Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

Antiques you can taste!

Ever wonder what apple pies tasted like 100 years ago? That was before designer products, crossbred for characteristics such as shelf life. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were over 7000 different varieties of apples. Now there are less then 2000 varieties available.

It’s too late for this year, but next early in spring 2010 you can learn how to grow an antique apple tree or three in your own backyard, courtesy of Garfield Farm, that wonderful, old-time, working farm out in the burbs. On a Sunday in early March, the Garfield Farm folks are had their annual tree grafting seminar. Participants took home 3 tree grafts of heirloom nursery stock to plant in the spring. Tree expert Dan Bussey leads the seminar and will bring several different varieties of scions from his orchard in Edgerton, WI where he propagates over 350 rare and endangered varieties. Participants took home 3 tree grafts of heirloom nursery stock variety to plant in the spring. A small branch or “scion” of the desired tree is attached to a small rootstock. The root used for the seminar is a smaller, dwarf variety that is good for a backyard or small orchard.

Dan Bussey has been the instructor of the seminar since its inception twenty two years ago. His efforts are recognized by the Seed Saver’s Exchange of Decorah, IA, which has its own conservation orchard of heritage apple varieties. Bussey will bring scions that are raised especially for grafting. You’ll learn how to care for their grafts until they are planted. If time allows, the group will go out to the museum’s own orchard and given instruction on pruning their trees once they are established.

Interested for next year? Call the museum at (630) 584-8485, or email at info@garfieldfarm.org. Garfield Farm Museum is located 5 miles west of Geneva, IL off ILL Rt. 38 on Garfield Road. The 370-acre site is a historically intact former 1840s farm and teamster inn being restored as an 1840s working farm museum by volunteers and donors from around the country. It’s a wonderful place for a day trip; you can get a glimpse of life in the 1850s and, during this visit, begin an agricultural investment.

If you visit next year, then back home, with planting, cultivating, and patience, you can look forward to experiencing what earlier generations tasted in their grandma’s apple pie.

Filed under: Interesting elsewhere by Skip | February 18, 2009 | Comments (0)


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