Newsletters & Past Meetings

  • June 3, 2023, 10:00 am: June 2023 general meeting

    Meet at 10:00 AM on Sat. Jun. 3, 2022 on ZOOM

    No specific topic, just general discussion on what is going on in our gardens and what we're growing.

    Location: Virtual ZOOM meeting (link emailed to chapter members)

  • April 1, 2023, 10:00 am: Plant Hormones and Fruit Trees

    Speaker: Ernesto Sandoval, manager and curator of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory.

    Topic: Plant Hormones and Fruit Trees

    Ernesto Sandoval has been wondering and seeking questions and answers to why plants grow and look the way that they do for nearly 40 years. Now he explains and interprets the world of plants to a variety of ages and from amateur to professional gardeners. He regularly lectures to a variety of western Garden Clubs throughout the year and particularly to Succulent Clubs throughout California. Although desert plants are his particular passion within his general passion for plants, he describes himself as a "Jose of All Plants, Master of None" and loves learning from the experiences of others as well as his own. Ernesto thoroughly enjoys helping others, and gardeners in particular, to understand why and how plants do what they do.

    When he was about 13 he asked his dad why one tree was pruned a particular way and another tree another way. His dad answered bluntly "because that's the way you do it.” Since then he's been learning and teaching himself the answers to those and many other questions by getting a degree at UC Davis in Botany and working from student weeder/waterer to Director/Manager over the last 30 years at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory.

    He's long left the "mow blow and go" monoculture landscape gardening world and has immersed himself in the world of horticultural biodiversity by growing several thousand types of plants at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory! Several of his favorite garden projects involved converting lawns and or water loving landscapes to drought tolerant and diversity filled gardens! He likes to promote plant liberation by encouraging gardeners of all sorts to grow more plants in the ground when possible. He loves the technical language of Botany but prefers to relate information in more understandable methods of communication! By helping people to understand the workings of plants, including hormones, he hopes to help us better understand how to manage our plants and why our plants do what they do to help us maximize their growth with less effort.

    Location: Virtual ZOOM meeting (link emailed to chapter members)

  • February 4, 2023, 10:00 am: 2023 Annual Scionwood Exchange

    Foothill CRFG chapter annual scion wood exchange, pick up from member gardens.

  • December 3, 2022, 10:00 am: The Current Situation and Management of HLB, Including Possible Treatments using a Multifunctional Stable Antimicrobial Peptide

    Speaker: Chien-Yu Huang, Ph.D, project manager and assistant project scientist of citrus HLB projects in Dr. Hailing Jin's lab, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at UC Riverside

    Topic: The Current Situation and Management of HLB, Including Possible Treatments using a Multifunctional Stable Antimicrobial Peptide

    Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB), which is caused by the bacterial pathogen CLas, is the most devastating citrus disease worldwide. Currently, there are no effective strategies to prevent infection or to cure HLB-positive trees. Dr. Huang's team identified a novel class of stable antimicrobial pepties, SAMPs, from Australian finger limes that can inhibit infections of CLas, reduced CLas titer, and disease symptoms in plants in controlled greenhouse trials. SAMP has the potential to be developed as an HLB control tool in the near future.

    Location: Virtual ZOOM meeting (link emailed to chapter members)

     

  • October 1, 2022, 9:30 am: October 2022 general meeting

    Meet at 9:30 AM on Sat. Oct. 1, 2022 at the Arboretum's Palm Room

    No specific topic, just general discussion on what is going on in our gardens and what we're growing.

  • August 6, 2022, 9:30 am: Mangoes, Soil, Propagation and Disease Control

    Foothill chapter member Warren Lau will be discussing about mangoes and their varieties, soil, propagation and disease control. Also general socializing and discussion and direction about future in-person events for Foothill CRFG such as speakers and possible garden tours.

    LOCATION: In-person meeting at LA County Arboretum (301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007)

    Meet at 9:30 AM on Sat. Aug. 6, 2022 at the Arboretum's Palm Room

  • July 9, 2022, 10:00 am: [FOOTHILL CHAPTER MEMBERS ONLY] Private garden tour

    Private tour of CRFG Foothill member's garden.

  • June 4, 2022, 10:00 am: June 2022 general meeting

    First in-person meeting at the Arboretum since the start of the pandemic.

