Central Coast Chapter Meetings & Other Events
Our Newsletter Keeps Everyone Up To Date. Send Us Your Photos & Events! Let others know what's going on by sending your articles, photos, and event info to: crfgccnewsletter@gmail.com. Please submit your items by the 15th of each month for inclusion in the next newsletter.
May Meeting: Saturday, May 9th, 2026
Gabrielle's Home Garden
Our Host
Gabrielle has been a CRFG member for 35 years. She started with the Santa Barbara chapter, and is now a member of the Central Coast Chapter. She has been a lifetime member since 1997.
Gabrielle's yard is covered in edible landscaping. In the photo, she is displaying a list of all the plants she has growing in her yard. She has a variety of fruit trees including citrus, figs, and plums.
Gabrielle is an expert grafter and has many grafted trees in her yard. She has an artichoke forest that is all volunteer plants. She is a wealth of knowledge so bring questions!
Restroom: a restroom will be available.
Bring: Bring your outside chair, water, sturdy shoes, sunscreen, and food/fruit to share.
Schedule
Please note the following times are approximate. They may be adjusted slightly depending upon how much we are enjoying ourselves:
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12:00-1:00: Set up crew.
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1:00-1:30 Socializing and refreshments.
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1:30: Chapter business meeting,
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1:45-3:00: Presentation / tour
Location
758 Elsinore Drive, Solvang, CA
Parking: There is parking on the street. Carpooling is advised.
Directions:
There will be CRFG signs to guide you.
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In Solvang, turn north on Atterdag Rd.
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Follow Atterdag Rd. It will turn into Chalk Hill Rd.
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Turn right on Elsinore Dr.
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Continue to 758 Elsinore Dr, and park on the street.
April Plant Sales
April 25th & 26th: Saturday & Sunday
Tiber Canyon Ranch Tomato Fandango
https://www.tibercanyon.com/new-events-1/2026/4/25/2026-tomato-fandango
Tiber Canyon Ranch will be holding its Tomato Fandango from 11am - 4pm on Saturday, and 11am -3pm on Sunday. 250 W. Ormonde Rd., San Luis Obispo.
The Festival of Fruit is Coming in 2026!
This year the Orange County Chapter will be hosting CRFG's 2026 Festival of Fruit, celebrating the Year of Eugenia and her Sisters. It will be the first FoF since 2020.
It will take place from June 9-14, with the main event happening on June 13 at the Titan Student Union, Cal State University, Fullerton.
Planning is still underway, and registration isn't open yet. Keep checking at festivaloffruit.org for more information. We will post updates in future newsletters.
FYI to attendees: since this is a statewide event, membership in the state CRFG is required for registration. We understand that people who are not already members will be able to join on the FOF website when registration opens.
Other Future Chapter Meetings & Events
Please note that these future meetings are subject to change. Recheck this page closer to the date of each event.
More information about these events, including address details and times, will be provided here closer to each event.
All meetings are on Saturdays unless otherwise noted below.
May 30th, 2026, 12-3pm: CRFG Plant Sale at Skillshare event in the Atascadero Lake Park Bandstand
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
June 13, 2026 Meeting: Festival of Fruit at Cal State Fullerton
We will not have a local meeting in June.
All members are encouraged to attend the Festival of Fruit!
More details will be announced by the Orange County Chapter as they develop.
June 19-21, 2026: Open Farm Days Weekend
Visit over 20 farms, ranches, producers and sellers. “Local farms will be featuring everything from beekeeping to olive oil production, vegetable and fruit growing. Local ranchers will introduce you to goats, alpaca, sheep, pigs, and more, while local purveyors will showcase their locally made products using our locally grown.” Tickets are free. Register and download the trail map on the website, https://www.farmsteaded.com
July 11, 2026 Meeting: Annual Fruit Tasting in the CRFG Orchard
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
August 8, 2026 Meeting: TBD
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
September 12, 2026 Meeting: TBD
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
October 10, 2026 Meeting: Russee Parvin's Home Garden
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
November 14, 2026 Meeting: Stardust Grove, Cambria
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
December 12, 2026 Meeting: Annual Potluck & Plant Exchange
Members only.
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
CRFG Demonstration Orchard Workdays
Be sure to check here the morning of each workday for rescheduling or cancellations.
Orchard cleanups usually involve removing weeds, spreading wood chips, pruning trees, raking leaves, mending fences, cleaning the kiosk, reorganizing tools in the tool shed. It's also a good opportunity to chat with your fellow CRFGers, learning and sharing helpful hints for growing your fruiting plants.
Sat Feb 7th, 2026: 9am - 12pm (Winter pruning and maintenance)
Sunday July 5th, 2026: 9am - 12pm (cleanup for Annual Fruit Tasting Mtg)
Sat Nov 7th, 2026: 9am - 12pm (end-of-year cleanup)
We Have Pheromone Loops For Sale!!!
Pheromone loops are available and are plentiful! Codling moths are key pests of apples and pears. Pheromone loops deceive the male moth, thereby helping to disrupt the mating cycle. Place 2 to 3 loops in the top third of your apple and pear trees. Petals should be about 90% off and small fruit is setting before you loop your trees!
Please contact Terri Monell at 805-546-8981 (landline) or 805-440-5818 (cell) if you are interested. Terri is available to sell loops ONLY until April 24th and then again from May 1st on.
Meetings
Our meetings are usually held on the second Saturday of the month, with the exception of the February meeting which is held on the fourth Saturday. (The February meeting is the annual scion exchange and grafting workshop.) In general our group gathers initially for refreshments and socializing, followed by the meeting. This is not always the case though, so check this web page or our newsletter for details on each meeting.
Most of our meetings are open to the public. We encourage the public to join us and learn with us!
Please read our "meeting manners" below prior to attending. No pets at any meeting, please.
Our Best CRFG Manners While Visiting Homes, Nurseries, Growers, etc.
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We never bring pets to meetings/tours and we never even ask if we may!
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We do our best to use public facilities or our own restroom before the meeting.
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We do our best not to ask to go inside the hosts’ home.
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We never pick fruit, flowers, foliage, weeds, seed pods and we never even ask.
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We do our best to car pool and park with great respect to our host and the neighborhood.
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We never talk when our host is talking. We do our best to stay up close when given a tour.
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We never “take over” the tour and tell everyone how we do it at our home!!
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We have thoughtful questions but try not to ask questions that embarrass our host.
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We do our best to help our host feel good, feel appreciated. We clean up our mess.
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We stay on the path, with our host …and never go walking around on our own unless given permission by the host.
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At the end of the tour, we make a special effort to thank the host. We “gather up” and have some sort of “closure” to the tour.
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We even write thank you notes when we get home, especially if we asked a lot of questions, were impressed, were surprised, were treated well. We write thank you notes even when we are not the leader.