so you're actually doing your own multi-grafted backyard garden.
That's what I'm doing yes to have as many varieties as I can in a very small area. Having a
small backyard, I can't have the space to grow everything I want so I do a lot
of grafting. I am here with Johno who's come all the way from America to visit
us here at Daley's nursery. Now Johno you're passionate fruit grower
would you like to tell me a little bit about where you're from.
Okay I'm from Orange County, Southern California place called Foothill Ranch
it's up in the hills east of Irvine if you know that part of the world. So what
sort of fruits do you grow really well in your garden. Well we can grow mangoes and at
home we have a number of different varieties and of course having a small
backyard I can't have the space to grow everything
I want so I do a lot of grafting to have as many varieties as I can in a very
small area so you're actually doing your own multi-grafted backyard garden.
That's what I'm doing yes so where do you collect scion wood from? Well I
belong to the California rare fruit growers the Orange County chapter and we
go to our members backyards so we collect scions from them also we have what we
call the great scion exchange. So all the people from all around bring
their scion wood to a central location and we just have tables of all of the
varieties everything is out there from every variety of avocado that you can
imagine and all the stone fruit, apples and aprions and pluots and peaches and
nectarines and nectaplums, and you name it. So in your backyard you were
telling me, Johno was telling me, he's got quite a small backyard, patio, how many different varieties of fruit are you growing? I have an avocado
which you started off as a fuerte and it's got Queen it's got Pinkerton it's
got Stewart it's got a whole bunch of things on because they need to be cross
pollinated and of course I haven't got ready to grow another tree so I graft
onto it. Yep. And then you come there's all behind that there's dragon fruits
growing over the fence and and then you come down and there is now a juicy peach
mango in one corner and then at the other corner is a Frankenstein fig tree
which is got a bazillion different varieties on it. Do you call it the Frankenstein, that's your name for it? Anyone growing multi-grafted trees, you
are going to end up with a Frankenstein tree in your garden. It's good, my wife gets
out there and she might have a bourgeois something or other or a kidoda or
Petes honey or whatever it's all the same tree, so you get variety instead of
quantity which can be a fantastic thing and you can extend your season on the same tree in that way too.
Well that's right yeah and then you got across the sample was an apple that's
a dud, it really doesn't doesn't do much good
I haven't cannibalized it but I've used it as a
root stock to graft other stuff on there and further there's a coconut cream
mango which is beautiful beautiful and then I've got the persimmon and it's a
fuyu persimmon we've got two different varieties of persimmon on it and then right
in the corner I've got a longan that I just tried to graft a lychee on and then you
come back the other way and as in a big pot I've got a cherimoya which is got
Atemoya and cherimoya and sugar apples on it. Hmm fantastic. And then there's a citrus tree
that's just a pure lemon tree because in California you can't move citrus trees
around because of the disease, it decimated Florida hasn't it?
Yeah and yeah we've got it in our yes so that's under quarantine
but then I've got Frankenstein peach trees which has pluots and apriums and all that stuff on it and it's fun. So Johno, my
big question for you is for people out there who are growing who have small
space doesn't want to grow a lot of things in this that's like you do how do
they learn the techniques of grafting do you have any commercial
experience or did you teach yourself? No basically there's a lot of YouTube
videos that talk about grafting techniques and there's a number of them
and before the scion exchange our chapter invites people to come and have
a look and we do a demo on the different types of grafting techniques available
so teaching people that process as well as exchanging the scion wood right.
So when they do they've got some chance of success and of course you
know we'll also sell them budding tape and stuff like that just to help them out and then
and then the other the other thing is to have a go and don't be frightened - you
know it's like a hair cut it just grows back if it doesn't work and then you can try again and that's what we always say to
our members you know I said because we're the adventurous type you know we
don't say you can't do anything give it and see what you come up with. It's all about the desire to do it. Now Johno, we've been
around the orchard today and we've tasted a lot of different fruit. Have you got a favorite fruit? Well I knew you're gonna ask that my
favorite fruit of course is durian but you know durian doesn't grow here. No.
What I was amazed by is the miracle fruit and how that changes the palate so
that everything after you eat that is sweet you know so it was really
wonderful and thanks Kath I really do appreciate the opportunity to come over
here and have a look and of course we do a similar thing and it's called let's
find out so if you do a YouTube video and look at YouTube have a look let's
find out and you'll see us going around to all the gardens in the US well in California.
We're going to do a mango tasting in Florida in July. Book me in, I'm on my way.
Thank you so much Johno, It's been a pleasure having you here and thank you for coming so far. Johno from the Unted States of America
my name is Kath Kermode thank you for watching this video
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