    Meet at 10:00 AM on Sat. Jun. 4, 2022 at the Arboretum's Palm Room

    No specific topic, just general discussion on what is going on in our gardens and what we're growing.

  • February 5, 2022, 10:00 am: 2022 Annual Scionwood Exchange

    Foothill CRFG chapter annual scion wood exchange, pick up from member gardens.

  • April 3, 2021, 10:00 am: Barath Raghavan - Subtropicals and Tropicals in California Agroecosystems

    From Barath Raghavan, PhD: “In this talk I’ll discuss 100+ edible subtropical and tropical species and some (ongoing) experiences growing them outdoors in various microclimates in Northern and Southern California, both in the ground and in containers. I’ll share some opinions on which seem promising and which seem not to be worth the effort, and I’ll discuss methods of propagation and care. I’ll also talk about how to select which species are appropriate for your specific microclimate, and some research I’m doing into building computational tools to help automate this selection process.”

    Location: Virtual ZOOM meeting (link emailed to chapter members)

  • February 6, 2021, 10:00 am: Jeff Warner on HLB and Citrus Alternatives

    Jeff Warner, Master Gardener with the UC Cooperative Extension and Foothill chapter member, will present to us a workshop that includes an HLB update, information on identifying and controlling the Asian Citrus Psyllid, caring for citrus trees, and selecting alternatives to citrus.

    Location: Virtual ZOOM meeting (link emailed to chapter members)

  • January 16, 2021, 10:00 am: 2021 Annual Scionwood Exchange

    Foothill CRFG chapter annual scion wood exchange, pick up from member gardens.

  • February 1, 2020, 9:30 am: Annual Scionwood Exchange and grafting demonstration

    Want to learn how to grow several varieties of fruit on one tree? Or how to take an unproductive tree or one with tasteless fruit and make it more interesting and productive? Let local fruit growers show you how to graft and turn a plain plant into something special.

    What: Fruit tree grafting demonstrations, Q&A, and hands-on grafting practice, followed by a scion exchange (where we swap cuttings of known varieties of fruits)
    When: Saturday, February 01, 2020; 9:30 am – 11:30 am
    Where: Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia CA 91007, in the Palm Room (down the ramp to the left of the Arboretum lobby, near the gift shop)
    Hosts: California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) Foothill Chapter
    Who is welcome: Anyone – members of the public interested in gardening and growing fruit

    We will start with a general discussion of grafting including what it is, why and how to do it, and what tools and supplies are needed. We’ll cover ideal placement of graft on a plant and discuss when to graft (based on plant type, weather, warmth). Then we’ll break into groups for demonstrations.

    Four grafting demonstration stations will be set up in the Palm Room.
    At each station a member from a local CRFG chapter will demonstrate a grafting method. Below are the grafters and their demonstrations:

    Martin Koning-Bastiaan (Foothill CRFG chapter president): Cleft grafting
    Tree Krzewski (from Orange County CRFG chapter): Demonstrating the handheld grafting (puzzle) tool
    Paco Frausto (from Orange County CRFG chapter): Pithaya grafting
    Jeremy Elkind (from Orange County CRFG chapter): Whip and tongue grafting

    - Each demo will be approximately 15 minutes in length
    - Attendees can move from station to station to view and try different types of grafting.

    Attendees can move from station to station to view and try different types of grafting.
    After the general discussion and demonstrations, attendees are welcome to join in the scion exchange next door in the Bamboo Room. The scion exchange provides a chance to obtain scions (bud wood cuttings) of known varieties of fruit you can graft, or cuttings of plants like grapes and figs that can either be grafted or rooted directly in the ground.

    IMPORTANT:
    Do NOT bring fruit or scions from any citrus or citrus relatives (Rutaceae family), which includes curry leaf, sapote, finger limes, Buddha's hand/citron, and the like.
    Southern California is in a quarantine zone to avoid the spread of hualongbing (citrus greening disease) and the insect pest that spreads it (the Asian citrus psyllid). Do not transport citrus plants/parts/foliage/fruit, not even within your own city.
    Do not graft citrus onto your own plants unless the scions or budwood are certified as disease-free. Disease-free citrus material is available from the University of California Riverside Citrus Variety Collection at https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/.

