Early March grafting sees record numbers of new apple trees

Efficient and well attended with barely a moment to catch breath between morning and afternoon!

Was this North Cumbria's best attended grafting workshop? It's certainly possible, with 150 rootstocks being grafted onto scions to form new trees, swelling the numbers in existing orchards or making something brand new.

A contingent from Cumbria Wildlife trust also attended, in recognition of the invaluable and biodiverse wildlife habitats traditional orchards form. Amongst the most popular varieties of the day were the widely commercially grown Katy and the versatile and hardy Scotch Bridget.

Hilary demonstrated grafting with her usual quiet aplomb, and she, Mark and Chris (ably assisted by Mark Shipperlee) were constantly on their feet offering welcome advice and technical assistance. The morning session was all systems go, with a steady stream of members leaving with entire orchards in bags. Both practical demonstrations were clear and easy to follow, even for those with less experience, and after so much hard work and concentration, refuelling with coffee and cake was most welcome. Sara took charge of the kitchen whilst Alison kept careful tabs on everyone's rootstocks, assistance without which the event would not have been possible. We were fortunate too to have the use of Thursby Parish hall, an excellent venue for ensuring multiple people could safely and comfortably carry out refined knife work. Events such as these ensure skills such as whip and tongue grafting remain current, and traditional orchards can live on amongst north Cumbria's challenging weather.