The official chapter content page is at the CRFG website here: http://www.crfg.org/chapters/redwood_empire
This mini-site is just as a convenience for updates, newsletters and photos.
Regular Events
The largest annual event is every January -and open to the public-
is the CRFG Redwood Chapter scion (cuttings) and plant exchange
where commonly over 500 varieties of common, rare and experimental scions and
plants from all over the world are available free or at minimal charge.
There are grafting and planting demonstration classes for beginners, plus experts
and hobbyists to answer questions.
Some cuttings available, like grapes and figs, don't need to be grafted and
can be planted directly in the ground.
Custom trees can be created for attendees on-the-spot by experts for a small
donation.
Members get in one hour early for best selection, so join (you can join at the
door!).
Member access 9:00AM to 2:00 PM (volunteers start at 8:00AM), general public
access 10:00AM to 2:00 PM.
A $5 donation is requested of members and non-members alike to help offset costs
of facility rental and insurance.
Scion Collecting: Bring gallon baggies, tape and pens to mark your acquisitions. A Guide to the event can be downloaded here.
Scion Preparation for Contribution: The grafting scions should be made from clean, one-year-old wood, about 1/4 inch in diameter, square-cut at the bottom and 45 dgrees at the top, and generally no more than 6 inches long, so that they fit in attendees' gallon baggies.
Please bring then in clearly largely-labelled gallon baggies that can be resealed to survive delivery of any extras to the next chapter's exchange.Our club area includes some area within the Light Brown Apple Month Quarantine zone, but dormant, clean scions are exempt from the quarantine
. Details here
The 2010 Scion Exchange was held January 23rd at the Sebastopol Veterans
Building
282 High Street Sebastopol, zip 95472, 1 block SW of the intersection of Hwys 116 and 12
Click here for photos
There is also a summer greenwood exchange in May, details below.
Another annual event open to the public is the annual Plant Sale Fund
Raiser in July.
The club grafts many interesting trees for sale in 2-5 gallon pots at really
low prices, and members donate a wide variety of fruiting plants.
The Plant Sale will be at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market at the Veteran's Hall across from
the County Fairgrounds on Hwy 12 just east of Hwy 101.
Come early for best selection. As a special project, we have grafted apple trees
from the original Ft Ross gravensteins brought by the Russians to their colony,
from scions donated from Terry and Carolyn Harrison's collection. Gravensteins
have been listed as commercially endangered by Slow
Food To find fresh local Gravenstein apples in season, direct from the farmer,
click here.
We also plan to have a large selection of rare figs, and plant varieties created
in the North Bay, like Etter-variety apples. We try to not grow trees easily
available commercially.
Members get to buy trees in advance (even now) at discount by contacting David
at 707-824-1650, or Keith at 707-576-7250 (below), another reason to join!
We also have an annual Summer Scion Exchange, particularly
for greenwood grafting, like peaches, avocados and citrus.
Attendance is limited to members, but you can join at the events, or
by contacting membership below. Time and dates are sent via the listserve to members. Everyone is urged to bring greenwood cuttings from citrus and avacado. Also May is the perfect time to graft persimmons and walnuts so if you have
some rootstock that you would like to graft and some scions in the refrigerator that
were collected last winter, bring them along.
And of course a sample of your favorite fruit desert to share would be welcome! Please bring scions of any thing you have. See Tips below.
If you have any ripe fruit please bring some for all to taste.
The 2009 event was at Main Street Trees, Jean Wheeler's nursery in Napa. Joe Real was on hand to give grafting demonstrations and he brought some
citrus greenwood from his extensive citrus collection.
In 2008 it was at Keith Borglum's orchard. There was an excellent program on
citrus delivered by our own citrus expert, Louis Hunt. Everything you always
wanted to know about the care, feeding, deseases, and grafting of citrus. Thank you Louis! There was a tasting of various citrus from Louis' orchard, plus babaco
and some mixed jam from Phil's kitchen, and some great pickled vegetables and
salsas from Keith's kitchen. Some of the members brought trees and plants to
raffle, so most everyone went away with something to plant.
Greenwood Scion Collection Tips
from Joe Real
Other Events
September includes Fig Day at Wolfskill Ranch, UC Davis' experimental farm in Winters, including tasing of fig and grape varieties.
September is also the annual apple and pear tasting and orchard tours.
August or September includes training on the cider press available for loan to members. (see the photos up top)
In October is a blind apple tasting and tour of member's orchard.