    Guidelines for sharing scions:

    • Do not share citrus and citrus relatives (see notes above).
    • Do not share cuttings of patented fruit varieties that are still under patent protection. If the tag on your tree says “Propagation Prohibited” or “PPAF”, do not bring cuttings from it to the exchange.
    • Do take cuttings of dormant wood (not newly-sprouted) from clean, healthy plants.
      Cuttings should be of wood that is only 1-2 years old, about the size of a pencil (6”-8” long and 1/8” to ¾” in diameter), and include at least 2-3 buds.
      When you cut scions, make a slanted cut at the top of the scion and make a straight cut at the bottom (perpendicular to the stem). The slanted cut identifies the top so the stem can be oriented correctly during grafting.
    • Label each bundle of cuttings. Include variety name (such as “Santa Rosa plum” or “Granny Smith apple”), description, and, if possible, your name (in case someone wants to know more about the cuttings)
    • Place the cuttings into a plastic bag, wrapped in a clean, damp paper towel or damp newspaper to keep them from drying out.
      Store bags of cuttings in the refrigerator (not the freezer) until you are ready to bring them to the scion exchange or to graft them onto one of your trees.
      For the exchange, drop off your labeled scions in the Bamboo Room at the beginning of the meeting. Volunteers will organize all donated material during the grafting demonstrations.
    • During the exchange please take only 1-2 scions of a variety and leave the rest for others to share.
    • Handy tip: Bring masking tape and a Sharpie marker to label your scions at the exchange.

  • December 7, 2019, 9:30 am: The Power of Organics in your Garden - Gisele Schoniger

    In her 35 years in the Garden Industry, Gisele has accumulated a wide range of experience and knowledge. She earned her degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. She has owned an Interiorscape company, worked for the State Department of Agriculture, practiced as a horticultural therapist with senior citizens and launched an outstanding sales career by helping establish top-selling organic gardening products. She is currently the Organic Gardening Educator for Kellogg Garden Products and shares her vast knowledge with the sales team, provides product knowledge trainings, and speaks to groups educating them on organics & soil health.

  • October 5, 2019, 9:30 am: John Chater on Pomegranates

    John Chater will give a talk on "Pomegranate: A Breeder's Perspective." He is a punicologist at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Chater earned his Ph.D. in Plant Biology with a concentration in Plant Ecology from UC Riverside; an M.S. in Agriculture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; and a B.A. in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Chater is currently a postdoctoral scholar in Jia Lab at UC Riverside in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences. He teaches postharvest physiology of horticultural crops at Chapman University and health science courses at Riverside City College as adjunct faculty. John has conducted research examining effects of foliar applications on pomegranate nutrition, quality, and fruit split for his MS research. His Ph.D. and postdoc research have largely focused on establishment, eco-physiology, and fruit and juice quality of USDA pomegranate germplasm. Dr. Chater has over a dozen publications on germplasm cultivar evaluation, descriptions, selection and using consumer sensory panels (taste testing) to determine consumer acceptance. He established and manages the pomegranate research and breeding program at UCR, its cultivar trials, and is currently involved in genomic and metabolomic investigations involving fruit and juice quality, effects of climate on fruit biochemistry, genome annotations of USDA germplasm and comparative genomics of pomegranate with its closest relative (Punica protopunica), a threatened species.

  • August 16, 2019, N/A: Festival of Fruit

    The annual Festival of Fruit will be hosted by the Foothill Chapter on August 16-18. See http://festivaloffruit.org for more information.

  • June 1, 2019, 9:30 am: Fruitstitute and Known-You

    This month we have two speakers!

    Joanna Glovingsky of Fruitstitute will be speaking on mixing arborculture and orcharding, including regenerative land management and managing climate change issues.

    Sean Hsu from Known-You Seed Co. will discuss seed development and bring a new cabbage for taste testing.

  • April 6, 2019, 9:30 am: Elvira de Lange on Pest management

    Dr. Elvira de Lange will speak on innovative pest management for strawberries (and possibly almonds). For example, she uses drone to detect spider mites on strawberries and releases predatory mites to help control the infestations.

  • February 2, 2019, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration. Bring your favorite cultivars (but not ones with current patents). Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • December 1, 2018, 9:30 am: Tour of the LA Arboretum Garden For All Seasons

    Arboretum Supervisor Tim Phillips will give us a guided tour of the Garden for All Seasons. Prior to leading the tour, he will provide some history and context of the Arboretum's fruit collections.

