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Fig Propagation with Greg Gomer and Bruce Blavin on Saturday, June 14th @ 10 am.

Many of you  may recall Greg Gomer from our Scion Exchange in February. He was stationed by the fig table and was an amazing font of knowledge on fig varieties exotic and rare (which he was disappointed to see were NOT among our scions).  In the weeks immediately after, he and fellow members of FigFanatic.com made 100s of  scions from these rarest figs available to several CRFG chapters, including  — happily — ours.   Now Bruce, Margaret and I are growing them up so that in ensuing years they will be available to everyone at our exchanges.

Then, at our April field trip to Ian Kimbrey’s, Alan C passed out scions of additional rare figs to anyone interested and some of you began to wonder about the best way to deal with them.  And I realized that while — thanks to Charles Portney – we have had great talks on general propagation, we have never delved into the mysteries of fig propagation via rooted cuttings, a process which has definitely evolved and been fine turned over the years.  So Greg agreed to come back and speak to us on that topic (and on FigFanatic.com as well).

PLUS while Jeff Warner gave an excellent talk on air-layering last August, Bruce has offered to speak to its specific application in figs.  As you may remember, Jeff felt Memorial Day to July 4th was the best air-layering window so our June meeting is a perfect time to put it in action.

PLUS PLUS Member Carlos Cruz has been experimenting with fig hybridization and will speak to us briefly on that topic.

PLUS PLUS PLUS Greg and Bruce will be bringing supplies so the 10 members who have signed up to participate in hands-on propagation can get started on the spot.  Anyone else (member or not) who is interested can join in for only a $5 donation for materials.

All around a great fig meeting is in store for you.  Come prepared to be amazed…  and, please,  with SNACKS!

Where: MultiPurpose Room
Culver City Veterans Memorial Building
4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 90230

 

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Saturday March 8th @ 10 am – noon: Mangos! Mangos! Mango! with JJ Licea

GARDEN Room (note the different room!)
Culver City Veterans Memorial Building
4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 90230

I can’t begin to count the number of people who have asked for a speaker on mangos or the number of years we have been looking for one.  But at long last, victory!  JJ Licea of the South Bay Chapter has agreed to trundle north and fill us in on, well, just about everything:  the best varieties, how to grow them, how to graft them and how to otherwise propagate them.   JJ says: “I am a military veteran and third generation farmer who has been grafting for over 10 years with a 75 percent success rate (ed: I suspect he is being modest). I grow many fruit trees as a backyard grower… from Annona to Lilly Pilly’s, Mangoes and Hog Plums.”

Come and bring your mango questions.

And yes, bring snacks.  Your humble chair is personally allergic to mangos and will therefore be bringing just her standard molasses cookies. But if some of you could bring mangos or whatever else you’re growing for us to taste, that would be great!

Speaking of great, Farshad Rafii is kindly donating a dozen grapevines (in 1-gallon pots) for you to buy.  Those who visited his amazing mountain a couple of years ago will recall he was just beginning to establish a vineyard there and these are from that.  There should be some amazing varieties.

You may have noticed that we are out of sync with our normal odd-month field trip, even-month lecture schedule.  This is because the Culver City Easter Eggztravangza meant we weren’t going to be able to get anywhere near the parking lot on April 12th.  There will be a field trip for members on that date instead.   Details to follow in your newsletter.

 

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

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Changes and additions for the Scion Exchange/Grafting Demos Feb 15th @ 10 am

Both Bruce and Arnie — who provided basic grafting instruction to generations of high school students and us older newbies as well—  lost homes in the Palisades fire and are understandably overwhelmed right now. Nonetheless WLA Chapter does not lack for expert grafters. This includes AJ, famed as The Graft Man on Youtube, and Sagi, who has shared his knowledge at many  meetings over the years.  They both did much-appreciated grafting demos last year and have amazing yards jam-packed with trees both in pots and in the ground that demonstrate the brilliance of their work.   And they will kindly share what they have learned with us.

They will start with a general talk on the whys and wherefore of grafting and a demo of the basic cleft graft.  (You can read more about that here.) Then we will break into smaller groups so we can get up close and personal as they demonstrate various more complicated grafts.  Because we are unable to have the graft-your-own clinic we had hoped for, the LA chapter is allowing us to join theirs (details below).

Scions for our Exchange should be brought in to the MultiPurpose Room between 9:30 and 10:00.  Members who bring in scions to share will get priority at choosing other ones, followed by chapter members and then by non-members.

