​The importance of the art of grafting fruit trees was first on the list of things that Will Lewis explained at his grafting workshop on Thursday March 21st. In one simple statement he summed it up: “Most fruits that you eat are from a grafted tree.” Johnny Appleseed himself, as legend has it, was well known for sowing the seeds of apples far and wide, but perhaps this was because he understood that out of the thousand seedlings he was planting ahead of the settlers maybe one hundred would result in apples that were pleasant to eat. When fruits come from a seed there is always a possibility of cross-pollination that results in a diverse genetic structure. With this diversity comes variability and inconsistency—leaving you with apples called “spitters” that are so bitter they make you want to “spit” them out and are good for cider, but not for eating. The well-known apples we are all used to eating, gala, honey crisp, granny smith, and so on are all originally from a randomly delicious fruiting tree that was named and grafted.
            Luckily, we already have many delicious apples readily available, whether they are wild trees or cloned varieties, and can graft from existing trees. If we want to stand on the shoulders of Johnny Appleseed, the first step is to choose our scion wood and rootstock. Scion wood determines taste so that choice is easy: choose an apple you like to eat. Rootstock on the other hand, is what determines the size, height, disease resistance, density of fruit, years to fruit, and lifespan of your tree. Many are partial to dwarf rootstock for instance, because although the trees have a shorter lifespan and are less resilient, they fruit earlier so you get an earlier return on your investment and they require less work to cultivate and harvest. While scion wood can be easily harvested from a tree of your choice, the multiple factors involved in choosing root stock makes it worth getting from a reputable nursery supply so you can be sure of what characteristics you will be getting.  
           Once these choices have been made, it’s time to talk process. Although there are multiple methods of grafting, the workshop focused on the whip and tongue union. This method mechanically binds the scion woods to the rootstock, and the only tools you need are an exceedingly sharp knife (ideally flat on one side and beveled on the other), some wax (toilet bowl wax will do), some wet newspaper or peatmoss, and grafting tape (or flagging tape in a pinch). And of course a wealth of knowledge from a practiced horticulturalist and the company of other eager grafters-in-the-making helps. 
            The first step is to match your scion wood to a rootstock of a similar circumference. You then clip a section off the top of the rootstock right below a bud, exposing the cambium (a light green ring just beneath the bark that acts as the thoroughfare for nutrients and water). Using your knife, you cut that fresh end into a diagonal slice to increase the surface area of the cambium and increase the chances of your “union;” the more angled the slice, the greater the cambium contact between scion and rootstock. ​It’s important that the cut be one flat unified stroke to avoid gaps between the cambiums.

​       You then make a matching sloped cut at the tip of the scion wood, making sure that you have your buds facing upwards. The next cut you make is directly into your freshly cut ends, to create a little notch where you will fit the two together. With each piece prepped, you merge the two notches.  If you have more than three buds above the graft you have one final cut to make: cut horizontally above the third bud, because an excess of buds requires too much in the way of water and nutrient support and will take energy away from a successful union. 

​         Once you’ve achieved a satisfactory union, you wrap the point of contact with flagging tape to encourage the merger. You then coat the tape and the tip of the scion wood in wax as well. This step is particularly important because this seal is what keeps moisture in your scion wood, and if the scion dries out, you won’t get a callous to form joining your graft.

We are at the top of Briery for the super moon and vernal equinox, two celestial events that haven’t occurred on the same night since 2000 and won’t again until 2030. Although the alignment of cosmic elements isn’t something that typically attracts my attention, the intensity of this confluence peaked my interest. A super moon, or a “perigee syzygy,” is a full moon that coincides with the closest moment of the moon’s orbit. Based on my recent googling, the perigee is the point at which the moon is closest to the Earth in it’s orbit, and a syzygy is the lining up of 3 celestial bodies and occurs every full moon, new moon, and eclipse. So not only is the Sun-Earth-Moon system aligned, but the moon is half bathed in light, half shrouded in darkness. And this coincidence also happened to coincide with this year’s vernal equinox, the moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator northbound, making the day and night equal in length. And with a good bit of that night left, I decide to continue on my path.

As I walk and wonder how far I would follow the pull of the moon, I find myself at the edge of a large puddle where the road should be. The glassy surface creates another inverted universe, where the moon is still full, but shines up from the ground rather than the sky. As the season when days continue to get longer, Spring seems to be rife with the symbolism of things beginning again, rebirth, regeneration, renewal: to forward thinking and planning.

This night, however, seems to be urging me to reflect. To remember to look down and back, to take a closer look at the soil that gives rise to the Spring, and to seek the magic that can be found underfoot. To reflect on what has already been accomplished before surging forward with everything left to do and prepare. 

