Grafting Apple Trees (Heirloom Varieties)
Join experienced apple orchardists and fruit tree grafters Brittany and Dorsey Kordick (from Kordick Family Farm) who grow many varieties of Heirloom Apple Trees. The workshop will cover basic grafting techniques. Each participant will graft three heirloom apple trees that they will take home with them. Participants will be grafting onto MM111 semi-dwarf rootstock and the mature trees could be 18-30 ft. high. Expand your fruit growing experience and knowledge and also help preserve heirloom apple varieties well adapted to central North Carolina.
All materials are included.
This workshop is eligible for use with a season pass.
Youth, under 18, may attend free with an adult (1 youth per adult)
Early-bird pricing ($55) is available through Feb. 7. After that, the cost is $75.
Meet your Instructors: Dorsey & Brittany Kordick
Dorsey Kordick is one-half of the dynamic duo behind Kordick Family Farm in Westfield, North Carolina, where two persistent souls stay busy proving you can grow heirloom apples organically on a commercial scale, even in the Southeastern United States. Early in her orcharding career, Dorsey spent time in England, learning how to make traditional ciders, intending to found a cidery but has since found she enjoys growing fruit more than the business of fermenting it. She has personally grafted all but a handful of the apple and pear trees grown at Kordick Family Farm. Dorsey is such a stickler for good grafting technique, it is sometimes impossible to discern the graft union were she has fitted together varietal scionwood to rootstock. Besides grafting, Dorsey’s favorite orcharding tasks include any that require a good climb in a large apple tree.
Brittany Kordick is the other half of the dynamic duo behind Kordick Family Farm. Brittany’s official title is orchard manager, but “Jill of all trades” is more fitting, given her duty roster and devotion to multitasking. Because Brittany is a glutton for punishment, always looking to master skills that intersect with farming needs, in recent years she has pursued education in the electrical and HVAC fields, as well as enology and viticulture. A particular interest is applying winemaking practices and principles wherever they can elevate cidery and orchard management, and she recently became accredited as a Cider Guide and Pommelier through the American Cider Association. Brittany tries to keep things on a professional level always, but finds it hard not to get attached to her trees.