  • October 6, 2018, 9:30 am: Festival of Fruit Recap

    Member Ron Johnson will share with us his recollections and pictures of the 2018 Festival of Fruit held in Santa Clara, CA.

  • August 4, 2018, 9:30 am: Mangoes: Selection, Propagation, and Control

    Warren Lau will share his knowledge of Mango varieties, demonstrate lamination grafting, and discuss control of common diseases.

  • June 2, 2018, 9:30 am: Mark Hoddle on ACP and Citrus Greening

    UC Riverside professor Mark Hoddle will give us an update on the fight against the Asian Citrus Psyllid and Citrus Greening disease.

  • May 19, 2018, 10:00 am: Citrus Grafting Demo and Garden Tour

    We will meet at Alain Betrancourt's house for a citrus grafting demonstration by Fang Liu and a tour of Alain's yard

  • April 7, 2018, 9:30 am: Mandarins

    Martin Koning-Bastiaan will discuss Mandarin care and feeding, in addition to cultivar selection.

  • February 3, 2018, 9:30 am: Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration. Bring your favorite cultivars (but not ones with current patents). Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • October 7, 2017, 9:30 am: Greywater Systems for your home

    Member Ty Teissere will show and demonstrate greywater systems for the home.

  • August 5, 2017, 9:30 am: From Cows to Concrete: The Rise and Fall of Farming in Los Angeles

    Rachel Surls and Judith Gerber will give a talk about their book, From Cows to Concrete: The rise and Fall of Farming in Los Angeles.

    Los Angeles County was once the center of an agricultural empire.  Today, it is the nation's most populous urban metropolis.  What happened?  Where did the green go?  From the earliest pueblo cornfields to the struggles of farm workers to the rise of the environmental movement, Rachel and Judith’s book, From Cows to Concrete tells the story of how agriculture forged Los Angeles into an urban metropolis, and how, ultimately, the Los Angeles farm empire spurred the very growth that paved it over, as sprawling suburbs swallowed up thousands of acres of prime farmland.  Rachel and Judith will share highlights from the book, illustrated with photos, maps and artwork from archives around California. Copies of the book, which was recently awarded a Gold Medal in the annualForeward Indies Book Awards in the regional nonfiction category, will be available for signing.  Rachel Surls is the Sustainable Food Systems Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension and Judith Gerber is a long-time farm and garden writer.

  • June 3, 2017, 10:00 am: SOUTH AMERICA’S APHRODISIAC – PASSION FRUIT

    Passion fruit: the name evokes an exotic tropical paradise, an aphrodisiac or a wonderful flavoring for many juice mixes and pastries. Nature provided over sixty different species of edible passion fruit, but most people are only aware of just one (Passiflora edulis). Join Jorge Ochoa as we take a trek through the jungles of Central and South America to learn about the many unfamiliar passion fruits that are becoming popular and that you can grow in your back yard.

  • April 1, 2017, 9:30 am: Tim Thibault on Shot Hole Borer

    Tim Thibault, curator of woody collections at the Huntington Library, will discuss the polyphagous shot-hole borer.

  • February 4, 2017, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange

  • December 3, 2016, 9:30 am: Antonio Sanchez on Native Fruit

    Antonio Sanchez, production manager at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, will present to us on fruit native to the Los Angeles area.

  • October 1, 2016, 9:30 am: October Meeting: Garden tour at Kelly Gabrysch's house

    We will be congregating at Kelly Gabrysch's house, where we will open up his back yard to us and show us the myriad fruit trees he grows.

  • August 6, 2016, 9:30 am: Niamh Quinn on Rodent Control in Orchards

    Niamh Quinn, PhD is the Area Vertebrate Pest Advisor at the South Coast Research and Extension Center. She will discuss rodent control in orchards. She has published a number of papers on control of roof rats, deer mice, pocket gophers, and ground squirrels.

  • June 4, 2016, 9:30 am: Kelsey Schall on Argentine Ants and ACP

    Kelsey Schall, graduate student at UC Riverside's Applied Biological Control Research program, will present on control of invasive Argentine ants (who cultivate Asian Citrus Psyllids).