When I wake the next morning to say my goodbyes to the moon, following it once again up and over a mountain ridge, I am amazed to already find the first signs of Spring beneath my feet as they pass over the grounds of the Yew. Seemingly overnight, determined buds of flowers and ramps have been pulled up and over leaves and snow. As I sit atop a sandstone outcropping surrounded by mountain laurel, I feel a reverence for the winter equal to my excitement for the spring; it is periods of dormancy that allow for new growth. I listen to the birds as the day breaks
and find myself looking forward to a growing season in which I hope to find balance, to notice the reflections in the puddles, the dark side of the moon, and the ground beneath the sprouts.

Ruthie Cartwright
Education Assistant,
AmeriCorps Member

​My name is Ruthie Cartwright, and I’m  excited to be serving the next sixth months as your Americorps Education Assistant. I was born and raised in Portland Oregon, a place known for the accessibility of its wild landscapes, whether it be high desert, coast, or rainforest,  although looking at how much of my childhood was spent indoors, you wouldn't know it.

​

​Meet Ned Gardiner of Asheville Iyengar Yoga  

This 3-day nature retreat will focus on standing, forward-bending, back-bending, and pranayama-- all at an introductory level. Iyengar is a branch of yoga focused on the discipline of gradual progression of body movements that peel back the layers of the mind, body and spirit to cultivate clarity and calm. ​
 

Who are you and how has experiential learning made a different in your life?
These are hard questions! I'm not sure how to answer "who am i?" I'm just getting to know myself!
I am a student of yoga. B.K.S. Iyengar's teachings have given me the opportunity to study myself and open up to being less limited than my mind and body had previously suggested. I am learning to learn, learning to do, learning to teach, teaching to learn (and so forth) an ancient art and science that opens doors such as that. 

To call this humbling is to miss the point, for of course we are small in comparison to the experience and wisdom that luminaries have passed along for us to examine, experience, and question. Who are we to say we have limitations when we rarely test for the boundaries? 

What is the program you are presenting and what do you hope participants will get out of the weekend?
In this weekend we will explore the asanas B.K.S. Iyengar suggested we practice as we begin to study yoga. His personal brilliance was in offering specific guidance about how to practice. Moving from periphery to core and out again, we will touch upon the eight limbs ('ashtanga' in Sanskrit) of yoga.

I hope participants get a spark of interest in the subject to help them continue their own self-exploration.

"Inspiration" comes from Latin for "to breathe into." Latin and Sanskrit come from the same Proto-Indo-European language. Yogic texts (written in Sanskrit) describe 'pranayama'-- one of the eight limbs ('ashtanga,' again) of yoga which addresses working with the life force which animates everything. So "inspiration" literally and figuratively is interdependent with the outdoors, where our atmosphere is generated. 

Describe a time you were inspired when being outdoors.
I draw inspiration regularly from what is today known as the Pisgah National Forest. The forests there are healing from a heavy cutting early last century. The canopy won't close as the chestnut and other would-be giants of the forests no longer grow to their majestic potential in the southern Appalachians. But growth and change continue nonetheless. Transformation is what I seek, so I go to my local forests to see and experience it on a grand scale.

It's almost time for ramps to start popping up in the forests nearby and on social media everywhere.  We love these sweet, aromatic, wild, and nutritious relatives of garlic. Here are some facts and tips to help ramp populations keep growing and smelling strong for generations to come. You dig?

“There is no official record keeping or data collection to determine how many ramp plants are harvested each year, but estimates suggest it would take at least 2 million plants annually to meet current market demand, and that figure could be very low. There are very few established ramp growers in the U.S., and nearly all of the current demand is being supplied from wild populations.”  —United Plant Savers

Help Prevent Over-Harvest

• Get land-owner permission before you harvest. 
• If you are a land-owner with ramps, be sure to provide clear parameters if you grant permission to dig.  People have had their whole populations dug out to supply a large "ramp feed."  Allow no more than 10% harvest per year.   (If it's a small patch, 10% may be too much.)
• In the fall, increase seed germination by up to 90% by planting them under the leaf litter.  It's fun to look for the seeds, little black pearls, on the old flower stalks and giving them a cozy spot to germinate.
• Harvesting one leaf per plant will allow the plant to photosynthesize and be able to reproduce.
• Harvesting only the top 1/3 of the bulb with a sharp knife and leaving the rest in the ground will allow that plant to regrow (but not reproduce any time soon.)
• Avoid harvesting ramps that have an old flower stalk attached.
• Avoid purchasing ramps that have the root plate and roots.
• If hosting a large ramp feed, consider using only the delicious leaves and stalks.
  
• Grow your own ramps!  Learn how at the Yew Mountain Center or a plant-wise resource near you!

 

Sources:
Susannah Gebhart Ramps: A Sustainable Harvest. AppalachianFoodStoryBank.org  March 2015
United Plants Savers Watch List: Ramps  May, 2016 UnitedPlantSavers.org
USDA Forest Service www.srs.fs.usda.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/2003/nr_2003-06-20-ramps