Wednesday, March 9, 2016

5th Annual I.F. Plant Swap and Seed and Scion Exchan

Seeds, Scions, and Plants to share and propagate!
Seeds, Scions, and Plants to share and propagate!

WHAT:      5th Annual I.F. Plant Swap and Seed & Scion Exchange
WHEN:      Sat. March 12, 2016- 3 pm to 6:00 pm
WHERE:   872 s. Holmes Ave. (the Kirby vacuum office) Idaho falls, Idaho 83401
WHO:        Any interested farmers, gardeners, or fruit lovers
WHAT:      Workshops on grafting fruit trees, rediscovering the forgotten fruits!
WHY:         Idaho gardeners and backyard fruit growers have a legacy of heirloom fruits and plants that are in danger of being   lost, and sharing of plants and scions will encourage production of diverse varieties for posterity and sustainable food production.
HOW IT WORKS: Anyone can bring heirloom or open-pollinated cuttings, starts, bulbs, divisions, plants and scions to swap   or share. If you do not have plants or scions, you could bring envelopes, anything to share or trade with other gardeners or backyard fruit growers.
COST:        $5 per person, or $8 a couple. Bring a little extra if you want to purchase rootstocks ($5 per rootstock) to graft your  own fruit trees! (If you already have an apple or a pear tree you won’t need more rootstocks unless you want more trees.)
For More Info Contact: Jerry at theprovidentprovisioner@gmail.com
or call me at (208) 589-2761

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Grow Your Own Backyard Statement of Independence!

For More Info Contact: Jerry Coon at applemanjc@gmail.com 
or call (208) 589-2761


WHAT: 4th Annual I.F. Plant Swap and Scion Exchange
WHEN: Sat. April 18, 2015- 10 am to 4 pm
WHERE:   872 s. Holmes Ave. (the Kirby vacuum office) Idaho falls, Idaho 83401
WHO: any interested farmers, gardeners, or fruit lovers
WHAT: Workshops on grafting fruit trees, rediscovering the forgotten fruits!
WHY: Idaho farmers and gardeners have a legacy of heirloom fruits and plants that are in danger of being lost, and sharing of plants and scions will encourage production of diverse varieties for posterity and sustainable food production.
HOW IT WORKS: Anyone can bring heirloom or open-pollinated cuttings, starts, bulbs, divisions, plants and scions to swap or share. If you do not have plants or scions, you could bring envelopes, anything to share or trade with other gardeners or fruit growers. .
COST: $5 per person, or $8 a couple. Bring a little extra if you want to purchase rootstocks ($5 per rootstock) to graft your own fruit trees!

Grow Your Own Backyard Statement of  Independence!

"Why do we need so many kinds of apples? Because there are so many folks. A person has a right to gratify his legitimate tastes. If he wants twenty or forty kinds of apples for his personal use, running from Early Harvest to Roxbury Russet, he should be accorded the privilege. Some place should be provided where he may obtain trees or scions. There is merit in variety itself. It provides more points of contact with life, and leads away from uniformity and monotony." Liberty Hyde Bailey



Come to 4th Annual I.F. Plant Swap and Scion Exchange and learn to graft trees that taste better than any Johnny Appleseed planted, and grow tasty fruits and vegetables you can repeat year after year.

more apple cultivars

Westfield Seek no Further
Origin: Massachusetts 1790Ripens: OctZone: 3 - 6
Excellent for eating fresh. Fruit is streaked with red and russet over yellowish background
GoldRush  Keeps Its Fantastic Flavor All Winter!

One of the best keeping apples ever! Keeps in the refrigerator until June of the year following harvest. Retains crisp texture and, like fine wine, Gold rush's flavor gets even better with time. Exceptional for fresh eating; out of this world for pies and cider! Quick to bear, often in its second year. Good disease resistance. A real winner! Zones 5-8.
  • Pristine
    Origin: Purdue - 1994Ripens: Mid July to AugustZone: 4 - 8
    Uses: Baking, Pies, Sauce
    A very sweet, yellow skinned apple. Very disease redistant. It is very similar to Yellow Transparent.
    Williams Pride
    Origin: 1988Ripens: July/AugZone: 4 - 7
    Fruit is medium in size slightly conic in shape with a rich aromatic flavor. Apples are 70-80% red with excellent eating quality. It has inbred resistance to apple scab and cedar apple rust. Good resistance to fireblight and powdery mildew. Stores about 1 month in refrigeration.
    Caville Blanc de'Hiver
    Origin: France or Germany 1598Ripens: Oct/NovZone: 3 - 6
    Uniquely shaped medium to large size fruit, skin yellow with light red flush. Fine textured. Flesh is tender, yellowish-white; flavor sweet, subacid, aromatic. Higher in Vitamin C than an orange. This is the gourmet culinary apple of France, excellent for tarts. One of Thomas Jeffersons favorite apples.
    Fortune
    Fortune
    Origin: New York - 1995Ripens: SeptemberZone: 4 - 7
    Uses: Eating, Pies, Sauce
    'Fortune' is a hybrid of 'Schoharie Spy' x 'Empire'. It is a large, red apple with yellow flesh which is excellent for eating fresh. Trees are usually very vigorous.

