Davilyn Eversz

This last winter I was doing some heavy researching concerning grafted trees.  For a decade now I've tried to track down places that sell "own root trees", with little success.  There was a foundation in England that was engaging in it but when the founder died they went back to grafting.

Research led me to the understanding that grafted trees suffer heavily from pestilence and disease and are not long lived.  I think some of this is intentional so the commercial nurseries can keep selling you their product.  About five years ago I started seeding my own own root trees with stock/seeds from Oikos Tree Crops and J.L. Hudson.  Which are succeeding.  So I got brave and chopped all my grafted trees in the back orchards down to just the root stock.  For years then they produced little fruit but they never ripened.

This year all the fruit ripened.  Everything was still small - about 1-1/2 inches but they were incredibly delicious and the trees were covered with fruit.  And interestingly enough the peaches were a light green inside which I found really cool.

The main reason all this grafted nonsense started was to have smaller trees but I see there is a big tradeoff in lack of health and longevity.  Well, in five years these trees are 10'x10' bushes and for some reason the birds are not interested in the fruit and the bushes are much easier to take care of than a 12' tree.

Experiment.  I now have all my fruit and nut trees in an air pruning pot set up within a hydroponic set up.  They are dwarfed or espaliered and the nice thing about the dwarves is that I can move them around because they are in pots.  Some of the pots are in 55 gallon hydroponic barrels sunk into the ground up to the rim which keeps the water cool here in the desert.

If it were me I would leave the ones in the ground and experiment while starting replacements if need be, in air pruned pots. You can keep them in air pruned pots indefinitely.

At some point in my long bread making career, I remember sitting down and having a good laugh about sourdough starters.  The society we live in today has gone over the top in "technicalities and rules".  Why I was laughing is because I was letting myself go back in time when everyone used starters to make bread.  They had no scales, no fancy equipment, no bottled water.....well, you get the idea.  And all those guys who were not married, maybe farmers or miners, they certainly didn't go thru all the laborious methods of making and keeping a starter.

And think even further back to medieval times.....you might laugh yourself now, thinking of this.  This is not rocket science.

So....I lightened up and I just stopped being so fanatical about making bread and all is well.  I make all kinds of starters now.....potato, raisin, pineapple...because remember any fruit will ferment, they make perfect starters. I place a new starter jar on a seedling mat, it heats at 70 decrees and I use the fruit or whatever, a couple cups or flour and some water.  I leave it there till it ferments, which is about 24 hours then I put a couple TBS of flour in it and put it in the frig. Done deal.

If it were me, I would take advantage of the pluses that you currently have going for you.  You have strong stock and strong roots and they have proven they will grow where you are.  I live in the desert and with the continuing drought I decided to cut all my trees back to 18 inches tall and either dwarf them or espalier them.  I have had success with this.  The other plus in doing this is you do not have to wait so long for them to fruit as buying something new would, and then perhaps them dying for one reason or another. Also, you can correct all the wrongs of limb placements that they came with from the nursery.

I would give them an opportunity to "regroup".  By dwarfing or/and espaliering you will be able to have a lot more trees in your small area.

I live in the High Desert.  I have 3- 6 foot rods in for the solar fence charger.  The only thing that works here is pos-neg fence from Premier1 Supply.  With the serious drought here in California, it stopped working even when soaking the rods with water every day.  They claim their charge on the fence is high enough to make bears behave (I think it is 8,000 joules).  Although we do not have bears here, it has stopped even wild packs of dogs.  But still, I have a Great Pyrenees just in case.

Curious why you went with Goal Zero. I've build a few stand alone systems on my property and you've could've done the same and got a lot more value for the money - plus a lot lot better system.

Miles Flansburg wrote:Howdy Davilyn, do you have any aspen trees in your area? If so you could substitute the aspertane scraped from the bark for the manufactured aspirin.

I live in the desert. But one can also substitute willow bark. It can be purchased at health food stores if the tree isn't available. If anyone is interested, I have information about using willow extract (make your own) to root cuttings in.

Adam Klaus wrote:Let's see that recipe!

Learning new ways to keep out plants healthy is great, please do share.

Thanks

1TBS Fulvic/Humic Blend (this is a substitute for an animal based ingredient)
1 TBS Azomite
1 regular bayer aspirin (helps in transpiration)
1 TBS K-Mag
1 TBS earthworm castings from earthworms fed vegan sources
1 tsp Bio-Rush
1 tsp Nature's Nitrogen (plant based nitro)
1 oz. black strap molasses
1 oz Apple Cider Vinegar
1 oz. liquid kelp

Add this mixture to one gallon water, cap and shake well. I let mine sit overnight. Then take four cups of that liquid and place in another gallon container. Add 4 cups unchlorinated water. To that one gallon, add 1 TBS yucca extract and 2 TBS EM-1 and a squirt of a surfactant (I use CocoWet). Strain and put in sprayer and spray top and bottoms of leaves until they start to drip. Spraying must take place in temps under 80. This is when the stomata is open. Sun must also be over the horizon for the stomata only opens when the sun is shining. Dawn is fine as is just before dusk.

Leaves will absorb and begin to use the fert within 20 minutes. Leaves absorb 80% more nutrient than a root will. Foliar spraying also repels the bad bugs. Not all but enough that you shouldn't have heavy infestations.

My spray schedule is every two weeks for two months; then every three weeks. For me, here in the desert - that takes me to August. I do not spray in August. Different areas will have different schedules obviously - you will be able to tell by looking at the plant.

For bug problems I spray Surround WP at the beginning of the season. Bio-Wash is a excellent addition to any spray program. Surround can be bought at Planet Natural and Bio-Wash has their own site. All the unusual sounding ingredients in my formula can be purchased at kelp4less on the net. Get the small bags - it will last several years, even more.

Diehard Bio-rush also has their own site. EM-1 can be purchased from Terraganix on the net. They are the makers of Bokashi.

As noted; when making this recipe you will have 4 cups left over. That can be stored and used for the following feeding. It may get a white scum on the top - just strain it. If anyone needs help or has questions please post and I will answer fairly quickly.

DO NOT add fertilizer of any kind to the soil. Or compost. It will cause an imbalance within the spray schedule. Amendments from a previous season will not cause a problem. Veggie scraps, leaf clippings go under the mulch of hay and straw. Just pick up the flake and put them under it.

I am a vegan organic farmer in the High Desert of California. I use the Ruth Stout method of permaculture which is modified into forest gardening which is modified for the desert. The extent of composting for me is going out in the mornings and putting the food scraps under the mulch. I have a vegan foliar fertilizer recipe if anyone wants it.

I find it unusual that in this particular category, there are no facts to back up the non-use of fertilizer. Has anyone taken a BRIX reading and confirmed that the resulting produce is of high BRIX? Looks and taste can be highly deceiving - once you start taking BRIX levels with a refractometer you realize this.