November is the pomegranate tasting at Wolfskill Farm, 4334 Putah Creek Rd, Winters, CA 95694
From Davis: Travel West on Russell or Covell towards Winters. Cross I-505. Turn left
(S) on Railroad Ave (first stop sign past I-505), cross bridge. Here the road swings to the
right. Turn right (SW) on Putah Creek Road and go about 2-3 miles. WEO is on the left
(S), after Wintu Way. It is surrounded by a tall chain link fence. The gate has a historical
marker which you might not see from the road until you turn. The driveway is lined with
old olive trees. Proceed to the parking area at the end of the drive near the old house.
In December is a potluck and annual business meeting with officer and committee
"elections". Volunteers are always needed!
In 2008 it was at Phil's
in Petaluma, and included a persimmon tasting and raffle of rare fruit trees
and plants. Photos
here.
The 2009 meeting was at Burbank's Goldridge Farm where the club maintains an espalliered apple-tree fence. Here's the minutes of the meeting.
The third or fourth Saturday in January is the scion exchange.
In February is an additional grafting class and practice session to follow up the scion exchange.
In March, proficient grafters and helpers gather to graft custom trees for the July plant sale, and add to personal collections.
In May or June there is often a garden tour.
All of this is supplemented with announcements of monthly and spontaneous activities in local chapters throughout Northern California open to our members.
Photos of Prior Events
Cider Pressing photos The club has an electric cider press for loan to members. Contact Phil below.
Apple Tasting in Napa October 2008
Pommagranate and Persimmon Tasting at Wolfskill 2008
December 2008 Meeting and Tour at Phil's Meeting Minutes
Apple Tasting Event Results 2009
Sonoma County Museum Hybrid Fields Art Exhibit & Tasting
CRFG Redwood Chapter Haiku Garden/Weather Poetry Slam
One Time Solar Fruit Dryer Event 2009:
Mike Roa set up a workshop for making solar food dryers. It cost about $100 to make dryers from wood and plexiglass, using a "solar
chimney"
model. The club agreed to subsidize the project at a level of $50 per dryer,
with the member paying the difference, and also to pay for two dryers to sell. Mike built three models and tested them, all of which worked fine. The model to the right below was selected for east of construction.
The model of the left is at Phil's house for drying persimmons. Some members reported that they have good results just using cookie pans on
their car dashboards in summer! I tried it and it works! Makes the car smell good too.
Click here for a 7MB pdf download of the plans used to make this dryer. It might take a few minutes.
Click here for a photo guide on the dehydrator construction party.
Newsletters Archive -lots of good gardening info!
July Newsletter 2005 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
October Newsletter 2005 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
January Newsletter 2006 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
April Newsletter 2006 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
October
Newsletter 2006 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download,
virus-free)
January
Newsletter 2007 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download,
virus-free)
April Newsletter 2007 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
July Newsletter 2007 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free) (lots about citrus)
November Newsletter 2007 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
May Newsletter 2008 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
October Newsletter 2008 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
January Newsletter 2009 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free)
June Newsletter 2009 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free) (the one with GREAT grafting tips)
August Newsletter 2009 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free) (the one with Wolfskill pomegranate info)
January Newsletter 2010 (automated Adobe Acrobat pdf download, virus-free) (the one with the Library index)
Library
The club has an extensive library of fruit books for check-out to members. Contact
Linda Robertson below.
Contacts
at = @ to foil email spam harvesters FYI
Chairperson & main contact:
Phil Pieri
707-795-6574
phil_p_2001 at yahoo.com
Bio-Managers: (contact them anytime for custom grafted trees being grown for the club in 5 gal pots)
David Ulmer 707-824-1650 or Keith Borglum 707-576-7250 and Ted Richardson
keith at borglum.com or davidu9999 at gmail.com
Treasurer:
Michael Roa
294 Murphy Ave
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-829-5867
mroa at sonic.net
Secretary & Librarian
Linda Robertson
lindarobertson at mindspring.com
766-7102
Listserv Moderator: contact him to get on the emailing list
or go to http://groups.google.com/group/recrfg
Randy Mitchell
shovel at homewine.com
Event Coordinators:
Kathleen Murphy, Carlo Bottini plus open to volunteers to help!
Newsletter writer/editors:
Linda Robertson and Michael Kurland his
website (what interesting members we have!)
mkurland at continentalops.org 766-7102
Hospitality Coordinator:
Savita Wilder & open to volunteers to help!
707-527-8653
Gold Ridge Farm Support and Cider Press manager and SSU Demonstration Orchard
contact
Phillip Pieri
phil_p_2001 at yahoo.com
707-795-6574
Publicity & Web Site
Keith Borglum
707-576-7250
Keith at Borglum.com
Membership
CRFG dues are $41.00 per year, and includes state membership, local membership,
a fabulous color magazine all year, and all benefits. Local chapter membership
includes local tours, tastings, a local email forum where questions are answered
and local activities are posted, discounts at local farm stores, and gatherings.
