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 Maintenance: Saturday, October 26th, 2024, 9am - Noon
CRFG Demonstration Orchard
Event Details
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Location: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo campus
Website: crfg-central.org/orchard
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This is a great opportunity to talk with your fellow CRFG members, swap plant information, and share plant stories.
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The public is welcome! Bring a friend.
​We will provide snacks!
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​​​​​Maintenance Tasks: Help remove weeds, spread wood chips, remove broken and dead branches, remove suckers, hang tree signs, inspect fence for necessary repairs, restain & paint CRFG sign on main gate.​
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Bring: Please bring your gloves, hand pruners and loppers, and your favorite weed removal tools such as shovels and hoes. You may want to mark them with your name so we know to whom they belong. Also bring your water bottle, gloves, and shoes and clothes for working in dirt.
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Restrooms: We have requested that the restrooms at the Crops Unit be open, but there is no guarantee.
Location & Directions
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We will have signs out to help guide you.
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Directions:
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1. In San Luis Obispo, take Santa Rosa St. (aka Hwy 1) to Highland Drive.
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2. Turn right onto Highland Drive.
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3. Proceed until you see a CRFG parking sign on the right. Park in the dirt area along the fence, out of the way of the bike lane and foot path. This is the area marked in orange on the adjacent map.
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4. Walk back up Highland Dr. to the orchard.
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November Meeting: Saturday, November 9th, 2024
Nipomo Native Garden
Event Details
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Location: 999 Osage St., Nipomo, CA
Website: www.nipomonativegarden.org
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The public is welcome! Bring a friend.
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Restrooms (Go before you go)
Nipomo Native Garden does not have any restroom facilities. The closest public restrooms are about 1/4 mile away at the Nipomo Regional Park.
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Presenter: Bruce Berlin, President of the Nipomo Native Garden Board of Directors.
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About The Nipomo Native Garden:
"The Nipomo Native Garden is a twelve-acre site located between Pomeroy, Camino Caballo and Osage in the community of Nipomo, California. It is a native botanical garden that features the plant communities endemic to the Nipomo Mesa and Guadalupe/Nipomo Dunes. There are trails through an established oak woodland as well as trails through the developing areas of the garden. Information kiosks inform visitors about the garden. A children's area is currently being developed to allow children a place to play in nature. The garden is open every day from dawn to dusk. Parking is available off Osage Road. At the current time there are no restroom facilities available at the garden, so plan your visit accordingly. The Nipomo Native Garden is a registered 501 C.3 non-profit organization. It is managed and maintained by a group of local volunteers."
Bring: Your folding chair, hat, and shoes for walking on dirt. Also, food to share (optional). Fruit that you have harvested would be great to share with the community that attend.
Schedule
12:00 pm: Setup for those setting up signs, tables, etc.
​1:00 - 1:30 pm: Attendees arrive, snack, and socialize.
​1:30 pm: Meeting
2:00pm: Tour of the garden *
*Please note that the tour time is approximate. If the business meeting at 1:30 finishes early, the tour will commence immediately thereafter.
3:00 pm: Clean up
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Location & Directions
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Location: 999 Osage St., Nipomo, CA
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We will have signs out to help guide you.
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Directions:
1. Take Hwy 101 to Nipomo.
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2. Take the Tefft St. off-ramp.
3. Turn west on Tefft St.
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4. Turn right onto Pomeroy Rd.
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5. Turn left onto Camino Caballo.
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6. Turn right onto Osage St.
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7. Park in the dirt parking lot.
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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: December 14th, 2024 - Saturday
Members only. This meeting alone is a good reason to join CRFG!
Annual Holiday Party, potluck, and plant exchange.
Location and other details will be emailed to members closer to the date of this event.
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Orchard Work Day: January 4th, 2025 - Saturday 9 am - Noon
Open to the public.
