Spring seed swap! ... and a new blog post
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seed ambassadors
Feb 21, 2009, 10:01:24 PM2/21/09
to seed-ambassa...@googlegroups.com
Hi all,
Now that spring is upon us, we have a few things to share with you.
We just got back from a very short trip to Thailand, and already have a blog post up about it! The slide show (on the blog) is really nice, so check it out if you have a chance!
Also, if you are anywhere close to Eugene, Oregon in the middle of March, be sure to make your way to LCC for the new and improved Spring Seed Swap, this year to include a scion (fruit tree cutting) exchange. We will be there with lots of seed. Details are below. Please come, and be sure to bring envelopes!
Sow much goodness,
Sarah Kleeger
Andrew Still
The Seed Ambassadors Project
Event: 2009 Spring Propagation Fair
Venue: Lane Community College Cafeteria, Eugene, OR
Time: 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. Saturday, March 14
A free, volunteer-driven event designed to support home orchardists and vegetable gardeners in and around the S. Willamette Valley.
The 2009 Spring Propagation Fair consists of two parts: a free exchange of fruit-tree cuttings (called 'scions') and a free exchange of vegetable seed. You don't have to bring any scion or seed to the event to be able to attend and share freely in the bounty. All are welcome.
The 2009 Fair marks the first occasion of a joint scion-exchange and seed-swap in our bioregion, and is co-sponsored by a broad array of local, non-profit and volunteer groups including: the Eugene Permaculture Guild, the Seed Ambassadors Project, Lane Community College Garden Club, Victory Gardens For All, the School Garden Project of Lane County, Huerto de la Famila, ECOS, the Springfield Transitions Garden, Food Not Lawns, the Gardens Program of Food for Lane County, the Urban Farm Program of the U of O, and the OSU Extension Service in Lane County.
A great variety of scions, and vegetable seed, will be provided free of charge by local fruit enthusiasts and seed-savers at the exchange. Rootstocks will be available for a nominal fee. Grafting assistance and workshops will be provided at and around the Propagation Fair.
For a brief description of what's involved in designing your own fruit trees, and how a scion-exchange helps make this possible; or to learn more about how you may support this free, participant-driven event, please see the notes attached below.
Spanish-language support will be offered.
Bus service to LCC is available from Eugene Station.
To car pool, call Julie at 541-762-1051
Free parking is available at LCC.
www.eugenepermacultureguild.org
--
Designing your own fruit tree
Most fruit trees are actually two-trees-joined-in-one - just above their root collars you will often notice a swollen union or 'graft' where a 'scion' (a cutting of a fruit variety such as a 'Gravenstein' apple or 'Bing' cherry) was originally joined or 'grafted' onto a type of tree called a rootstock. We use rootstocks because they help us determine, among other behaviors, the size of a mature tree growing on top of them - anything from 4' to 50' depending on the rootstock selected. A scion exchange provides an opportunity to design these two-in-one trees, by making a wide variety of common and rare fruit tree varieties and rootstocks available to mix-and-match with. Only the tiniest fraction of scion and rootstock combinations made available at this Propagation Fair are available from commercial fruit tree nurseries.
How can you join in supporting this free, participant-driven Propagation Fair?
Although devoted local fruit enthusiasts are already gathering scion to bring to the event to share freely with others, we are encouraging everyone able and willing to harvest scion to join the collection effort. The more, the merrier. Cutting and storing scion is a simple task. Here are a few pointers:
Be very careful with ID and labeling - collect from trees that have fruited already so the variety is known. Preferably, cut scion about the diameter of a lead pencil, to 12" lengths, although shorter pieces are fine. 'Pruning cuttings' often fit the bill perfectly. Tightly tie or rubber-band a dozen or so healthy cuttings in a clearly-labeled bundle.
.
Collecting scion is time-sensitive. Scion wood needs to be cut in the winter while it is dormant (before the buds have very visibly begun swelling), then kept cool until it is grafted onto rootstock in the spring, 'when the sap is rising'. Late-January-early-February sees the end of our 'dormancy collection window' for stone-fruit such as plums and cherries. Asian and European pears quickly follow, then apples. Some varieties 'bud out' earlier than others.
Vigorous shoots are best but avoid collecting from suckers or water-sprouts (these shoots, which grow vertically from the base of the tree or vertically from lateral branches, are slowest to bear fruit). Collect first-year wood (last year's growth) preferably from laterals. Next-favored are the terminal shoots at the top of the tree.
Once collected, don't let the scion dry out. Experienced hands will tend to label each variety clearly, place it in a moist (not saturated) medium such as paper towels or old cloth, and wrap in plastic. (The plastic bags the newspaper comes in work well. Double the bag because one will often have a hole in it.) Place in the refrigerator at about 34° to 38° until grafting time: keeping the scion cool keeps it dormant; keeping it damp, keeps it fresh.
Further questions about scion collection? Google: "Penhallegon scion" or call Nick at 541-284-3703
Also, bring labeled cuttings and divisions of figs, grapes, berries and other fruits to share freely with others at the Propagation Fair; along with fresh seed, plants and divisions of food crops.