We do not give out or sell email addresses!
TO JOIN: COMPLETE AND MAIL:
Membership form download
for both state and local (automated Acrobat .pdf download, virus-free)
Or sign up online for CRFG using PayPal (no credit cards sorry) at http://crfg.org/join.html,
then just send the $5 local membership with a completed local
membership form to Mike Roa above.
Then email Randy (shovel at homewine.com ) to get on the local email list, otherwise
we won't know locally that you are a member until we get a new member list once
or twice a year from CRFG!
Questions or comments or want more info? Contact
CRFG.
For page corrections email Keith at the above email address.
Member Florence Strange provided the following report on the chapter formation:
John M. Riley and Paul Thompson founded California Rare Fruit Growers in 1968
in southern California. During the next 20 years about 10 chapters formed in
southern California. In 1983 John Riley and Paul Thompson founded the first
northern California Rare Fruit Growers Chapter in San Jose. It was called the
Bay Area Chapter, and Brent Thompson was its first chairman. I served on the
board of that chapter from 1986 to 1987.
I had joined the Bay Area Chapter as it was getting organized in 1983. I had
originally been enchanted by a program "Growing Tropical Fruit" I
had attended at Strybing Arboretum in 1983 that lured me into wanting to try
growing fruit stretching the area in which they traditionally grow. At that
meeting I got to taste fruit I hadn't known before and went home with a pocket
full of new seeds! I became a life member of CRFG, an avid reader of Fruit Gardener,
and a hopelessly hooked grower of things less known.
The Bay Area Chapter of CRFG was very active and drew interested people from
the whole Bay Area. They were the ones who planted the rare fruit trees in Emma
Prush Farm Park ("Prush Park") in San Jose, with CRFG volunteers propagating
and planting over 100 specimens of unusual and prized fruit trees.
In fall of 1986 we organized the first CRFG chapter north of San Francisco,
naming ourselves the Redwood Chapter. The first members were brought together
by Caroline Harrison and Kay Barr. Kay served as the original chair of the infant
chapter for the remainder of 1986.
I served as first full term chair of the Redwood Chapter from 1987 to 1988.
We met six times a year for field trips or speakers. The meetings often drew
attendance of 30-40 members. In 1989 my husband and I had sold our house and
were camping during the construction of our new house. I relinquished the chairmanship,
as I had no office or facility from which to work.
Later Redwood Chapter Chairs:
1989 David Dixon
1990-1992 George Quesada
1993-1998 Carolyn Harrison
1999-2002 Mark Harrington
2002-2005 Gregory Flick
2006-2008 David Ulmer
2008- 2009 Phil Pieri
Grow Local; Shop Local!
CRFG-R would like to thank the following local businesses and associations for their support and donations to the chapter:
Prickett's Nursey, at the corner of Calistoga Road and Hwy 12, with weekly specials 707-539-3030, with a wide selection of indoor and outdoor plants, pottery, soil amendments, Xmas trees, and pruning service. Denise Baxter, owner.
Healdsburg Nursery is a complete full service garden center that prides itself on the quality and selection of their products as well as their friendly and professional staff to assist you in any way necessary.
Sonoma Compost Company, Organic, Affordable, Quality Compost and Mulch for your garden. Alan Siegle
Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery for just about everything needed for fruit gardening. Discount program for CRFG members. HFSN provides irrigation and solar supplies and system design services, a full range of organic vegetables and flowers, nursery stock well adapted to our local climate, and edible landscape design services. HFSN promotes community-supported organic and sustainable agriculture at home and on the farm. Scotty there is an active CRFG-R member and fruit collector, and his wife Hsaio is the sign maker for our chapter, and more!
Bee Kind for all your beekeeping supplies
Bloomfield Bees Honey offers raw honey and bee-based medicinal cosmetics from Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CA. Bloomfield Bees Honey is committed to 'bee-yond organics' apiary practices and to offering the very finest in creamed, chunk and raw honey.
Sebastopol Hardware Center,
a West Sonoma County full-service hardware store. "Service, convenience and selection
in a one-of-a-kind store". Talk to Mike Bishop or anyone in the store for help.
Webmaster's comment: "Do you miss YardBirds and can't find what you want at "Home
Despot"? Try SHC! Let me tell you a story about SHC. I was keeping an eye
on some friends' house near Ragle Park while they were away during the last
big storm. I go to check on the house, and there is a HUGE fir tree slowly tipping
over toward the house, big enough to crush the house. I raced to SHC and grabbed a
full container of heavy chain intending to secure the tree to another, and found
a long line of customers at the cash register. I stopped a clerk (whom I found
out later is an owner), telling them it was an emergency and "could I just
leave my credit card or a hundred bucks and run with the chain". They said
"just go and come back and pay later". They never even asked my name!
