Eric Thompson

We are in process renovating house and property and pursuing some business activity in the same space.  There are many places we can use a hand and the property offers some unique experiences.  Business activity should be able to eventually support full time work and lodging at the property -- things are still in process to get us there.

Property is 14 acres in Longview, WA, USA.  Not a typical Permie homestead, but a unique and peaceful place with some jaw-dropping features.

Requires a hard worker with an open mind -- many opportunities can be made to fit skills and interest.  PM me with what your availability is, skills you bring, and what would make an ideal longer term setting you you.

Give them some time -- there is just a small amount of energy going into the graft, so those will bud slower -- if you cut off the twigs below the graft twice a year you will do fine.

I might cut if the roots are spiraled or snarled together, but if rootbound part is minor I just step on the ball to splay it out or step on it in the hole..

These grow nicely in my Zone 7 area -- they do very well in wet areas.  The fruit is tastes pretty good and is a heavy producer.  As a hedge it is easy to bend, puts on fast growth, and is a little thorny - probably a good fit!

Lawyer Nursery - Montana!

Fredy Perlman wrote:

How old are the 65 young? Mine are first year. Could I rip a trench with a ditch witch and casually drop them in there, then transplant in a year? Is that better than potting them in commercial topsoil (something i'm considering for the overstock)? That could be a promising technique for a lot of these bareroots.

Mine are also from the conservations district - black elderberry about 2 ft tall. 
If you rip a trench of soft soil and fill them in (even close together) they should get up to 6ft with a main trunk this year.  After that, they are pretty free to grow above deer browse height.  Elderberry are easy to transplant and also grow with rooted suckers profusely, so you can dig and separate or dig and re-fill the trench with shorties..

Beginning grafting is pretty forgiving -- if you fail, the rootstock generally survives and thrives and you get another chance next year (or you can try some August bud grafting instead..)  And if you mound up your dirt a little when groowing trees out, you will get some new rooted rootstock coming out as well...pretty soon you will need to find a place to sell them  all...

I just finished up planting bareroot for the year.  If you can get them in the ground quickly, that is best by far.  The biggest danger is the roots drying out, second is the roots rotting from too much moisture, and third is the roots dying in a hard freeze -- all of these only happen if you don't get them in the ground..

I've had good success with elderberry and got another 100 bareroot this year -- I direct planted 35 bigger plants, and planted the smaller 65 in a trench to grow out for a year - just in slits 6" apart where they will get a wood chip mulch.  For me, getting the trees above the deer browse line (over 6 ft) gives them a much better chance of survival...

It's a worthy adventure!


I think what is normally meant by grafting onto rootstocks being cheap is that you can graft over 1000 trees for well under $1000....and then grow out some rootstocks for free propagation and grafting in later years.....

A few more tips on Lawyer:
They have "conservation grade" that usually means a kinked stem or funny root or something - but great stock at half or less the regular price
They have a literal fire sale in June -- stock goes to about 60% discount for a while as it comes out of cooling and what doesn't sell goes on the bonfire...  (this isn't broadly advertised so you might need to call and ask..)