Eugene Permaculture Guild

DATE: Sept. 2, 2009 CONTACT: Jen Anonia FOOD for Lane County , 343-2822; 915-2511 gardens@foodforlane county.org

Youth Farm Festival at FOOD for Lane County ’s Youth Farm

WHO: FOOD for Lane County’s Youth Farm

WHAT: Youth Farm Fest

WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 10am – 2pm

WHERE: Youth Farm, 705 Flamingo Ave , Springfield

WHY: Celebrate the Youth Farm with a tomato taste-off, farm tours, pick your own flower bouquets, samples of farm favorites and door prizes. Celebrate the work of local teens at the FOOD for Lane County Youth Farm Fest on Saturday September 12th, 10am-2pm.

Events include a tomato taste-off, samples of farm favorite produce, pick your own flower bouquets, door prizes, and youth-led tours of the 3-acre organic farm. The tomato competition will feature a selection of over a dozen tomatoes, from the standard juicy red, to unique heirloom varieties. Participants will judge the tomatoes on appearance, flavor and best overall.

Youth Farmers will also be selling the fresh organic produce they raised right on the farm. At the Youth Farm, low-income teens, ages 14-19, participate all summer long in the growing of over 35 different kinds of fruits and vegetables.

The majority of the farm’s produce (over 85,000 pounds grown in 2008) is distributed by FOOD for Lane County to agencies countywide working together to help eliminate hunger and poor nutrition. Come learn more about this amazing program and meet the young people who are creating healthy food and community.

Follow signs to the Youth Farm on Flamingo Ave. , off of S. Game Farm Rd in Springfield . Photo Opportunities: Saturday, September 12th, 8am-2:00pm Teens will be working at the farm, harvesting, prepping produce and doing general farm maintenance. Beautiful photo and interview opportunities with active teens and lovely produce.

All tours are free, fun and sociable
Saturday, August 22, Jefferson Westside Neighborhood, 11 AM, meet at 10th and Monroe
Saturday, August 29, Southeast Neighbors, 10 am, meet at Rene and Bob’s house, 880 East 43rd avenue (between Donald and Fox Hollow)
Saturday, Sept 12, Whiteaker Neighborhood
Saturday, Sept. 26, Fairmount Neighbors

Grass to garden, solar features, edible landscaping, reclaiming automobile space, rain catchment, food preservation, collaborations and much more,,,,,,,,
check back here or the wiki website for schedule updates  http://www.eugeneneighbors.org/wiki/NLCgreen

Dear Permaculture Guild members,

We have an English Walnut tree that we are trying to find a home for. It is around 6 ft. high and still in a pot. It really needs to be planted this month. We are interested in trading it for something but we also offer it for free.
We didn’t fully read up on Walnuts and purchased too many for the size of our property. They can grow up to 80 ft. and the leaves and walnut husks can be high maintenance because they can toxify the ground if you just leave them. Also, Walnuts should not be planted near certain plants and trees. However, English Walnuts are the best and this tree was purchased from Deckers, so it’s very healthy.

Please respond if you’re interested. Email: Lucita45@gmail.com

Rushiko 541 935-4399

Event: 2009 Spring Propagation Fair
Venue: Lane Community College Cafeteria
Time: 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. Saturday, March 14

A free, volunteer-driven event designed to support
home orchardists and vegetable gardeners
in and around the S. Willamette Valley.

The 2009 Spring Propagation Fair consists of two parts: a free exchange of fruit-tree cuttings (called ‘scions’) and a free exchange of vegetable seed. You don’t have to bring any scion or seed to the event to be able to attend and share freely in the bounty. All are welcome.

The 2009 Fair marks the first occasion of a joint scion-exchange and seed-swap in our bioregion, and is co-sponsored by a broad array of local, non-profit and volunteer groups including: the Eugene Permaculture Guild, the Seed Ambassadors Project, Lane Community College Garden Club, Victory Gardens For All, the School Garden Project of Lane County, Huerto de la Famila, ECOS, the Springfield Transitions Garden, Food Not Lawns, the Gardens Program of Food for Lane County, the Urban Farm Program of the U of O, and the OSU Extension Service in Lane County.

A great variety of scions, and vegetable seed, will be provided free of charge by local fruit enthusiasts and seed-savers at the exchange. Rootstocks will be available for a nominal fee. Grafting assistance and workshops will be provided at and around the Propagation Fair.

