Dan Willey, the “fruitmentor”, discusses new citrus varieties with the Monterey Bay California Rare Fruit Growers. Wondering what new varieties are coming up? Dan’s presentation solicits ideas from the growers’ group.
Techniques: Thinning Fruit and Trapping Gophers
Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers meeting May 10, 2021 to discuss techniques and questions about thinning fruit and about trapping gophers. Presented by Freddy Menge and Sharon Zo.
Monterey Bay CRFG Presents Discussions on Avian Pest Control and on Elderberries
Two great topics in one meeting — “Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds” presented by Jo Ann Baumgartner of Wild Farm Alliance, and “Elderberries, the Tiny but Mighty Native Super Fruit” presented by Katie Reneker from Carmel Berry Company.
Growing Subtropicals in Santa Cruz County, California
Nate Blackmore discusses Santa Cruz County microclimates and the varieties suitable for successful fruiting in Santa Cruz County, California.
Growing Avocados in Northern California
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers presents Ellen Baker and Freddy Menge discussing tactics for success in growing Avocados in Northern California. Included are tips regarding varieties of interest in the Central Coast area.
Subtropicals and Tropicals in California Agrosystems with Barath Raghavan
Barath Raghavan discusses his experiences with Subtropicals and Tropicals in California Agrosystems, including notes on various species and cultivars that may be suitable in central California coast locales.
Video: How to Graft Deciduous Fruit Trees
Freddy Menge has graciously brought his grafting tutorial online.
In this video, Freddy demonstrates cleft grafting via a proven method that has gotten many local newbies propagating deciduous fruit trees for the first time. He makes mention of knife style (and “caveman grip”), cleft graft technique, the physiology of grafting (cambium contact), tensioning and sealant materials (demonstrating an inexpensive and effective graft with masking tape), and post-graft training (removal of competing shoots).
Santa Cruz Apple Tasting 2019 Rankings (77 Varieties)
For the benefit of visitors to California Rare Fruit Growers northern circuit of Scion Exchanges, below is a complete tabluation of taster rankings from our October 2019 apple tasting in Santa Cruz, California, an event held now for over 30 years annually. Many (but not all) of the apples below will be available as scionwood at our local Monterey Bay scion exchange, and distributed to others run by northern California chapters of CRFG. These include heirloom, modern, and novel locally-discoved and bred apples.
Continue reading “Santa Cruz Apple Tasting 2019 Rankings (77 Varieties)”The Lumpy Fruit, The Golden Fruit
The quince is a pome fruit in the Rosaceae family, which includes pears and apples. It is a rock hard, homely, lumpy fruit. If you manage to hack off a slice, you will find it to be tough, tannic and sour. It has been suggested that the quince was the golden fruit, beloved of Aphrodite, that started the Trojan war. Because it thrived in the heat of the plains of Mesopotamia, it might also have been the fruit on the Tree of Knowledge.
The origin of the quince is thought to be somewhere in the Caucasus, Northern Persia or the formerly Fertile Crescent, so it is a more likely candidate to have starred in those ancient stories than the apple we know today. Hard to imagine, though, that it was considered a tempting fruit.
Continue reading “The Lumpy Fruit, The Golden Fruit”Mini-Doc: Tasting 77 California Apples
For over 30 years, each autumn the Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers has held a public apple tasting in Santa Cruz, California that is likely one of the world’s most extensive.
This tasting honors the heritage of our region’s once prominent history in apple orcharding, as well as the amazing biodiversity and range of shapes, colors, textures, and flavors in the world’s favorite temperate fruit crop.
Our tasting features a wide range of apples, all locally-grown by our members, from centuries-old heirlooms to completely novel, locally-bred varieties (including a special section of redfleshed apples that have captured local imagination for quite some time).
I filmed a video, below, at our 2018 tasting, featuring some tasters’ perspectives on a dazzling array of fruits quite unlike what’s available at your average supermarket. Our 2018 tasted featured 77 varieties, each of them ranked and depicted in this prior post.