The whole register
All 25 entries
Filed from the union outward. Every entry says what the rootstock decided and what was left to the grower.
Union
Section page · 6 entries- 01 The rootstock decides Size, precocity, anchorage and how long the tree takes to pay for itself are all set below the graft. The scion supplies the fruit and almost nothing else.
- 02 Reading the callus ridge The swollen line where the two woods met, and what a poor union looks like.
- 03 Bench grafting Made indoors in winter, a whip-and-tongue cut bound and left to knit.
- 04 Dwarfing is a restriction A dwarfing stock works by limiting what gets past the union. What that costs in anchorage and drought tolerance.
- 05 The union must stay clear Planted too deep, the scion roots and the whole point is lost.
- 06 Interstems Three trees in one: a middle piece grafted between stock and scion.
Structure
Section page · 6 entries- 01 Posts and four wires A modern planting is a fence with trees tied to it. What each wire carries.
- 02 The strainer post Angled, anchored and doing all the work at the end of the row.
- 03 High-tensile wire Thin, strong and unforgiving. Tension, staples and what happens in frost.
- 04 The screw anchor Wound into the ground at an angle, holding against everything the row does.
- 05 Tying the leader The single stem trained up, and the tie that must not girdle it.
- 06 Row spacing Set by the machine that has to pass, not by the tree.
Bloom
Section page · 5 entries- 01 The few hours Effective pollination lasts a small window at the right temperature, and the crop is set in it.
- 02 Hives at the headland Where they go, when they arrive, and how far a bee will actually work.
- 03 Pollinisers Most varieties cannot set with their own pollen. The rows planted to fix that.
- 04 Frost at pink The stage at which a degree or two decides the season.
- 05 King bloom The first flower in the cluster, and why it is the one wanted.
Thinning
Section page · 4 entries- 01 Taking fruit off on purpose Removing most of what set, to get size, return bloom and a crop next year too.
- 02 Biennial bearing A heavy year followed by nothing, and the habit that causes it.
- 03 June drop The tree thinning itself, and why it is not enough.
- 04 Hand versus chemical Timing, cost and precision — the trade in plain terms.
Store
Section page · 4 entries- 01 Keeping an apple asleep Lower the oxygen, raise the carbon dioxide, hold the temperature: respiration slows and the fruit waits.
- 02 The sealed door Gaskets, gauges and a room nobody may enter without checking.
- 03 Pulling a store Once opened it cannot be closed again. Sequencing the year around that.
- 04 Scald and bitter pit Two storage disorders with different causes and the same disappointment.