This past weekend we paid a visit to Ames Nursery to pick up fruit trees.
The visit proved to be full of inspiration and connection. We had heard about a bioregional nursery near us that focused on hardy and adapted fruit trees. This past weekend we got to visit the place where so much growth happens…
Guy Ames has been growing fruit since the early 1970s with a main focus on organic production.
He and his family now grow fruit and fruit trees on a certified ecologically grown farm (think organic but not through the USDA) in Northern Arkansas outside Fayetteville.
He has tested, experimented with and planted A LOT of fruit over the years and we were honored to talk to such a seasoned expert in the field of fruit production.
Visiting a place with such a shared vision and long history was indeed very inspiring for what is possible. To see mature fruit trees and a thriving nursery gave us both hope for the future. The example of a family business based on perennial agriculture fed us on a soul level.
In this candid video, Guy Ames talks about his vision for a healthier agricultural system.
He focus is on decreasing pesticide use by selling healthy and adapted stock to home growers who are very unlikely to spray poison on their fruit trees. Instead of growing organic fruit for sale (which has it’s many challenges) he has shifted his efforts to growing nursery stock that empowers others to grow their own fruit.
He’s tapping into something so intelligent yet so simple here
If we choose the right crops for a certain area we are already setting ourselves up for success. Locally adapted crops are much more suitable and therefore require less inputs from us to thrive. His vision for a series of bioregional nurseries is deeply felt by us and we are grateful to be stepping into the role establishing one ourselves.
In addition to growing a wide variety of trees and vines for sale, he has also produced many educational publications through ATTRA.
He mentions one that focuses on grafting and chip budding, 2 techniques for propagating known fruit varieties. These techniques are indispensable for anyone serious about growing fruit trees.
We have had very little success thus far with grafting (I only had 2 takes on over 50 tries last season!) and his advice to focus on chip budding was a bit of an epiphany. It is a simple technique we haven’t tried yet, but Guy swears by it.
As always we’re happy to share the knowledge and inspiration that move through our lives. We resonate with the vision that Guy and his family shared with us and hope this gets ya’ll fired up to grow more fruit!
Link to Ames website: http://www.amesorchardandnursery.com/
Guy Ames - Budding and Grafting Fruit Video Through ATTRA: 
▶️ DTube
▶️ IPFS