For a brief description of what’s involved in designing your own fruit trees, and how a scion-exchange helps make this possible; or to learn more about how you may support this free, participant-driven event, please see notes attached below

Bus service to LCC is available from Eugene Station.
To car pool, call Julie at 541-762-1051
Free parking is available at LCC.

Spanish-language support will be offered.

www.eugenepermacultureguild.org

–

Event update

Here’s a list of speaking engagements we will have at the event:

3.00 Incorporating native plants into food gardens. Why and how? Devon Bonady (Fernhill Nursery, Cottage Grove), Brian Basor (President, Emerald Valley Chapter, Native Plant Society of Oregon)
–

Here are directions to LCC from I-5 (coming from the north):

Heading south on I-5, you will cross a bridge over the Willamette river. About 1-2 miles further on, take exit 189. Turn right at the light and go straight (past a bunch of gas stations, including Sequential biofuels) until the next intersection (a little less than a mile). Turn right at the intersection (I believe that is 30th street). Make a quick left turn on Eldon Shafer Drive. Once you get into the parking lots, the event should be signposted toward the Cafeteria. The journey from the I-5 exit to the LCC parking lot should take under two minutes.

–

Designing your own fruit tree

Most fruit trees are actually two-trees-joined-in-one - just above their root collars you will often notice a swollen union or ‘graft’ where a ‘scion’ (a cutting of a fruit variety such as a ‘Gravenstein’ apple or ‘Bing’ cherry) was originally joined or ‘grafted’ onto a type of tree called a rootstock. We use rootstocks because they help us determine, among other behaviors, the size of a mature tree growing on top of them - anything from 4’ to 50’ depending on the rootstock selected. A scion exchange provides an opportunity to design these two-in-one trees, by making a wide variety of common and rare fruit tree varieties and rootstocks available to mix-and-match with. Only the tiniest fraction of scion and rootstock combinations made available at this Propagation Fair are available from commercial fruit tree nurseries.

How can you join in supporting this free, participant-driven Propagation Fair?

Although devoted local fruit enthusiasts are already gathering scion to bring to the event to share freely with others, we are encouraging everyone able and willing to harvest scion to join the collection effort. The more, the merrier. Cutting and storing scion is a simple task. Here are a few pointers:

Be very careful with ID and labeling - collect from trees that have fruited already so the variety is known. Preferably, cut scion about the diameter of a lead pencil, to 12” lengths, although shorter pieces are fine. ’Pruning cuttings’ often fit the bill perfectly. Tightly tie or rubber-band a dozen or so healthy cuttings in a clearly-labeled bundle.
.
Collecting scion is time-sensitive. Scion wood needs to be cut in the winter while it is dormant (before the buds have very visibly begun swelling), then kept cool until it is grafted onto rootstock in the spring, ‘when the sap is rising’. Late-January-early-February sees the end of our ‘dormancy collection window’ for stone-fruit such as plums and cherries. Asian and European pears quickly follow, then apples. Some varieties ‘bud out’ earlier than others.

Vigorous shoots are best but avoid collecting from suckers or water-sprouts (these shoots, which grow vertically from the base of the tree or vertically from lateral branches, are slowest to bear fruit). Collect first-year wood (last year’s growth) preferably from laterals. Next-favored are the terminal shoots at the top of the tree.

Once collected, don’t let the scion dry out. Experienced hands will tend to label each variety clearly, place it in a moist (not saturated) medium such as paper towels or old cloth, and wrap in plastic. (The plastic bags the newspaper comes in work well. Double the bag because one will often have a hole in it.) Place in the refrigerator at about 34° to 38° until grafting time: keeping the scion cool keeps it dormant; keeping it damp, keeps it fresh.

Further questions about scion collection? Google: “Penhallegon scion” or call Nick at 541-284-3703

Also, bring labeled cuttings and divisions of figs, grapes, berries and other fruits to share freely with others at the Propagation Fair; along with fresh seed, plants and divisions of food crops.

For updates, see www.eugenepermacultureguild.org

How did your garden fare with the cold weather?

 Come and share your stories.  What plants did well, what insulation techniqes worked and what didnt.

Monday, Feb 9; 7 PM

212 Benjamin, Jan Spencer’s place

Veggie Potluck at 6

Tour of the property 5:30

Sponsored by Kris Ryan a member of the Danebo/Bethel Ecovillage.