  • April 2, 2016, 9:30 am: Ty Teissere on Better Soil with Compost Tea

    Ty Teissere specializes in backyard orchard care, from building the soil life and the irrigation systems that support it, to pruning the canopy. He has taught ecological workshops on permaculture design, greywater, soil food web, earthen construction, fermentation, and kids classes on worm composting. Ty is based in Pomona, he is a certified arborist (#WE-10547-A), greywater installer (Greywater Action), rainwater harvester (Watershed Management Group), and has his horticulture certificate from Long Beach City College.

    He will lead a workshop on actively aerated compost teas and building soil and foliar micro-biodiversity, with a hands-on compost tea lesson.

  • February 6, 2016, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration

    Bring your favorite cultivars (but not ones with current patents). Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • December 5, 2015, 9:30 am: ACP/Citrus Greening update

    Erica Kistner, PhD will give us an update on the biological control program against the Asian Citrus Psyllid

  • October 3, 2015, 9:00 am: La Verne Nursery Tour

    We will have a tour of the LaVerne Nursery in Piru

  • August 1, 2015, 9:30 am: Edgar Valdivia on Pitaya

    Pitaya expert Edgar Valdivia will come and speak to us about Pitaya. He may also bring some fruit to taste

  • June 6, 2015, 9:30 am: Steven Murray - Rare Fruit in Asia

    Steven Murray just returned from an epic adventure in Asia, visiting many countries and seeking out rare fruit along the way. He comes to us to show us what he found - a journey in pictures. Come join us for a fascinating and educational journey from a truly remarkable and knowledgeable person.

  • April 4, 2015, 9:30 am: Water and Watersheds

    We will have Nancy Steele, executive director of Council for Watershed Health, speak to us on one of the most important issues for growers of fruit: Water!

  • February 7, 2015, 9:30 am: Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange. Including grafting demonstration in addition to cultivar discussion

  • December 6, 2014, 9:30 am: December chapter meeting: Bees

    We will have Bruce Steele, Beekeeper come and speak to us

  • October 4, 2014, 5:00 pm: October Chapter Excursion: Tim Thompson's House

    We will meet at Tim Thompson's house in Camarillo for a tour and mango tasting. Guaranteed to be a hit!

  • August 2, 2014, 9:30 am: August Chapter Meeting: Tim Thompson on Mangoes

    Tim Thompson, the mango professor, will speak on mango variety development.

  • June 7, 2014, 9:30 am: June Chapter Meeting: Dr. Greg Partida on Avocados, Cultural Practices and Tree Maintenance

    Dr. Gregory Partida, professor of Plant Sciences at Cal Poly Pomona, will speak to the chapter about the care and maintenance of avocados.

  • April 5, 2014, 4:30 pm: April Chapter Meeting: Leigh Adams

    April's speaker is Leigh Adams, artist in residence at the Arboretum and project manager for the Arboretum's Crescent Farm. She will begin with some information on what the Arboretum is planning for the space and how we might be involved. We will also tour the Crescent Farm area of the Arboretum.

  • February 1, 2014, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration. Bring your favorite cultivars (but not ones with current patents). Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • December 7, 2013, 9:30 am: December Chapter Meeting: Bruce Steele on Bees

    Local Aparist Bruce Steele will come and speak to us on bees.

  • October 5, 2013, 9:30 am: October Chapter Meeting: Member Garden Tour

    We will meet at member David Szymkowski's house for a garden tour.

  • August 3, 2013, 9:30 am: August Chapter Meeting: Mark Hoddle on HLB and Biological Control

    Mark Hoddle, Ph.D., Principal Investigator at UCR's Applied Biological Control Research Laboratory, will come speak on biological control of pests (such as the Asian Citrus Psyllid).

  • June 1, 2013, 9:30 am: June Chapter Meeting: Tour of the Huntington Ranch

    Scott Kleinrock will give us a tour of the Huntington Ranch at the Huntington Gardens. A long anticipated tour for the Foothill CRFG!

  • April 6, 2013, 9:30 am: April Chapter Meeting: Jim Bathgate

    April Foothill CRFG Meeting. Special guest Jim Bathgate! He will be discussing new grafting techniques with very young plants (Cherimoya). He will also discuss low chill fruit varieties and recent pest issues with citrus and the like (HLB, for example).