Apple Cultivars

Apple cultivars (scions) collected so far...

Sweet 16
Ripens: SeptZone: 3 - 6
Uniquely flavored sweet, crisp apple with good storage qualities.
Zestar
Origin: University of Minnesota - 1999Ripens: Late AugustZone: 2 - 2
Uses: Baking, Eating, Pies, Sauce
A medium sized, red apple with light, crisp and juicy flesh. Taste has an excellent sweet-tart balance with a brown sugar overtone. The tree is very cold hardy.
Honeycrisp

Origin: Minnesota 1991 (Macoun x Honeygold) Patent #7917Ripens: Sept/OctZone: 3 - 6
Skin is mottled red over yellow. The flesh is very crisp and is excellent for eating. Good keeper - up to 5 months. Topped with McIntosh and Delicious for fresh eating in taste tests.
Earligold
Origin: WashingtonRipens: AugustZone: 4 - 8
Uses: Baking, Eating, Pies, Sauce
Similar to Lodi but firmer. A yellow-green apple with tart, crisp flesh.
Goodland
Origin: Manitoba 1948Ripens: SeptZone: 3 - 6
Flesh crisp, juicy and tender, makes delicious aromatic sauce and is also an excellent eating apple. Productive, annual bearer.
Golden Russett

Origin: New York prior to 1845Ripens: OctZone: 3 - 6
An old American cider apple, also good for eating and drying, and attractive for a russet. Tree medium to large, fruit medium to above. The sugary, dense flesh of this apple is the essence of the European reinettes.
Arkansas Black
Origin: Arkansas before 1850'sRipens: Oct/NovZone: 4 - 7
Very large, attractive,dark red fruit.
Excellent for storage. Tart and hard when picked, favor sweetens with age.
Northern Spy
Origin: New York 1800Ripens: OctZone: 3 - 6
Uses: Baking, Eating, Pies, Salads, Sauce
Large vigorous tree. One of the best winter apples in the East, also does well in Northern California. Fruit large, attractive, red and yellow, thin-skinned. Flesh yellowish, rather firm, very tender, crisp, juicy, sprightly subacid. Stores well. Good for pies or eating out of hand.
Prairie Spy
Origin: Minnesota 1940Ripens: OctZone: 3 - 6
Large fruit, crisp & juicy with excellent flavor which develops and improves while in storage. Keeps until Spring. Tree bears very young. Some resistance to scab and cedar apple rust.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

What is a Seed Swap or Scion Exchange?

For all our visitors, this article explains the basics of a seed swap and scion exchange.

What will I find at the exchange?
Seeds and Scions: (a scion is a small piece of a branch from a fruit tree)

A large multi-purpose room, which is filled with rows of cafeteria-style tables. Most the tables will have gallon-size bags of dormant cuttings from fruit and nut trees – such as apple, pear, berries, etc.

You will also find some cuttings from evergreen fruiting plants, whole plants, gardening catalogs, seeds, roots, inexpensive information sheets, and sometimes grafting supplies.

What you do at the exchange is select 1-2 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, you bring something from your own garden: open pollinated seeds of your favorite vegetable, cuttings from an heirloom fruit tree, specialties from your family's native country, etc. See the "What to Bring" page for more details.

What if I know nothing about grafting?

Grafting is the process by which a piece of one kind of plant is attached to a different kind of plant (such as a Fuji apple twig on a seedling apple rootstock). The exchange includes a grafting demonstration that will show you how to graft and experts who can tell you what plant combinations will be successful.

Still don't think grafting is for you? Many types of cuttings -- such as fig, kiwi, and grapes – can be easily rooted in ordinary garden dirt.

What will this cost me?
A $5 per person, or $8 per couple (or bring a friend) entry fee will be charged at the door (which goes to help defray the costs of advertising, using the room, and misc. supplies), though no one will be refused for lack of funds. The charge for pamphlets, grafting supplies, and such, depends on our costs 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 noon and will be advertised in various local newspapers.


What about lunch?

This year bring a pot luck dish and we'll munch and mingle at noon!


