January 2023
2023 Scion Exchange
Mark your calendars for the 2023 Scion Exchange, to be held January 21, 2023. Hundreds of scions will be available for dormant varieties of fruit (apples, stonefruit and more). If you have scions or other plant material to share, please come at 10:30 with your contributions so they can be placed correctly in the exchange. Activities will include grafting demonstrations and rootstock sales. Free Member access opens at 11 a.m. $5 General public access opens at 12 noon. This year's…
Find out more »December 2022
2022 Holiday Party and Election
The MB CRFG's annual holiday party will be held December 17, starting at 3 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Grange Hall. We’ll have our potluck, so think about what lovely creation you’d like to share. We will also have a slideshow of everyone’s experiences this year. The photo deadline is December 10 to allow time to compile the slide show. Also, we will be holding the election for next year’s board of directors. In the past, we have had folks…
Find out more »November 2022
Grafting Knife Sharpening Workshop and Feijoa Tasting
It’s time to start preparing for spring, isn’t it? Well, maybe that’s a bit premature, but in the meantime we will be holding a workshop November 12 to learn how to sharpen our grafting knives. This will be a hands-on workshop, the purpose of which is to enable all who are interested (not just knife geeks!) to learn principles and practices of knife sharpening and to have a properly sharpened grafting knife blade as we head toward the scion exchange…
Find out more »October 2022
Our Apple Tasting is Back!
Welcome back to the Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers' Apple Tasting! We will have over 70 varieties of heritage and rare apples for participants to sample and rate. This extraordinarily popular event will be held jointly with the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange Fall Festival and 3rd Annual Pie Contest, doubling the fun! Play old-fashioned corn hole, win a pie at the pie walk, listen to live music, make a scarecrow, take a stroll through the…
Find out more »September 2022
How to Set Up a Home Weather Station” and “Prepping Soil Now to Prepare for Planting Fruit Trees in Winter.”
Join us on September 18 for a Zoom meeting on two timely topics: weather stations and soil prep! As we round the final season of the new year, this information should help you be prepared for next year's gardening tasks. MBCRFG member, Jason Sutor, will present information on setting up a weather station – should be helpful for all of us with the many changes of weather we undergo! In addition, MBCRFG member, Sharon Zo, will present information on preparing…
Find out more »January 2022
2022 Scion Exchange
Join us at our Scion Exchange January 30, 2022 at Soquel High School! This outdoor Scion Exchange offers CRFG members and the public an opportunity to select scions that can be grafted to rootstock or to existing fruit trees. Current members of CRFG may enter the event at 11 AM; Non-members are welcome to participate from 12-3 PM. Entry Fee & Items Available for Purchase Current CRFG Members: Free Admission for the Public: $5.00 Scions: Free with paid admission Limit…
Find out more »October 2021
Orchard Tour
Freddy Menge, picking ripe apples. On October 3rd, 1 to 3:30 pm, we invite you to visit Epicenter Orchard in Watsonville, the home of Freddy Menge’s apple, pear, plum, and cherry collection/orchard, the source of many of the apples offered for tasting in the annual MBCRFG apple tasting (cancelled this year due to Covid). During this tour and fruit tasting, we will walk through the trees and talk about growing fruit holistically, pruning styles, wildlife and insect habitat creation, irrigation,…
Find out more »September 2021
Cider Making Presentation Featuring Jim Rider
Jim Rider will be giving a presentation on September 28 via Zoom on the mysteries of making cider! Update: the recording of this presentation is published here. Jim Rider is a power hitter in the local fruit world and beyond. A 5th generation Pajaro Valley apple grower with a master’s degree in Pomology from Cornell, for decades he’s been a local leader as an innovative and influential organic orchardist, a pioneering red-fleshed apple breeder, and longtime MBCRFG member. He's also…
Find out more »March 2021
March Meeting: Avian Pest Control / Elderberries
We have two terrific speakers planned for the evening. First, Jo Ann Baumgartner from the Wild Farm Alliance will speak to us regarding AVIAN PEST CONTROL – encouraging birds to inhabit our spaces to control pest insects, rodents and pest birds. This should be a great presentation – and we will follow her talk with a Q&A session. Second, Katie Reneker from Carmel Berry Company will discuss ELDERBERRIES! Many of us have expressed interest in elderberries, and Katie is just the person to…
Find out more »February 2021
Scion Exchange 2021
We are glad to be able to still offer a safe and scaled-back winter Scion Exchange this year pursuant to public health guidelines, on a socially distanced order-fulfillment/pickup model. In order to accomplish this, our 2021 exchange is limited to members (join here) who list their donations/requests sufficiently in advance of our January 31, 2021 (Feb 7 for rainout) pickup date. Full instructions are provided by email. We are exchanging dormant fruitwood, seeds and plants, of scores of varieties.
Find out more »