Towards a Local Food Economy
Backyard Garden Produce Swaps - NEW TIME and DAY - Saturdays, 1:30pm in back parking lot of the Dance Palace Community Center, Point Reyes Participate in weekly Backyard Garden Produce Swaps every Saturday afternoon at 1:30pm in the back parking lot of the Dance Palace Community Center, 5th and B Streets in Point Reyes Station. Food Co-op
Sebastian Ellis is starting a food co-op in Point Reyes. The co-op is open to everyone, has a yearly membership fee, and is pre-pay, pre-order. It will operate out of Garden of Eden in Point Reyes Station one day a week, for now. To learn more, email Sebastian at skymuse(at)gmail.com. The Summer Kitchen Coop is developing a website: http://summerkitchencoop.summerfruit.net/
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Gleaning
Do you anticipate a surplus of fruit from your trees this year? Marnie Jackson offers to safely harvest, then share a portion of the harvest with the owner of the tree and the Food Bank. If you'd like to help harvest or want to work with Marnie to share your fruit, you can make an arrangement by calling 662-1050.
Marin Organic also has a gleaning program that serves schools and community organizations. Contact Scott Davidson at Marin Organic (663-9667) to volunteer.
Support the Local Food Bank
West Marin Community Resource Center is always in need of fresh food. They are happy to receive fruits and vegetables Monday through Thursday from 9am to 5pm (closed 12noon to 1pm for lunch). West Marin Community Resource Center is located in the Creamery Building in Point Reyes Station. Their phone number is 663-8361.
Also, the Point Reyes Farmer's Market opens Saturday, June 27, at Toby's Feed Barn. A table will be set up to receive donated food which will be delivered to the West Marin Community Resource Center at the end of the market day.
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In 2009 Growing Gardeners/West Marin Presented:
LETTUCE APPLES KALE STRAWBERRIES ZUCCHINI BASIL TOMATOES RUTABAGAS PLUMS SWISS CHARD LEEKS CARROTS PEARS PEAS BEETS POTATOES ONIONS WINTER SQUASH DILL GARLIC ARTICHOKES GREEN BEANS RASBERRIES LEMONS KIWI TURNIPS LEMON VERBENA COLLARDS PARSLE
ORGANIC GARDENING CLASSES
WHEN SATURDAYS, JAN 17 – MARCH 7, 2009
10 - 12 AM
WHERE DANCE PALACE & LOCAL VEGETABLE GARDENS
WHO NEW AND NOT-SO-NEW GARDENERS
WHAT LEARN ABOUT YOUR SITE – SOIL – SEEDLINGS – WATERING
PESTS – FRUIT TREES & BERRIES – AND MORE!
WHY INCREASE LOCAL FOOD SUPPLY AND FOOD SECURITY
CREATE A COMMUNITY OF GARDENERS TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE,
MATERIALS, THE JOY OF GARDENING
Classes are free. Instructors are experienced local gardeners. Contact Francine Allen at fa@horizoncable.com to reserve a place.
Marin County Master Gardeners will be available to mentor students in their own gardening sites (a MG’s Community Service Project initiated by Amanda Eichstaedt and Martha Proctor).
Gardening Classes 2009 Syllabus
1/17 Introduction/Overview: Steve Quirt, UC Ext. Sustainable Ag Advisor
1/24 Soil
1/31 Composting, Mulching and Fertilizing
2/7 Field trip to the Otobre/Serber garden: composting demo & seed saving
2/14 Seeds and Seedlings with Amy Whelan & Francine Allen
2/21 Perennial Gardens: integrating herbs, fruit trees, chickens, & annuals:
with Amanda Eichstaedt, field trip to Bear Valley Inn
2/28 Pest Management: Martha Proctor & Amanda Eichstaedt
3/7 What’s Possible: Field trip to Mark Butler’s and Meg Simond’s garden
FRUIT TREE GRAFTING: SCION EXCHANGE
The Redwood Empire chapters scion exchange will be held on Saturday January 31st. 2008 at the Sebastopol veterans building.
Setup 8am Members entry 9am Public entry 10am
Chapter Contacts: Note: at = @ to foil spam email harvesters Chairperson & main contact:
Phil Pieri
707-795-6574
phil_p_2001 at yahoo.com 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 treessuch 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 close 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”) | | Version: Current by Elizabeth B - 10:14am |
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