Please please please, if possible,  renew your memberships online before coming.  It cuts down on the utter chaos (and lines) at the entrance.  You can renew your chapter membership here.  And national membership here.

Instructions on how to cut and store scion wood are here.  No citrus or curry leaf (because of huanglongbing disease) or patented varieties, please!

The LA Chapter Grafting Clinic will take place February 22nd @ 10 am at the Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Blvd, Encino, CA.  They tell us:  “Bill Brandt (who is also a member of WLA) will provide an informative talk about various ways to graft scions. Then we’ll break into groups so our additional guest instructors can guide you through each step to graft onto your rootstock. If you own grafting tools, you are encouraged to bring them to the workshop.  A limited number of rootstocks will be available for purchase for $5 for members and $10 for non-members to cover the cost of materials.  Of course WLA members are welcome to join the LA chapter on the spot if they so desire.”

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October 12th @ 10 am: Professor Cinzia Fissore on Growing Coffee in Southern California

Our October in-person meeting (at our regular Culver City location) will feature Professor Cinzia Fissore who created the experimental coffee orchard at Whittier College.  In this orchard, 64 plants from ten varieties of Arabica coffee are grown according to organic and regenerative principles. Native California plant species are intermixed with coffee, and 18 avocado trees flank the orchard and provide partial shade. Dr. Fissore, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Illinois Urbana and other institutions, has been specifically working on assessing soil-plant nutrient exchanges, mycorrhizal association in specific varieties of coffee, and California-specific plant performance across varieties. This promises to be a truly fascinating event!

 

Photo by Professor Fissore.

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Air Layering Lecture/Workshop with Jeff Warner on Saturday August 10th @ 10 a.m.

Jeff is the chair of the Orange County Chapter of CRFG and– like many of that grand chapter’s members — is a master propagator. While we have demos of grafting once every year at our February scion exchange (and twice this year with Arnie Bernstein’s talk on citrus grafting in June) we haven’t had a discussion of Air Layering in a very long time.

Air Layering is an astonishingly easy way to produce nicely rooted specimens from otherwise impossible to propagate trees or varieties, though of course it also works on the easy-to-root-or-graft like figs. It is a technique we should all have in our fruit growing tool kits.

This will be a combination lecture and workshop so feel free to bring one of your favorite trees (in a pot of course!) and you will be able to take it home ready to produce a Mini-Me. Please also bring your own favorite knife since air layering does require a small amount of surgery. We will provide the rest of the stuff you will need to complete the job.

And hey, the fruit is ripening out there! Pick some of what you’re growing to share with the rest of us. Other snacks are also always welcome.

BTW, we are back in our beloved MultiPurpose Room, Culver City Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA

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Oh no! We are being moved across the street! June 8th @ 10 am

We have just been informed that the entire Culver City Veterans Memorial Building is being pre-empted for city training on Saturday. As a result, we are being moved across Culver Boulevard to the Culver City Senior Center which has ample parking and a room virtually the same size (though not our nifty patio, sniff). We will be in Suite C, 4095 Overland Avenue Culver City, CA 90232.

There is a parking lot entrance on the southbound side of Overland north of Culver Boulevard. If you are coming north on Overland, make the left on Culver and then right into the parking lot. If you are going east on Culver, you will have to make the U-turn at Overland and go into the lot from the north side of Culver.

We have been told that Suite C is on your right as you enter the Center.

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Antonio Sanchez is “Inviting California to Dinner”: on Zoom 4/13th @ 10 am

This not-to-be-missed Zoom will be a guided tour of various native plant foods, including fruits, greens, seeds and more, that can be added to your local landscapes and diets.  Lecture will include how to grow each plant in local gardens, and how to use one or various parts of the plant in recipes.  Among the many plants to be covered include:
Cleveland Sage
CA Wild Grape
Huckleberry
Saltbush
Golden Currant
Hummingbird Sage
Honey Mesquite
And many more

ABOUT THE SPEAKER


Antonio Sanchez is the nursery manager and restoration volunteer outreach coordinator for SAMOFund in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and has been working around native plants for nearly 2 decades. He is co-founder and lead singer of the native plant band Sage Against the Machine (hear him sing “I Want to Be Native Plant“!), and was lead organizer for the California Native Food Symposium, the Southern California Monarch and Milkweed Conference, the first Ventura County Native Plant Symposium, and the California Native Sage Festival.  Antonio has worked at various native plant institutions around the state, and has managed the nurseries at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, worked as a landscaper at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, worked as a nursery technician at the Theodore Payne Foundation for Native Plants, and co-founded and ran Nopalito Native Plant Nursery in Ventura, CA, with a good friend and a cousin, for nearly 4 years.  He believes in making native plants fun and approachable to all, learning about and teaching old and new ways with native plants, and that Hummingbird Sage is probably the prettiest California native sage, but Salvia pachyphylla is a close second.

