Tree Grafting and Sustainability

This second installment of “Sustaining the Future” takes a deep dive into the tree grafting process and workshops offered by TC3’s
Tom McMullan.

To read more about Sustaining the Future, check out this blog post.

“One of our largest contributions to sustainability is in the form of apple biodiversity conservation efforts.” 

When we started TC3 we realized that the truly excellent and rare heirloom cider apples are really hard to come by.  This is the type of apples that we need to make our ciders stand out and for the most part, the few varieties that are available on wholesale are hard to get and expensive to ship.  

Once we planted our first replacement trees in the Old Kelly Orchard we came to realize that buying hundreds of trees would be really expensive and the alternative, to graft our own cider apple trees, would be a lot of fun (and a lot of work!)  

We grafted our first apple trees March 2019 using scion wood I collected from locals with their own home orchards.  After much reading and YouTube video watching, we decided to buy and use handheld grafting tools to cut and combine the scion wood to the rootstock. That first grafting Spring included many friends and volunteers to help and so it really did become a community effort.  

Since 2019 we have grafted many hundreds more and currently have the Lower Orchard with 450 trees and the Upper Orchard with 650 trees.

A few hundred more trees grafted this Spring and planned for next Spring will bring our collection up to 1350 trees that we made ourselves!  Many other trees will be grafted and planted into pots in the tree nursery to grow out trees we will sell locally.

Since we graft trees with volunteers and beginners, we prefer to use grafting tools since there's no chance of someone cutting themselves. Grafting knives are very sharp, much like box-cutters. If I'm grafting by myself I can use the "whip and tongue" method, a form of bench grafting. If you’re interested in a workshop, let me know!

For information on the next tree grafting workshop, email Tom at TC3@tumblingcreekcider.com and watch social media for updates!