Ordering Rootstocks

The puppies are ridiculously cute now. The boys took all nine out into the sheep's hay pile; they would let the puppies slide down, and watch them bounce through the hay and wrestle. The puppies are still too small to do that for long, but for the little while: what sweetness.


I needed to order rootstocks for the peach and apple scions. I decided it would be a good day, and happened to notice that the cutoff date for peaches was today! I ordered online, and that was done. Good thing I checked. One of those small mercies.

For apples, I called to order. It required a good bit of thought: not only did I need to know which variety of rootstock (after planting semi-dwarf varieties, we're leaning towards the close-to-standard size going forward, so they won't require staking), but I also needed to know which caliper size I wanted. I had measured my scions with Phil's calipers, so I had a fairly constant 3/8" diameter. I was surprised to find, then, that the nursery had sold out of two of the three hoped-for varieties altogether, and the third variety was only available in 5/16" (which is close to 3/8", obviously).

I asked when I should have placed my order: January? February?

It turned out that this nursery didn't sell on a first come, first served basis. They contact their previous customers In August or September and ask what they will need for the next year. Anything left over is available for sale to people like me.

This was a level of complexity I had never considered. Who would have thought?

Happily, the nursery gave me the number for a local nursery. The second nursery had one of the two varieties I hoped for, but all their rootstocks were a good bit larger than 3/8". I figured I'd make do, somehow.

Late in the afternoon, though, they called me back: they'd had an order cancel that day, and the woman remembered that I'd like the 3/8". Another one of those beautiful small mercies.

I have 300 apple rootstocks and 60 peach rootstocks on order. Apple rootstocks are a bit under a dollar (when ordering 100); peach rootstocks are $2.20 each.

Phil finished up chipping the section he and Creigh started. When he finished, he summoned the boys to come and help him spread a thick layer of mulch around the blueberries. I haven't seen much sign of life from those berry bushes: it could be we'll need new, viable plants in the next few months. That's okay.

One other task: I went to the greenhouse to transplant. I figure the soil in there is fairly well amended at this point. But I started on the very edge, where the soil was never tilled: under the top inch, the red clay remains hard and compact. I wrestled with planting for a bit, and finally decided I'm just not that into growing vegetables. What a lot of effort for the potential of a harvest.