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  • From: list@ginda.us
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>, Three Hills Farm <organic@threehillsfarm.com>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Re: Grafting wax is old technology.
  • Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 23:44:53 -0500

parafilm is very stretchy and sticks to itself. I don't have any now, but I used to use it when I worked in a lab. Great stuff. Just wrap it tight and it should stay on. I doubt you need to tie it off.

I've used grafting wax (nasty, sticky stuff that wouldn't wash off my hands), paraffin (okay for benchgrafts, but a nuisance in the backyard), masking tape (too hard to get a good seal), fabric-based tape (same problems you had), grafting rubbers (worked great to hold stuff together, will use again, but need something else to seal the wood), and strips of produce bags (not easy to place if the graft isn't already tied down, but seem to make an acceptable seal.) I haven't used parafilm, but from my lab experience, I would expect it to work very nicely and be convenient.

Since I now have a drawer full of grafting odds and ends, and don't plan to do much grafting in the near future, I think I'll stick with what I have - grafting rubbers and plastic bags. If I was starting from scratch, and planned to do a lot of grafting, I'd probably spring for a roll of parafilm. I wasn't arguing that wax is better, just that people tend to try first what's handy-by, and wax is often handy and works well enough that I'm sure lots of people stick with it. Why mess with success.

Ginda

On Mar 16, 2004, at 11:32 PM, Three Hills Farm wrote:

Ginda:
 
I went surfing a week ago for some grafting tape and ended up buying both a pound of grafting wax and a dozen rolls of Parafilm.  I used a fabric-based grafting tape last year that had way too much adhesive on it and was a nuisance to cut with a razor blade 6 weeks later.  Reading this thread on grafting wax has made me wonder if wax is the route to go either, but I'm going to give it a shot.  If you're looking for a good source online for grafting wax or Parafilm, I found both products at a very competive price and had them on my doorstep 2 days after ordering them.  I got them from Orchard Valley Supply.  You'll find the grafting wax here:
 
        http://www.orchardvalleysupply.com/shopping/ListItem.asp?ItemID=186
 
And the Parafilm here:
 
        http://www.orchardvalleysupply.com/shopping/ListItem.asp?ItemID=185
 
I've got a question for the list though.  Will the Parafilm stay secure to the graft if a knot is tied in it at the end, or will I need to secure the Parafilm with a rubber budding band?  I only bought the bar of wax with the intention of dipping the exposed ends of the scions.  
 
How should Parafilm ideally be used?  And if I need to subsequently wrap or dip the graft with something in addition to the Parafilm, why bother with it at all?
 
John
 
* * * * *
 
John A Gasbarre
Three Hills Farm
Union, Maine  USA
organic@threehillsfarm.com
http://www.threehillsfarm.com/apples.html
44° 15' 47" N / 69° 18' 42" W
 
> Grafting wax is old technology, and parafilm or Doc Farwell's may be
> easier, but wax works fine, and it may already be lying around your
> house.  I can still buy paraffin at the supermarket - I'm not sure
> where I'd get parafilm, but I'm sure I'd have to do a little research
> and then probably wait for something to come in the mail.  Paraffin
> melts at a modest temperature, that doesn't kill buds, and is actually
> pretty convenient for bench grafting.  It's a pain in the field, and I
> won't use it again on stuff that's too big to dip into the pot.
>
> Ginda
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