Welcome!
Redwood Chapter membership is $5 per year in addition to the CRFG
membership, and includes events (below), an interesting newsletter
about member and club items, an online discussion forum where you can get
answers from experts, garden tours, pruning and grafting, cuttings,
exchangeclasses, and great cameraderie! All CRFG members are welcome to
participate in the chapter.
See the bottom of the page to join.
Most activities are in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties, north of the
Golden Gate Bridge.
You can find copies of recent chapter newsletters,
events schedules and photos of events, officers, contacts and other current info
by clicking here. That page is kept
current, this one is not.
There are literally thousands of varieties of trees, vines and shrubs that
bear edible fruit. Most people are familiar with only the most common varieties
of fruits that are available commercially in stores. Many of these commercial
varieties are available primarily because of the durability of the fruit for
shipping, handling and storage rather than for best flavor. Even though the best
tasting fruits can be too fragile for commercial distribution, they are
perfectly suited to the home-gardener. Anyone with at least a six foot
by six foot patch of open sunlight can successfully grow a tree with delicious
fruits, even if only in a box of soil on pavement. Some fruit-bearing
vines, like strawberries, can even grow from a hanging basket without using any
ground at all. Properly selected fruit-bearing plants can also be used for
edible landscaping, proving a pleasing visual display in addition to gourmet
treats. Multiple fruit varieties can be grown on the same plant by means of
simple grafting techniques, resulting in a "fruit salad" tree!
Many of
the best tasting fruits are only available from specialty catalogs and growers,
or through hobbyist organizations like California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG).
CRFG promotes interest in all aspects of fruit growing, with special emphasis on
rare and unusual fruits. North Bay CRFG members in "Luther Burbank country" get
together regularly to taste fruits, trade plants, and to swap tips on local
growing techniques and what grows best in local conditions and micro-climate
pockets. One local meeting featured over 100 different locally-grown fruits to
taste!
Calendar of Scheduled Events
You can find copies of
recent chapter newsletters, events schedules and photos of events, officers,
contacts and other current info by clicking here. That page is kept current, this
one is not.
Other
Redwood CRFG has planned (and spontaneous!) events
throughout the year, including garden tours, fruit tastings, juice pressings,
summer greenwood scion exchange, and classes .
(you have to be a member and
on our local email list to get notice of unscheduled events by email)
More information here.
The club has also purchased a modern electric cider-press for loan to members. Members must attend a training prior to using the press.
What is a Scion (cuttings for
grafting) Exchange?
For our new chapter members and guests,
this article explains the basics of a scion
exchange.
What Will I find at the
Exchange?
A large room filled with rows of cafeteria-style tables.
Most of the tables are covered with gallon-size bags of dormant cuttings from
hundreds of varieties of fruit and nut trees such as apple, peach, pear, nuts,
and persimmons. You will also find some cuttings from evergreen fruiting plants,
whole plants, gardening catalogs, seeds, roots, inexpensive information sheets,
and sometimes grafting supplies.
What do I do at the
Exchange?
Select 1-3 pieces of each type of thing you want to
propagate, clearly label each item, get answers to your questions about how to
make the stuff grow once you get it home, and enjoy the company of others who
are interested in growing unusual edibles. If possible, bring something from
your own garden to share: seeds of your favorite vegetable, cuttings from an
heirloom fruit tree, specialties from your family's native county, etc., LABELED
PLEASE. (see labeling, below). Please do not bring scions of patented plants
like Pluots® and
Plumcots®, to respect plant-breeders' rights.
What if I don’t
know about Grafting?
We will teach you. Grafting is the process by
which a piece of one plant is attached to a different kind of plant (such as a
Fuji apple twig on a seedling apple rootstock). The Exchanges include grafting
demonstration that will show you how to graft, and experienced chapter members
who can tell you what plant combinations will be successful. Still don't think
grafting is for you? Many types of scions such as fig, kiwi, cactus and
pomegranate can be easily rooted in ordinary garden dirt. Out chapter has
grafting workshops throughout the year.
What will this
cost?
Redwood Chapter asks members for $5 donation at the door, to
help defray the costs of renting the room. Rootstocks are usually available for
a small fee, and custom grafting of your selections by expert grafters is also
often available for a small fee. Come early for this service if interested, as
rootstock often sells out early. There is a small charge for pamphlets, grafting
supplies, etc., which depends on our cost for the materials. With occasional
exceptions, the scions, tubers, etc., are free.
Can I bring a
friend?
Yes, please do! The Exchange is open to the public beginning
at 11:AM, and will be
advertised in various local
newspapers.
Tips on Cutting & Storing
Scions
-Look around your garden. What do you have that is
dormant and which could be pruned to yield scions for grafting, budding, or
rooting? What could you bring to the Exchange as bareroot plants?
-Cut scions
and dig plants as dose to the Exchange date as possible, while the donor plant
is still dormant but BEFORE the buds begin to swell. Some of your prunings may
be too old and hard to be useful, while others may be too young and tender.
Generally cuttings from the current season growth make more successful scions.
Look for the wrinkly joint and slight change in bark color at 1" to 24" from the
tips to distinguish new growth from second season or older growth. A book like
Sunset Pruning and Grafting can help you decide what to keep and what to discard
for any given species. Or bring the prunings to the Exchange and ask for
help.
-Cut each scion 4" to 8" long. Aim to have at least 4 buds on each
piece. Cut the bottom of each piece square and the top end at a diagonal so
others can tell which end is up.
-Label your scions and store them in'
plastic bags to prevent drying. Keep roots of bare root plants in damp sawdust
or damp dirt.
-Store scions in the refrigerator (NOT IN THE FREEZER) or a
cold basement.
-Before coming to the Exchange, place all the scions of one
kind together in a plastic bag, preferably a l gallon ZIPLOC bag to preclude the
bother of twist-ties.
Label each bag.
Suggested
label format:
Label (as many of the following as possible) Common name,
variety, Latin name, important info., donor name, donor telephone #, where
grown, growing conditions
(just include the info you have, i.e., “unknown
dark skinned fig, sweet pink flesh, grows great in Berkeley flatlands”)
Chapter Contacts
You can find copies of recent chapter newsletters, events schedules and photos of events, officers, contacts and other current info by clicking here. That page is kept current, this one is not.