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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.

Orchard Work Day
Saturday, November 1st, 2025,  9 am - 12 pm

Join us in preparing the orchard for winter!

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Snacks will be provided.  This is a great opportunity to spend time with fellow members, exchange ideas about your fruiting plants, and pick up useful tips from your fellow gardeners.

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Tasks: We hope to have a new batch of wood chips to spread in the back of the orchard.  We’ll also pull invasive weeds, remove tree limbs damaged by deer, and fill in squirrel holes.

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Please bring your favorite weeding tools, gloves, pruners, sturdy shoes for walking in the orchard, a hat, and water. We look forward to working together and enjoying a productive morning outdoors.

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November Meeting: Saturday, November 8th, 2025
LeFort's Organic Farms

Location: LeFort's Organic Farms

9211 Huer Huero Rd, Creston*, CA 93432. 

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* NOT in the town of Creston:

It's actually about 15 minutes from Santa Margarita heading NE on Hwy 58,

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Guest presenter: Robert LeFort

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About LeFort's Organic Farms: Roberto Le-Fort and Dolores Howard operate Le-Fort’s Organic Crops, a Certified Humane® farm, in Creston, California, near the city of San Luis Obispo in the Central Coast region of California. Dolores and Roberto manage the entire farm themselves with occasional help from family, friends, and temporary help.


LeFort Organic Crops is a certified organic farm located in Creston, California. The farm, run by Roberto Le Fort, sells a variety of produce such as carrots, basil, and eggplant, as well as free-range eggs. They distribute their products through local farmers' markets, stores, and CSA programs. They grow native plants, utilize composting and wood chips, and apple grafting.

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Bring 

Snacks to share, chairs, water, and shoes for walking.

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Directions

  1. Take Hwy 101 to Hwy 58 (Santa Margarita exit)

  2. Follow Hwy 58 east through the town of Santa Margarita

  3. Continue following Hwy 58 at the end of town where it turns 90 degrees right, and then 90 degrees left

  4. Remain on Hwy 58 for about 8 miles until you get to Huer Huero Rd.

  5. Turn right onto Huer Huero Rd.

  6. Proceed to 9211 Huer Huero Rd. 

  7. There will be a CRFG sign at the driveway.

  8. Park along the side of the road, and walk in.


Parking 

Parking is available along the road.  There will be CRFG signs to guide you.

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Restrooms 

Yes - limited, so go before you go.

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For more information, visit the LeFort's website: https://ccof.org/directory-member/leforts-organic-crops

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Schedule

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12:30-1:00: Set up crew.

1:00-1:30 Socializing and refreshments.

1:30- Chapter meeting

1:45-3:00- Presentation / tour

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3:00 pm: Clean up

a heap of surinam cherries (small tropical fruit, usually 2–4 centimeters wide, shaped lik

The Festival of Fruit is Coming in 2026!

The Orange County Chapter is thrilled to announce the 2026 Festival of Fruit celebrating the Year of Eugenia and her Sisters will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2026.

 

Mark your calendars for this exciting event to be held at the Titan Student Union at Cal State Fullerton.

 

Beautiful garden tours and commercial visits will be offered prior to the festival date, so plan to arrive a few days early to take advantage of these special activities.

 

More details will be announced by the Orange County Chapter as they develop.

  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.

​December Meeting: Annual Holiday Potluck and Plant Exchange, December 13, 2025 - Saturday

Members Only.  Join CRFG to attend!

More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.

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January Meeting: Annual Pruning Workshop, January 10, 2026 - Saturday

More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.

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February Meeting: Annual Scion Exchange & Grafting Demonstrations, February 28, 2026 - Saturday

More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.

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CRFG Demonstration Orchard Workdays

Be sure to check here the morning of each workday for rescheduling or cancellations.

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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 Nov 1st, 2025: 9am-12pm â€‹

Sat Jan 3rd, 2026: 9am - 12pm (cleanup for Annual Pruning Mtg)

Sat Mar 7, 2026: 9am - 12pm (Pre-Spring cleanup)

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 instruction.)  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.

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Most of our meetings are open to the public.  We encourage the public to join us and learn with us!

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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.

  1. We never bring pets to meetings/tours and we never even ask if we may!

  2. We do our best to use public facilities or our own restroom before the meeting.

  3. We do our best not to ask to go inside the hosts’ home.

  4. We never pick fruit, flowers, foliage, weeds, seed pods and we never even ask.

  5. We do our best to car pool and park with great respect to our host and the neighborhood.

  6. We never talk when our host is talking. We do our best to stay up close when given a tour.

  7. We never “take over” the tour and tell everyone how we do it at our home!!

  8. We have thoughtful questions but try not to ask questions that embarrass our host.

  9. We do our best to help our host feel good, feel appreciated. We clean up our mess.

  10. We stay on the path, with our host …and never go walking around on our own unless given permission by the host.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

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