With old arthritic hands I find the smallest pair of bolt cutters I have is the best for cutting metal deer fencing. A little heavier than tin snips but requires way less pressure and avoids the repeated squeezing of the hands that causes trigger finger flare ups.
I also imagine a battery operated hand grinder with a cutting blade would make fast work of the fencing, but I only own a corded model. Fine for the work bench, but not so great if a long ways from a power socket.
It has bypass side-cutters. They rotate around the pivot and apply tremendous force when the handles close. Also there is a chisel cutter.
Fence pliers have other uses specific to building fence:
You insert the sharp claw under fence staples and rap the anvil with a hammer effortlessly to loosen woven-wire fence from even the most recalcitrant hedge posts.
You get the jaw over a pair of ends to a wire loop and spin the handles to tighten it symmetrically so each end is entangled with the other rather than the wrapped one’s slipping against the straight one.
I grafted Dolgo to an apple tree 3 years ago. It was a small scion and the graft took, but the scion was toothpick sized and the (now 3 year old) branch resulting from this graft is still really really thin (like twice toothpick size) on a branch that is much larger (and ending at the graft).
After 2 seasons this graft has pushed another 4 or so inches of growth (with the original piece being just over an inch). So this graft, after 2 seasons, still looks like a puny little branch (on an 8 foot well growing tree. So any hints from the pros out there on how to get this thing to actually grow?
what’s the fastest fruit tree to set fruit from seed? or from an year old ordered bare root? people talk about things being precocious but I’m looking for sooner fruit for the waiting time on a few pear and apple, and I’m not sure what will go well. zone 6, high desert with irrigation.
any ideas? I’ve got gooseberry already and putting in jujube this year along with a harrow delight.
(it’s mainly waiting on the pawpaws that’s making me antsy to be honest)
I wrapped all but the root end, put them in a slightly damp container of sphagnum moss on their sides in a warm place and checked daily to root fig cuttings. most all of them took! I believe there’s a good thread on the methods and I took it from there if you search for “rooting figs from cutting”
You could try dipping them in wax as you would with a scion.
Alternatively, almost cut the top off a jug (I prefer the distilled water gallon from target) and leave a tiny bit as a lid you can close. Then you can tape it shut with packing tape and open periodically for an air exchange. Basically make a tiny greenhouse to keep higher humidity.
They are dormant. A number of varieties will lose the leaf blade and retain the leaf stem, especially on the terminal bud. It does eventually fall off. Pink Lady is one that comes to mind.
prune of the side branches on the branch the scion is grafted on. To force all “energy” into the scion and nothing else. And maybe notch above the side branche to which the scion is attached to. To force more growth into that branch and thus graft.
on a warm winter if had similar branches in january, where there was actually still a green leaf attached to the terminal bud.
I mostly chip bud, so have not used that terminal bud. But the bud’s just below it. They grafted just fine.
dormancy is not just from “cold” it’s from hormones.
If you look at <1 year old (this season) growth end of summer/fall. Just above where the leaf petiole is attached to the shoot. You see buds. Those buds are dormant. Even though they are already there when there is still 20c=68f temps around.
If you do end of summer chip budding (or grafting) with those fresh buds. They will stay dormant till next spring. Unless you force them with hormones by either making the rootstock grow (water fertilizer heat) or pruning above the chip bud to brake apical dominance. Or ideally both
It’s odd I have the same variety on top of its own b9 rootstock and that one went dormant weeks ago.This one is on top of an older red love Calypso which is also dormant.
Newbie question. I had a bare-root tree shipped to me exceptionally early. I’m in Zone 5A and typically can’t plant until early April but I have a tree here now. I kept trees in sawdust/potting soil last year for a few weeks before planting and they did fine, but a few weeks is different than a couple months. I have the tree planted in a 10gal pot. I’m just not sure what to do with it. I’d typically keep trees in the garage but we’re still predicted to get down to 10 degrees in the coming weeks. The plant is hardy to -30F, though. Is it fine to just leave it in the garage in a pot despite going above/below freezing? I don’t want to bring it indoors because even in the basement it’ll stay between 55-65 degrees, which, from what I understand, is too warm.
ive had that happen to me. i just left it in the original box, dug a hole to the ground in the snow and layed the whole thing on its side and reburied with snow. seeing you already potted it you could set on the bare ground and then bury the pot in snow or use mulch, straw etc…to keep the roots from freezing. ive tried keeping potted plants in the unheated garage and lost every one.
All the snow has melted as of today, unfortunately. It seems like my ground has thawed somehow and I can get a shovel in. We look to generally be staying in the upper 30s with lows into the 20s for a couple weeks. Just one day coming up with an overnight low of 6. Should I just throw this tree in the ground?
If you have a building that would protect it from freezing and yet not warm enough to cause it to break dormancy that would be ideal in my opinion. It would be best to keep it dormant until you are ready to plant it.
I wish I had a building like that. But nothing that can keep a somewhat steady above-freezing temperature at this point in the year. It’s not warm enough during the day yet to build up heat in the garage so it stays above freezing overnight. I figure I need to get it in the ground tomorrow or try to make it break dormancy in the house and plant it in ~3 months when the frosts are past. Our last frost date up here is usually around May 15!