Note: a similar sold-out event is occurring at Artemesia Nursery in LA this weekend.  If you want to see details of the kind of subjects (and recipes!) Antonio will be covering, you can find them here.

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Zoom Meeting August 12th @ 10 am with Robert Pavlis!

Okay, this meeting is a dream come true for our Program Chair Deborah H.

As a long-time Master Gardener, she devoured Robert Pavlis’ books on Garden Myths,  Soil Science and Compost (among other topics) and now she is making it possible for us to hear him live and (almost) in person.

Robert Pavlis has over 45 years’ experience in the art and science of horticulture, with a particular focus on soil chemistry and health. He is the owner and developer of Aspen Grove Gardens, a 6-acre botanical garden featuring 3,000 varieties of plants. A sought-after speaker, and lecturer, Robert has published many articles in magazines such as Mother Earth News and Ontario Gardening. He maintains two widely read blogs – gardenfundamentals.com and gardenmyths.com – and a popular YouTube channel with tens of thousands of subscribers. Robert is the author of Compost Science for Gardeners, Plant Science for Gardeners, Soil Science for Gardeners, and Building Natural Ponds.

Because he lives in Guelph, Canada this meeting will be by Zoom only.  Links and details will be sent to chapter members.  Be aware that some of his advice is Northeast-centric, so feel free to read the websites ahead of time and come with questions!

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Another great meeting!

Today’s talk on Backyard Bugs was enjoyed by a large number of West LA and  LA Chapter members.  Matt Daugherty gave us a crash course in Entomology and then went into the specifics of how we can deal with the pesty (and protect the non-pesty) bugs.  He highly recommended becoming familiar with the UC Riverside Integrated Pest Management site that uses a multi pronged and more holistic approach to managing our orchards.

Matt focused especially on the Asian Citrus Psyllid which is the known transmitter of the huanglongbing (or Citrus Greening) disease in citrus.  This disease has totally decimated the Florida and Brazilian citrus industry but fortunately hit California late enough for protective measures to be put in place quickly.  Aggressive monitoring and removal of infected trees has thus far kept the disease (but not the psyllids!) contained.  We all have a responsibility to honor the guidelines about not sharing scion wood or buying citrus trees from anything but certified nurseries.  After all, the disease was first found in a multi-grafted backyard tree.

One of the easiest (hah) things, Matt mentioned we could do was control ants in our yards, since the ants vigorously farm many disease causing insects, including the Asian Citrus psyllids.

Most of us are dealing with the tiny but widespread Argentine ants, so the ant bait sold at nurseries, Home Depot, etc is too strong to attract them.   An easy home brew involves mixing 1 cup hot water with 1/2 cup of white sugar.  When it has dissolved, mix in very slightly less than 1/2 tsp of boric acid or 2/3 tsp borax (yes, the 20 Mule Team Borax over your washer). Let it sit for several hours then mix again before using.  You can put the bait in small glass jars with an ant sized hole poked in the lid or plastic containers like hummus comes in with a hole poked in the side.  It’s easier if the containers are clear so you can see when they are filled with ants.  Throw in some cotton balls so the ants have something to sit on while they drink.   You don’t want them to die there (though some inevitably will drown) but rather bring the bait back to their nests and — hopefully — kill the queen.  Please don’t leave the bait uncovered because bees (and small children)  will also be attracted to its sweetness. Good bye bad bugs!

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We need a video person!

Dear Chapter. we are slowly inching back to a new normal.  Because our Davis-based August speaker, Ernesto Sandoval, is going to be in LA, we will be lucky enough to hear him live and in person.  With our lovely MultiPurpose Room patio, we even have the option of meeting COVID-safely outside though I for one will still be wearing a mask.

This means, however, we will NOT be on Zoom unless someone volunteers to transmit it for us.  Since there is virtually no wifi in the MPR, this will require a phone with better reception than I  got when I  attempted to video the Bartlett Arborists.

Alternatively, if someone would rather not use up their data but is willing just to video the meeting, we can still put it up on our Google Drive for non attendees to view.

With 100 member, we have to have someone less wobbly than yours truly.   The chapter even owns a phone tripod if that helps.  Please, someone, for the sake of your fellow members, volunteer for this very undemanding once or twice a year job.

 

Photograph by Lance Anderson on Unsplash