What to Bring

(1) Scions, cuttings, divisions, tubers, bare-root plants, and open pollinated seeds of unusual fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, and herbs. (See below for more about preparing material for the exchange.)
(2) Unusual fruit or vegetable-related edibles to share, such as fresh or dried fruit, jams, cookies, pickles, etc.
Pot luck! Plates and cutlery will be provided.
(3) Seed, gardening books and catalogs, tools, and other gardening-related items you don't need anymore but someone else would enjoy.
(4) Bring clean, disease and pest-free, leafless cuttings. Clean your pruning shears with 90% rubbing alcohol between different trees you are cutting. We don’t want to spread any pests or disease
(5) Empty plastic bags, masking tape or labels, and a waterproof pen (or pencil) -- to bag and label the things you want to take home from the exchange.
(6) Please don’t bring patented varieties. We respect the work of fruit breeders and will not allow cuttings of any fruit varieties that are protected by a current Plant Patent,
(7) Please only bring scions or cuttings from trees you know have fruited “true to type”. It is important to bring only scions that you are certain of the variety name, such as you have received them labeled from a reliable nursery or grower. Do not bring material from trees that have not yet born fruit, as they may have been mislabeled. It is frustrating to collect scionwood, graft, and care for a tree for years, just to find the original scion was a mislabeled donation to the exchange. In addition to standard, well-known old and new varieties, we are especially interested in varieties from your backyard/neighborhood that are unique seedlings or otherwise worth saving. However, by all means, if you have an unusually good fruit without a variety name ,bring it and label it--(see label section.) We are excited to share locally adapted cultivars with unusual merits or tastes. What rare varieties could you share?
(8) Label what you bring. A good label really helps others to choose what will work for them. We will have pre-printed, form labels (that you can fill in) at the Exchange, or you can use the included label template and print them yourself. At the very least, please write a basic label for each bag of scions you bring – one that says(for example) something like “red plum, very sweet, early, grown Pocatello." Be prepared to give a brief intro and description of your varieties. If you need labels...

Just Contact me at..

applemanjc@gmail.com

and I will email you a label form you can print out in Microsoft Word 
(9) Store your scions with just a sprinkle of water, in sealed plastic bags in the fridge (35-37°F), but don’t freeze them.
(10) At the Exchange, there will be information sheets available describing many of the varieties of fruit scions and seeds you will find there, but it will be much easier to decide on which varieties you want before you get there. If you do some homework, and bring a shopping list, you may find the exchange more enjoyable. As a suggestion, Find out what fruit already thrives in your neighborhood. Look for wild berries. Talk to your neighbors. Trade favorite fruit and vegetable stories. Support each other, and share backyard garden and fruit tree surpluses, learning to eat with the seasons. Perhaps you can grow a delicious piece of history by collecting and growing a scion of a productive, old local tree. Be a good neighbor and only collect fruit and scions with permission.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

How to Collect Scion wood from apples and pears for Grafting


Apple/Pear seeds collected from a particular variety will not produce true-to-type. To make an exact copy of any selected apple variety, it needs to be spring grafted or summer budded.
Grafting is the process by which a piece of one kind of plant is attached to a different kind of plant (such as a Fuji apple twig on a seedling apple rootstock).

To utilize the technique of dormant spring grafting which we will conduct in March ... A shoot or twig (known as a scion or scion wood) is collected in January through March and stored under refrigeration until grafting season. The process of grafting itself is quite simple. A selected piece of scion wood is inserted into the rootstock of a young apple/pear tree where, over time, it will heal and fuse together make a new tree.
The most important point in collecting scion wood is to be sure to collect new growth; that is, twigs or shoots that emerged the previous summer. New growth is identified by its smooth, reddish or greenish bark in contrast to older growth which will have rough, grayish-colored bark. New growth will have small, tight buds and rarely have side limbs, twigs or branches which are common on older growth. The two photographs below are examples of good and bad scion wood. 

Notice in Fig.1 the relatively smooth cuttings with small buds. This one-year-old wood is excellent grafting material. 
Fig.2 shows two and three-year-old fruiting wood which is unsuitable for grafting. However, the cutting in the middle of Fig.2 shows a short length of wood at the top which is good viable scion wood. Frequently on older trees this is the best material that can be collected.

On older, unmanaged trees, new growth can be very difficult to find. Normally, this new growth can be found out on the tips of twigs high up on the sunny side of the tree. You can also find new growth on water sprouts which are vigorous, whip-like shoots ranging in size from a couple of inches to several feet in length and typically found growing vertically upwards from the trunk or larger limbs. Not all water sprouts are new growth, however. Be sure that any water sprout selected for scion wood has no side limbs or twigs on it.
Collect the proper scion wood cuttings in late January to mid March. The cuttings should ideally be eight to twelve inches in length and approximately the diameter of a pencil, although pieces of a smaller length and diameter can be successfully grafted. Bundle the scion wood together and label each variety separately. Wrap the bundles in a damp (not wet) newspaper and enclose tightly in Saran Wrap or a gallon zip lock plastic bag, and store in your refrigerator until the scion exchange.

Tips on Cutting & Storing Scions:    (Hints for Everyone) 
1. Look around your garden.  What do you have (that is dormant) that could be pruned to yield scions for grafting, budding, or rooting?  What could you bring to the Exchange as bareroot plants?
2. 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.  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.)
3. Carefully remove leaves and leaf litter from your plant materials. Light Brown Apple Moth (a new plant pest with many hosts) hides in both living and dead leaves. For evergreen scions (i.e., citrus), trim off the leaf blade but leave the petiole attached to the scion.
3. 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.
4. Label your scions and store them in plastic bags to prevent drying.  Or you can dip both ends of each piece in melted paraffin.  Keep roots of bareroot plants in damp sawdust or damp, leaf-free, dirt.

5. Store scions in the refrigerator (NOT IN THE FREEZER), a COLD basement, or buried in the ground.






6. Before coming to the Exchange, place all the scions of one kind together in a plastic bag,  preferably a 1-gal ZIPLOC bag to preclude the bother of twist-ties. Label each bag.