For updates, see www.eugenepermacultureguild.org
Now that spring is upon us, we have a few things to share with you.
We just got back from a very short trip to Thailand, and already have a blog post up about it! The slide show (on the blog) is really nice, so check it out if you have a chance!
Also, if you are anywhere close to Eugene, Oregon in the middle of March, be sure to make your way to LCC for the new and improved Spring Seed Swap, this year to include a scion (fruit tree cutting) exchange. We will be there with lots of seed. Details are below. Please come, and be sure to bring envelopes!
Sow much goodness,
Sarah Kleeger
Andrew Still
The Seed Ambassadors Project
Event: 2009 Spring Propagation Fair
Venue: Lane Community College Cafeteria, Eugene, OR
Time: 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. Saturday, March 14
A free, volunteer-driven event designed to support home orchardists and vegetable gardeners in and around the S. Willamette Valley.
The 2009 Spring Propagation Fair consists of two parts: a free exchange of fruit-tree cuttings (called 'scions') and a free exchange of vegetable seed. You don't have to bring any scion or seed to the event to be able to attend and share freely in the bounty. All are welcome.
The 2009 Fair marks the first occasion of a joint scion-exchange and seed-swap in our bioregion, and is co-sponsored by a broad array of local, non-profit and volunteer groups including: the Eugene Permaculture Guild, the Seed Ambassadors Project, Lane Community College Garden Club, Victory Gardens For All, the School Garden Project of Lane County, Huerto de la Famila, ECOS, the Springfield Transitions Garden, Food Not Lawns, the Gardens Program of Food for Lane County, the Urban Farm Program of the U of O, and the OSU Extension Service in Lane County.
A great variety of scions, and vegetable seed, will be provided free of charge by local fruit enthusiasts and seed-savers at the exchange. Rootstocks will be available for a nominal fee. Grafting assistance and workshops will be provided at and around the Propagation Fair.
For a brief description of what's involved in designing your own fruit trees, and how a scion-exchange helps make this possible; or to learn more about how you may support this free, participant-driven event, please see the notes attached below.
Spanish-language support will be offered.
Bus service to LCC is available from Eugene Station.
To car pool, call Julie at 541-762-1051
Free parking is available at LCC.
www.eugenepermacultureguild.org
--
Designing your own fruit tree
Most fruit trees are actually two-trees-joined-in-one - just above their root collars you will often notice a swollen union or 'graft' where a 'scion' (a cutting of a fruit variety such as a 'Gravenstein' apple or 'Bing' cherry) was originally joined or 'grafted' onto a type of tree called a rootstock. We use rootstocks because they help us determine, among other behaviors, the size of a mature tree growing on top of them - anything from 4' to 50' depending on the rootstock selected. A scion exchange provides an opportunity to design these two-in-one trees, by making a wide variety of common and rare fruit tree varieties and rootstocks available to mix-and-match with. Only the tiniest fraction of scion and rootstock combinations made available at this Propagation Fair are available from commercial fruit tree nurseries.
How can you join in supporting this free, participant-driven Propagation Fair?
Although devoted local fruit enthusiasts are already gathering scion to bring to the event to share freely with others, we are encouraging everyone able and willing to harvest scion to join the collection effort. The more, the merrier. Cutting and storing scion is a simple task. Here are a few pointers:
Be very careful with ID and labeling - collect from trees that have fruited already so the variety is known. Preferably, cut scion about the diameter of a lead pencil, to 12" lengths, although shorter pieces are fine. 'Pruning cuttings' often fit the bill perfectly. Tightly tie or rubber-band a dozen or so healthy cuttings in a clearly-labeled bundle.
.
Collecting scion is time-sensitive. Scion wood needs to be cut in the winter while it is dormant (before the buds have very visibly begun swelling), then kept cool until it is grafted onto rootstock in the spring, 'when the sap is rising'. Late-January-early-February sees the end of our 'dormancy collection window' for stone-fruit such as plums and cherries. Asian and European pears quickly follow, then apples. Some varieties 'bud out' earlier than others.
Vigorous shoots are best but avoid collecting from suckers or water-sprouts (these shoots, which grow vertically from the base of the tree or vertically from lateral branches, are slowest to bear fruit). Collect first-year wood (last year's growth) preferably from laterals. Next-favored are the terminal shoots at the top of the tree.
Once collected, don't let the scion dry out. Experienced hands will tend to label each variety clearly, place it in a moist (not saturated) medium such as paper towels or old cloth, and wrap in plastic. (The plastic bags the newspaper comes in work well. Double the bag because one will often have a hole in it.) Place in the refrigerator at about 34° to 38° until grafting time: keeping the scion cool keeps it dormant; keeping it damp, keeps it fresh.
Further questions about scion collection? Google: "Penhallegon scion" or call Nick at 541-284-3703
Also, bring labeled cuttings and divisions of figs, grapes, berries and other fruits to share freely with others at the Propagation Fair; along with fresh seed, plants and divisions of food crops.
For updates, see www.eugenepermacultureguild.org
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