  • February 2, 2013, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration. Bring your favorite cultivars (but not ones with current patents). Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • December 1, 2012, 10:00 am: December chapter meeting: Olive Curing

  • October 6, 2012, 9:30 am: October Foothill Chapter Meeting

    We will have David Silverstein speak on Pomegranates

  • August 4, 2012, 9:30 am: August Foothill Chapter Meeting

    The legendary Jim Nietzel will come to teach us about Mangoes. He will demonstrate Mango grafting, seed planting, scion selection, and discuss varieties and care of mangoes. He will be bringing some scion wood, so plant your mango seeds now and keep them warm so you have something to graft onto in August!

  • June 2, 2012, 9:30 am: June Foothill chapter meeting

    Apricots with Craig Ledbetter, a research geneticist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Dr. Ledbetter develops new varieties of apricots in addition to being an expert at crop pests and diseases.

  • April 5, 2012, 10:00 am: April Foothill Chapter Meeting: UCR Citrus Variety Collection Tour

    We will go on a tour of the UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection, hosted By Tracy Kahn

  • January 14, 2012, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration. Bring your favorite cultivars (but not ones with current patents). Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • January 14, 2012, 9:30 am: Annual Scion Wood Exchange

    Annual Scion Wood Exchange and Grafting demonstration. MARK your calendars, since it is a different day than usual! Bring your favorite cultivars. Martin Koning-Bastiaan will do a grafting demonstration, assisted by other experienced chapter members' thoughts and techniques.

  • December 10, 2011, 9:30 am: December Foothill Chapter Meeting

    An entertaining tour of New Zealand to import the pineapple guava (Feijoa): Glen Woodmansee’s entertaining talk on the pineapple guava got enthusiastic reviews at the L.A., Santa Monica, and Orange County chapters. Now he’s added additional video clips and is coming to the Foothill chapter! Glen traveled through California and New Zealand looking for the best varieties of this great back-yard fruit tree. Take a tour of New Zealand in a camper van, discovering their delicious cultivars! Watch brief video interviews with growers on the tree's history, growing habits, and fruit. Glen successfully brought back some varieties that have never been imported before, so bring your import questions if you want to try it yourself. Don’t miss it!

  • November 3, 2011, 9:00 am: 2011 CRFG Festival of Fruit

    Annual Festival of Fruit. This year is Year of the Pomegranate! It will be held at Arizona State University in Tempe Arizona this year. Always an incredible few days to meet other enthusiasts and learn from the experts. See the website for more details.

  • October 25, 2011, 7:30 pm: Huntington Ranch Lecture on Figs

    Evening Lecture on Figs by Jon Verdick. At the Friends' Hall of the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens

  • October 1, 2011, 9:30 am: October Foothill Chapter Meeting

    At this meeting, Kevin Hauser from Kuffel Creek will speak to us on Low Chill Apples for Southern California.

  • August 27, 2011, 7:00 am: Pitahaya Field Day

    South Coast Research and Extension Center's Pitahaya Field Day is a whole day on the topics such as:

    • Pitahaya variety research update
    • Pruning and trellising systems
    • Integrated pest management (diseases, gophers,
    snails, birds and weeds)
    • Irrigation and water quality education
    • Post harvest management
    • Markets/marketing issues
    • Grower panel discussion

  • August 6, 2011, 9:30 am: August Foothill Chapter Meeting

    We will have Jon Verdick from San Diego speak on Bananas.

    Jon's Bio: "I grew up with all sorts of edibles: fruits, nuts, and vegetables, really
    from birth. I don't ever remember not being in the garden. The love of
    fresh, tree-ripe fruit has been a life-long pursuit. I joined California
    Rare Fruit Growers (http://www.crfg.org) about 25 years ago with 2 goals:
    Cherimoyas and Passion Fruit. That led to Sugar Cane, Figs, Sapotes, Che,
    Pitangas, and a whole world of other fruits; oh, and Bananas. I bought my
    first bananas for foliage, not really giving a thought to fruit. Later, a
    became friends with a fellow who had lived in Hawaii and loved bananas. He
    lives east of me and it is too cool to grow them successfully at his
    location. So he kept bugging me to grow them in my more favorable location.
    I added a couple, and that led more. They are easy enough to grow, and add
    such a tropical feel to the landscape. The info I collected to better
    understand my own bananas, formed the genesis of my website,
    http://webebananas.com, which led to photographing my own collection. Back
    then, 90% of the banana pictures on the internet were mine. Bananas.org, a
    forum, has led to a lot more people making similar contributions to the web,
    which has been an exciting development for all banana lovers.

