Two April Apple Workshops: Tree Grafting and a History of Apples

Thanks to Kari Lygren and Jared Kane for these photos of previous grafting workshops and apples.

John Bunker's presentation on ‘The History of Apples in New England’ has been cancelled. We are trying to re-schedule it. Please stay tuned for a new date announcement and for an update on whether or not the Apple Tree Grafting Workshop will go forward as planned.

MMRG and Branch Hill Farm/Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust (BHF/CSFCT) will hold two workshops in the month of April of interest to apple enthusiasts. On Saturday, April 4, orchardist John Bunker will speak on ‘The History of Apples in New England’ at 11 am at the Town of Middleton Old Town Hall, 200 King’s Highway, Middleton, NH. The following Saturday, April 11, an apple tree grafting workshop taught by Jared Kane, BHF Executive Director and owner of Jug Hill Orchards, will take place from 10 am to 12 pm, rain or shine, in the barn at Branch Hill Farm in Milton Mills, NH.

John Bunker started the mail-order nursery Fedco Trees, founded the Maine Heritage Orchard, and is author of Apples and the Art of Detection, which recounts his forty years of tracking down, identifying and preserving rare apples.  On April 4, Bunker will address what has become of the historic wealth of heirloom apple varieties that once dominated the New England landscape and what made these apples so special. The presentation is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is helpful but not required; call MMRG Education Coordinator Kari Lygren at (603) 978-7125 or email mmrgnh@gmail.com. For more info, click here.

Jared Kane has won national awardsfor the hard cider he produces at his cider-specific apple orchard in MiltonMills. At the grafting class, also offered in 2018 and 2019, Kane will teachthe art of grafting apple trees and the basics of pruning and care. Theworkshop will include an introductory slide presentation as well as hands-ontraining. By the end of the class, each person will have completed graftingtheir own small apple tree to take home in a pot, using a scion (living shoot) collectedfrom one of several varieties of local trees. If time and weather permit, the groupwill take a short walk to see some wild apple trees growing at Branch HillFarm.

The grafting workshop cost is $10 tocover supplies. Pre-registration is required by 5 pm on April 8; earlierregistration is advised since the class size is limited to twenty. For moreinformation, directions, and to pre-register, contact Kari Lygren at the phoneor email above.

The two workshops are a prelude to theplanting of a new Heritage Orchard at Branch Hill Farm. Explains Kane, “Thisholistically managed orchard will feature historically grown apples and pearsfrom across our region, many of which will be cloned from old trees found inback yards and fields. If you have an old apple tree you think should beincluded in the Heritage Orchard, please contact me at jared_kane@branchhillfarm.org.”

Branch Hill Farm/the Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust works to protect open space and working forests and to educate the public about sound forestry, conservation and agricultural practices; see www.branchillfarm.org.