PUT TOGETHER AN ORCHARD BY YOURSELF!

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Now starting just below the bud, make your cut just deeply enough to remove a little wood. Then, holding the bud shield by the leaf-stem handle, slip it into the T on the rootstock. Cut off the part of the shield that extends above the top of the T and wrap the graft tightly with a few rubber strips to keep the two parts moist and in close contact.

Several kinds of strips are available for wrapping, including ones with staples for attaching the loose end after wrapping. I find the plain strips are easiest and most secure; the loose end is just tucked underneath the wrapping. Two strips may be necessary to wrap the graft, thought it's not necessary to cover up the whole area. (The bud shouldn't be covered.) Eventually your strips will rot off. Try to graft several buds on each tree to be sure that at least one will take. My husband and I found it easiest and most efficient to work separately. We budded 50 trees in about four hours.

NOW SIT BACK ANDWATCH THEM GROW

Bud grafting does take some skill — but it's quickly developed. Those who aren't swift-and-sure knife wielders should practice on some other material first. I went down to our wild chokecherry thicket and spent an hour or so grafting buds to stems, until I felt fairly confident about the operation.

The next spring, we inspected all of our trees dozens of times. We were ecstatic when our babies began to grow. We cut off the tops of the trees — just above the graft — on which a graft had taken. Doing this forces all of the rootstock's energy into the development of that bud. From just one bud, a whole tree will eventually grow. The rootstock will make buds, shoots, and suckers, too, which must be pinched off as they form. If two grafts took on one tree, one will have to be cut off. This causes me the same kind of pain I feel when thinning a row of vegetable seedlings; but like thinning, I know it is essential for the health of the plant. We procrastinated a little before cutting out the extra shoots just in case any were injured.

Sometimes it takes a while for a bud to swell, even after the rootstock branches have opened their leaves. Their will to survive, however, is amazing — on a few of our trees, a bud had died or been knocked off during the winter, and from underneath it another bud grew and became a shoot. So don't be surprised if you are happier with your new orchard in June than in April. Still, you can expect anywhere from 30 to 90% of your T-bud grafts to take. On our trees, about 66% took, and 23 out of 25 trees were successfully grafted on the first try. It's a good idea to tie each shoot to a stake to help it grow upright. Now all you have to do is take good care of your little trees, and in three or four years you'll be picking your first fruit.

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