Spring Propagation Fair - March 13

[Andrew Still]

The Spring Propagation Fair is upon us. Saturday, March 13, 10am - 4pm  at the Lane Community College Cafeteria in Eugene, OR a flier for the event can be found here: http://www.seedambassadors.org/avalon/latestsmallflyermarch13.pdf Bring your seeds, scion, or just your self down to LCC for the largest free gardening event of the year. (bringing empty envelopes for seed is also encouraged.) The Propagation Fair (formerly known as the Spring Seed Swap) is a free, volunteer-driven event designed to support home orchardists, vegetable gardeners and native plant enthusiasts in and around the S. Willamette Valley. Hundreds of varieties of scions (fruit-tree cuttings) and vegetable seed will be shared by local fruit enthusiasts and seed-savers at the Fair. Rootstocks will be available for a nominal fee. Grafting assistance will be provided. Feeling adventurous? Grafting workshop at 1.00 p.m. Bring your own labeled cuttings and divisions of figs, grapes, berries and other fruits to share freely with others at the Fair; along with fresh seed, plants and divisions of all types of food crops and native plants. Ask questions of experienced local gardeners and a broad array of our bioregion’s foremost gardening education non-profits (see our list of sponsors, below). Hear expert speakers throughout the day. Speakers at the 2010 Spring Propagation Fair: 11.00 a.m. Where to begin? From ground zero to feeding yourself out of a garden. Lauren Bilbao, a senior instructor at the Urban Farm Program of the University of Oregon. 12.00 p.m.  Heirloom pear varieties for the S. Willamette Valley. Joseph Postman, curator of the USDA's 2000+ varieties pear germplasm collection in Corvallis, will discuss pear heirlooms from around the world, well-adapted to growing hereabouts. (Scions from several of the difficult-to-find varieties he will be discussing, will be available at the exchange.) 1.00 p.m. Social permaculture: growing our food with our neighbors. A panel discussion by local residents discussing the current state of collaborative, neighborhood-based approaches to growing food. Jan Spencer (River Road Neighbors), Charlotte Anthony (Victory Gardens for All), Aleta Miller (Environmental Center of Sustainability), Anne Donohue (Friendly Neighbors). 2.00 p.m. Locally-adapted vegetables: What are they and why do they work so well? Andrew Still and Sarah Kleeger of the Seed Ambassadors Project and Adaptive Seeds. 3.00 p.m. Incorporating native plants into food gardens. Why and how? With Devon Bonady of the Lane Community College Learning Garden and Fern Hill Nursery; and Brian Basor, President, Emerald Chapter, Native Plant Society of Oregon. --

The 2010 Spring Propagation Fair is co-sponsored by:

Eugene Permaculture Guild.
Seed Ambassadors Project.
Lane Community Learning Garden.
The OSU Extension Service in Lane County.
Home Orchard Society.
Victory Gardens For All.
School Garden Project of Lane County.
Huerto de la Famila.
ECOS.
Springfield Transitions Garden.
Gardens Program of Food for Lane County.
Urban Farm Program of the U of O.
USDA Agricultural Research Service National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis.
Native Gardening Awareness Program of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, Emerald Chapter.
Lane County Beekeepers Association.
Eugene Tree Foundation.
The North American Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association.


--


The Seed Ambassadors Project
www.seedambassadors.org

Adaptive Seeds
www.adaptiveseeds.com