For Trees and Ulster!

 I see this graft has taken well...

As most of you know this year I've started to graft my own apple trees, me and some of my Paramili-Trees went all over the country gathering up scion wood/cuttings from many of our heritage Irish apple trees. We went to lots of old secret walled gardens on the hunt for our ancient varieties, often having to climb over the high walls without permission Paramili-Tree style to get these.

I really enjoyed the whole process doing this, I learned and observed so much, it was also good to connect with the trees that I'm taking the cuttings from.

There is something like 120 native Irish apple tree varieties and I think we've got about 30 of these so far. This is a mission that I'm intending on doing for the rest of my life, is to master this process in growing and preserving our heritage apple tree varieties.

We did 320 grafts this year and I'd say we got around a 95% success rate! I cant believe it be honest for our first time!

And whats going on with this one in the pic? Its got nice healthy apples starting on it already. This one has taken that well it doesn't even realise its been taken from its mother tree!

Which I took the apples off yesterday btw, you want the tree to be putting all its energy into healing the graft and creating the connection with the rootstock.

These are mm106 rootstocks we used, which I think is the best, this rootstock very rarely needs supported and will grow into a decent sized tree. It will also live for around 100 years!

I have big plans for all these trees, these will be used to help recruit and educate more Phantom Planters. We are going to fill up our streets and estates everywhere with heritage apple trees

Never mind having all these special trees hidden away in secret gardens, we are bringing these to the people.

Some of the names of these trees are just amazing too, like Donegal Chisel and Cavan wine, Irish pitcher and the Ecklinville cooking apple which is probably the closest native variety apple to Belfast. Discovered in someone's garden in Newtownards not for from Belfast hundreds of years ago.

All these trees will be coming to the streets of Belfast and beyond very soon.

Funny how life can take a full turn. Most of my life I was stuck down there in the underworld, ducking and diving looking over my shoulder polluting my soul with the darkness of this world. 

Now my mind is in a very different place and it's all thanks to phantom planting trees. When we plant trees and give back to nature, the community and the creation it does something special to you. Its like your growing into this new you along side your trees. 

#phantomplanter 

I challenge you to phantom plant a tree!