CRFG Demonstration Orchard
Cal Poly Campus
Help clean up the orchard for our Annual Pruning Meeting!
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January Meeting: Annual Pruning Meeting, January 11th, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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February Meeting: Annual Scion Exchange & Grafting Demos, February 22, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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Orchard Work Day: March 1st, 2025 - Saturday 9 am - Noon
Open to the public.
CRFG Demonstration Orchard
Cal Poly Campus
Help clean up the orchard!
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March Meeting: Annual Propagation Meeting, March 8, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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April Meeting: TBD, April 12, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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May Meeting: Tiber Canyon Ranch, May 10, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
280 West Ormonde Road, San Luis Obispo, CA
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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June Meeting: TBD, June 14, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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Orchard Work Day: July 5th, 2025 - Saturday 9 am - Noon
Open to the public.
CRFG Demonstration Orchard
Cal Poly Campus
Help clean up the orchard for our Annual Fruit Tasting Meeting!
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July Meeting: Annual Fruit Tasting at the CRFG Demonstration Orchard, July 12, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Bring fruit to share, and enjoy the fruit brought by others.
More details will be listed here closer to the date of this event.​
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August Meeting: TBD, August 9, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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September Meeting: TBD, September 13, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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October Meeting: TBD, October 11, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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Orchard Work Day: October 25th, 2025 - Saturday 9 am - Noon
Open to the public.
CRFG Demonstration Orchard
Cal Poly Campus
Help clean up the orchard!
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November Meeting: LeFort Organic Farms, November 8, 2025 - Saturday
Open to the public.
Le Fort's Organic Farms is a certified organic farm in Creston, California which produces free range eggs, carrots, summer squash, eggplant, basil & more .
More details, including location & times, will be listed here closer to the date of this event.
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December Meeting: Annual Holiday Potluck and Plant Exchange, December 13, 2025 - Saturday
Members Only. Join CRFG to attend!
More details, including location & times, 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 Oct 26th, 2024 9am - 12pm (end-of-year cleanup)
Sat Jan 4th, 2025 9am - 12pm (cleanup for Annual Pruning Mtg)
Sat Mar 1st, 2025 9am - 12pm (cleanup for Annual Propagation Mtg)
Sat July 5th, 2025 9am - 12pm (cleanup for Annual Fruit Tasting Mtg)
Sat Oct 25th, 2025 9am - 12pm (end-of-year cleanup)
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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.
We Have Rootstock For Sale!!!
You Can Still Buy Rootstock, And It's Already Been Potted For You!
Price: $5/potted rootstock.
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Send your purchase request to Manny: mannym25@gmail.com
Please include your full name, phone number, and type and quantity of rootstock.
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Apple: M.7 EMLA
Semi-dwarf rootstock, Produces trees about 50-60% of standard. Good resistance to collar rot and fireblight and adapts well to a wide range of soil types and climates. Has a tendency to sucker.
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Sweet Cherry: Prunus avium, “Mazzard”
The most-common standard-size sweet-cherry rootstock. Produces a very vigorous tree with good anchorage. Some tolerance to root fungus. Will grow on a wide range of soils.
Plum/Apricot:
Prunus Marianna 2624
Compatible with plums, apricots, some almonds. Not compatible with peaches and nectarines. Produces a semi-dwarf tree well adapted to many different soil types. Can be shallow rooted the first couple years and susceptible to leaning until established so staking may be necessary. Somewhat prone to suckering. Tolerates wet soils. Resistant to root knot nematodes, lightly resistant to phytophthora, but prone to bacterial canker.
Prunus mariana GF 8-1
Produces a standard sized tree (10 – 15 ft). Is very robust and adapts to all types of soil. Mariana produces good crops of plums, but doesn’t anchor well when it is young and tends to produce root suckers. It resists root knot nematodes, root asphyxia, oak root fungus, crown gall, and prune brown line, but is susceptible to bacterial cankers.
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 third 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.
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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.