To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] alternative graft sealant
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:26:52 -0600
At 03:11 PM 3/16/2004 -0500, Tom wrote:
When I was a boy in the 60's I remember an old woman in North Andover, Mass
who lived on the Smolack farm. I can remember her chip budding roses along
their long laneway. She used wax to seal the chip buds when she was
done. She carried a small double boiler of sorts that had a small flame
under the wax to keep it soft.
I've told this one before, and Doc Lisenby pointed out some potential
benefits in the following discussion, but I have a friend who related
watching her grandfather graft apples, when she was a young girl. He'd
wrap the graft union with twine(raffia>), then apply a generous coating of
fresh, warm cow manure as a graft sealant.
Ever notice how a cowpie forms a nice, dry crust within a few hours, but is
still nice and moist inside? I have. I'm guessing it would do the same
thing for a graft - seal and guard against dessicaiton, but allow buds to
push through as they begin growing. Additionally, the bacterial microflora
present in the fresh manure may also deter fungal growth.
Seems like I remember Doc suggesting that cow manure may cure toenail
fungus - or was that just wishful thinking on my part?