February 18, 2012 - Annual Scion Exchange and Grafting Party

Mark your calendars -- this meeting will be on the third Saturday -- for our annual Grafting Event and Scion Exchange. This has been the most heavily attended meeting of past years! Continuous grafting demonstrations by six experts including avocado grafting! Huge scion exchange - Please bring healthy and non-patented scionwood. Good selection of deciduous fruit tree rootstock and selected grafting supplies available for sale. Grafting service and a unique canning service available for small fee.

Meeting location: The Crops Unit at Cal Poly, corner of Highland and Mt. Bishop Road on the Cal Poly campus. Free admission and free parking. Rain will not cancel this meeting.

Here are some helpful hints:
 
1. The best scionwood is from last year's growth. Two year old wood... not good!
2. The best scionwood is not from suckers or water sprouts or spurs!
3. The best scionwood is pencil thick and pencil length.
4. The best scionwood is from healthy trees (no diseased wood please)
5. The best scionwood is from known trees, where you know the variety!!
6. However, if you have a great plum or what ever, that does well in your yard but you do not know the correct name, you can bring it and label it "unknown" and tell us where you live, when it gets ripe, what color it is, etc. etc. We do not bring citrus scions to this exchange.
7. The best scionwood is not from a patented variety (more on this later)
8. The best scionwood is pruned and placed in a poly bag (zip lock bag is best) with moist paper towel and placed in refrigerator the same day!! Do not let it dry out. Label each bag separately with Sharpie pen. Bring these bags to the Scion Exchange on Feb. 18 and be a full participant!!
9. Some people like to cut the bottom cut of each scion square and the top at a 45 degree angle so our new folk can tell which way is up.
 
So, as you prune, save the BEST scionwood you can and store it correctly and then, bring your scionwood in Zip lock bags to the meeting and share the wood with the world.
 
P.S. If you like to watch how others collect and store scionwood, please Google "collecting scionwood" and see all sorts of great ideas: See this one first:
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev4aSNU6JE8&feature=related
 

March 10, Topworking Pear Trees

The March meeting will be grafting (topworking) pear trees at the farm of Lisen Bonnier, Vintage Organics, 6015 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo 93405.  We will inspect the grafts we made last year, do some light pruning/training, and then graft the few missing.  Bring grafting knife.    Call Joe Sabol for detail (805) 544-1056 or email to:  Jsabol@calpoly.edu

 April 14, Orchard Tour at the home of Jack Swords

 We will tour the "mature" orchard which includes many varieties of avocado, macadamia nut, passion fruit and sapote.  This is a great orchard not to be missed! Address: Jack Swords 582 Camino Caballo, Nipomo, 93444. Call Joe Sabol for details (805) 544-1056 or email to: Jsabol@calpoly.edu

 

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