Think that would happen at a big-box store?? Shop local! (and we saved the house in the nick of time
- thanks SHC!)
Stony Point Rock Quarry Producers of Soils Plus topsoil products, with custom blends available, family owned since 1973. Ask for Randy Swegle, site manager.
Slow Food Russian River "a non-profit, eco-gastronomic organization that supports a bio-diverse sustainable food supply, local producers, heritage foodways, and rediscovery of the pleasures of the table".(Whew!) Slow Food and CRFG-R share a number of members in common, ideals in common, and are mutually supportive at respective events. They have local chapters around the country, just like CRFG.
Burbank Gold Ridge Farm for hosting our espallier apple fence, being a source of scions, and doing their own work to propogate and retain heritage trees and plants.
Master Gardeners for their insightful information
Oldies and Goodies Organic Plant Starts. Wholesaler specializing in organically grown heirloom and other outstanding food plants and flowers. Contact Lena at 707-823-5206.
KSRO's Garden Talk show with Steve Garner 1350AM, Saturdays 9-11AM. After 20 years, Garden Talk is the longest running garden show in California, and has been very supportive of CRFG-R with announcements and interviews.
Whole Foods Market in Sebastopol offering quality natural, organic and local food products, and lots more.
About the
Listserve:
Listserv Moderator: members contact him to get on the emailing list
or go to http://groups.google.com/group/recrfg
Randy Mitchell
shovel at homewine.com
A discussion occurred as to what is an acceptable posting to our listserve.
Majority opinion of the chapter leadership and activists was:
Posting announcements about workshops, events, opportunities, etc. -including
aspects of agriculture & gardening not just limited to fruit- is a service
to our members; as long as it is of benefit to our members and reasonably related
to CRFG interests. An acceptable posting could even be about a big sale at a
gardening supply store, for example. If 5 or more members complain about a certain
posting being inappropriate to the listserve, the poster would be asked not
to post that item again in the future, or be blocked if repeated non-compliance. Members can post events for non-members,
but non-members are not allowed to directly use the listserve for any reason.
It is desirable if the Subject line states the topic of the post, for example:
"seminar on beekeeping next Saturday in Sebastopol". It is general
listserve etiquette that the poster disclose if they have a financial interest
in the post, such as "This is my daughter's fruit stand having the sale"
or "I have no financial interest in this event".
Note that off-topic messages that will generally cause complaint are
those of multi-level-marketing, political, religious, non-ag, spam, etc nature.
Kalia has graciously volunteered to field complaints. Email her directly at
"kalia at sbcglobal.net" rather than complaining via the group email
list, as you may be the only person complaining, and it takes 5 or so to be
significant.
Aside from that, here is a repeat of general listserve etiquette. Please all
pay special attention to the first item on the list, as it is the most frequently
violated:
List Etiquette
* Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information
from which many may benefit. Send messages such as "thanks for
the information", "I want a copy too", "atta-boys",
or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire list. Do this by "forwarding"
the message, then typing in the e-mail address of the individual to whom you
want to respond.
* Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location,
and e-mail address.
* State clearly the specific topic of the comments in the subject line. Second
subjects within a message are often overlooked. Consider writing a message on
a new topic rather than including it in the first message. This allows members
to respond more appropriately and allows for automatic message archiving.
* Warn other list subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line
or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says "Long Message."
* Occasional off-topic posts, used sparingly and clearly identified with "off
topic" in the subject field are permitted.
* When posting humor, the word "humor" must appear in the subject
line. When using humor or sarcasm, be sure it's evident. The absence of expressions
common in face-to-face communication can lead to potential misunderstandings.
Use smiley faces, i.e., :-), to help indicate your message is meant as humor
or sarcasm.
* Do not send administrative messages such as "remove me from the list,"
to the list. Instead, use the Web interface to change your settings or notify
the list administrator.
* Restrict discussions to topics best suited to the medium.
* Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply,
delete any header or footer information, and put your response before the original
posting. Do not include entire digests in your response.
* Avoid using all UPPERCASE characters in your message. They are less readable
and considered the e-mail equivalent of shouting.
* Keep as tight a control on the list-serve address as you do your wallet. It
only takes one spammer/hacker/vendor to ruin a list-serve address.
I've purposely skipped the usual stuff, like no attachments, no spam, no flames,
etc., as obvious.
Thanks.
-Keith
CRFG-R webmaster