    That is probably the important stuff. Other than gardening, I have worked in
    packaging, auto repair, service station equipment, and building maintenance
    - but those just pay the bills. Gardening supplies the passion and the fun,
    in addition to great fresh food."

2013
February 2013
TOPIC: Scion Wood Exchange,
grafting demonstration
August 2013
TOPIC: HLB and Biological Control of Pests
Mark Hoddle
April 2013
TOPIC: Jim Bathgate on Grafting Techniques and fruit
October 2013
TOPIC: Category: GeneralGarden Tour at Dave Szymkowski's Residence
June 2013
TOPIC: Category: GeneralTour of the Huntingtion Ranch
The Huntington Botanical Gardens
2012
January 2012
TOPIC: Scion Wood Exchange,
grafting demonstration
August 2012
TOPIC:  Mangos
Jim Neitzel 
April 2012
TOPIC:  UCR Citrus Variety Collection Tour in Riverside
 October 2012
TOPIC: Pomegranates,
David Silverstein
June 2012
 Apricots
Craig Ledbetter 
December 2012
TOPIC: Olive Curing
2011
February 2011
TOPIC: Scion Wood Exchange,
grafting demonstration
August 2011
TOPIC: Bananas Jon Verdick's Slides See event pictures here
April 2011
TOPIC: Mandarin Retrospective
 October 2011
TOPIC: Apples for Warm Climates,
Kevin Hauser, Kuffel Creek
June 2011
Garden Gathering @
Rod Kiewiet's House
December 2011
Feijoa,
Glen Woodmansee
2010
February 2010
TOPIC: Jujubes &
scion exchange
August 2010
TOPIC: CRFG Festival of Fruit
April 2010
TOPIC: Beneficial Insects
October 2010
TOPIC: Los Angeles Smart Gardening
June 2010
TOPIC: Organic Gardening
December 2010
TOPIC: Persimmons
2009
February 2009
TOPIC: Tom Spellman and
Annual Scion Exchange
August 2009
TOPIC: Fertilizers
April 2009
TOPIC: Irrigation, Edibles & Insects
October 2009
TOPIC: Fruit Drying
June 2009
TOPIC: Mason Bees
December 2009
TOPIC: LA Arboretum Tour
2008
February 2008
TOPIC: Pest Detection and
Annual Scion Exchange
August 2008
TOPIC:
April 2008
TOPIC: Field Trip to
LaVerne Nursery
October 2008
TOPIC: Bees and Honey
June 2008
TOPIC: Passion Fruit
December 2008
TOPIC: Strawberries
2007
February 2007
TOPIC: Grafting Demo and
Annual Scion Exchange
August 2007
TOPIC: UC Cooperative Extension
Common Ground Program
April 2007
TOPIC: Avocados
October 2007
TOPIC: Jules Dervaes
Path To Freedom
June 2007
TOPIC: Field trip to
Cal Poly Pomona
December 2007
TOPIC: COFEA/RIPE Altadena
2006
February 2006
TOPIC: Cherimoya and
Annual Scion Exchange
August 2006
TOPIC: Fruit and Health
April 2006 October 2006
TOPIC: Mulberries
June 2006
TOPIC:  Soil Amendments
December 2006
TOPIC: Pitahaya
2005
February 2005
TOPIC: Annual Scion Exchange
August 2005
April 2005
TOPIC: Bees
October 2005
TOPIC: Recap of Festival of Fruit
June 2005 December 2005
TOPIC: Pruning Fruit Trees
2004
February 2004
TOPIC:  Annual Scion Exchange
August 2004
TOPIC: Recap Festival of Fruit
April 2004
TOPIC: Arboretum Fruit Orchard
October 2004
TOPIC:
June 2004
TOPIC: Bananas
December 2004
TOPIC: Worms and Composting
2003
October 2003
TOPIC: Tree People
December 2003
TOPIC: Mandarins

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