip and keep them in a cool place out of direct sunlight. You can’t use branches that have already filled with sap – so you'd need to pick them now. 
 
You will also need some damp newspaper to wrap your grafted on root stock in to bring home afterwards.  
 
Feel free to invite anybody you know who would be interested. Email Aidan Clifford for more info.