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    Learn how to grow you own antique apple trees at Garfield Farm Museum’s 22nd  annual Apple Tree Grafting Seminar on Sunday, March 8 at 1:30 pm. Participants take home 3 tree grafts of heirloom nursery stock variety 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.
    What makes the grafting process so important is that it attaches a root to the old stock, preserving the old stock’s unique genetic traits. An apple seed may not grow into the same exact type of tree from which it came. Like animals, most plants, such as apple trees, require genes from two parents. Just planting the seeds of a tree doesn?t guarantee the genetic signature of the tree will be saved. Only grafting can preserve the exact type. The grafting process itself has been used for thousands of years. The process itself is relatively simple. 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.   
    Different varieties of apples are good for various things. For instance some are better for cider, while others may be better for baking. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were more than 7,000 different varieties of apples. Now there are fewer than 2,000 varieties available. Not only is keeping a multitude of apples in existence important for our heritage, but also for their many of uses. The mass markets of today are looking for good multi-purpose apples. With the farmer population and orchard acreage dwindling it is important to be proactive.
    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. Mr. Bussey will bring scions that are raised especially for grafting.  He can also instruct participants on how to care for their grafts until they are planted. If time allows, the group will go out to the museum's orchard and be given instruction on pruning their trees once they are established.
    There is a $25 donation for the class and reservations are required. 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.