Back to Eden Gardening and Hugelkulture and other non-conventional garden methods

[Leahs Mom]

Has anyone planted Lingonberry or wintergreen/teaberry as a ground cover? If so, your experience, please.

I'm looking for an edible groundcover to use in the landscaping around the house...low shrub size for fronts of borders, etc.

 

[lazy gardener]

I planted Lingonberry after leaving it in the pot all last summer. Looks like one survived, the other... not so much. Time will tell. I also planted low bush cranberry. Both like acid soil, so you may want a plant that prefers a more neutral soil.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm really curious as to how well the spread once they get established.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Do you recall what catalog ? curious

Nope, but i can look. I need some strawberry plants anyways.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Absolute tons of them here should I mail them

 

[pennyJo1960]

Night from this time zone

 

[Arielle2]

Why can't apples make roots? I have apple seeds starting. What do they use for root stock?

Late jumping in...perhaps you have received an explaination.

To clone a tree, a graft is the traditional method. Obviously, a seedling is not an exact replica. For grafts a number of options have been developed. From full sized Antovoka russian stock to midsized to very dwarfing. ALlows for faster fruit production; but the plants have shallower root structure and prone to drying out and need regular watering as well as very good staking sysytem. The full size trees can last for generations but the others apparently have a limited lifetime. The Geneva station , Dr Cummins and others, worked for decades to develop rootstock that can withstand the Fireblight disease. Some fruittrees are more resistant than others as well. Malling stock is still used but most are not fireblight resistant. I assume some areas are not as blight prone.

Bud 9 is somewhat fireblight resistant and very small tree. A Russian stock.

I still have one question about using Geneva stock. If the rootstock wont die due to fireblight, does it really matter; what good is the root if the entire graft on top dies? Or does the root somehow confir resistance to the grafted variety?

Hope this helps.

 

[Arielle2]

This site might be of interest. As we are all about the soil.

https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/2...re-regulations-on-manure-use-for-food-safety/

 

[Arielle2]

@HoopyFrood , You can also get seedling root stock at Fedco. I have a seedling pear that I've unsuccessfully tried to graft onto. Had a scion that was well started last summer. In my zeal to weed around the seedling, I knocked the scion off. Hope to repeat the process this spring.

It would make sense to harvest some root from a good root stock cultivar.

Awwww....sorry to hear this.

On a similar note, placing a tall stake or two in the area is preventative. Apparently birds will perch on the fruit trees and the weight is enought to break the graft in the early years. With the taller pole, the birds will prefer that pole to the the shorter grafted tree.

Also put out water for the birds, when the fruit comes , to prevent birds pecking at fruit for the moisture. ---only read, not tried yet. But I do have a small flock of sparrows that hung around all winter. For the food and water I guess.

 

[Arielle2]

I initially did a whip and tongue that did not take. A friend then did a cleft which did take, but I broke it off. The resulting seedling root stock is about 4" tall before the cut, and it has developed a lot of side branches due to having been lopped off 2 seasons in a row. I'm hoping there is enough of a stub left for me to try a cleft graft again.

There's a lot of material out there on grafting techniques, including stuff on the net, and in book form. I do have some written material. I think it's simply a matter of trying it until you get it right, and doing the right type of graft at the right time of year. Supposedly, bud grafting is the most successful with pears.

I am planting the rootstock that I have and will top work at some point. This is OH x F 87 rootstock. Almost full size. and fireblight resistant. OH is Old Homestead and F is Farminton lines. ( Pulling out of my memory. ) Usually everything is reduced to initallys and abreviations.