Central Coast Chapter Meetings & Other Events
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August Meeting: Saturday, August 10th, 2024
Chapter Member Sha Palmer's Home Garden
Event
Things Worth Growing
Location: 3560 Colima Road, Atascadero
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The public is welcome! Bring a friend.
No restrooms, go before you go!
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Parking: Limited- Carpool recommended, parking on the street
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Bring: Snacks to share, folding chair, hat, water, and shoes for walking on dirt.
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Our Host, Sha, writes:
Around 7 years ago I started towards the goal of 365 days a year of fruit and vegetables on site. I still haven't achieved this goal yet, but hopefully will someday. Many of the varieties we have will not be producing for another 3-5 years, but we do have a few things up to 7 years old. I have a terrible habit of planting things far too close, try as I might I just can't seem to help myself.
We have 2 acres in Atascadero. The last count I had was over 100 varieties of perennial edibles. Some of things that are growing (but may just be a year or two old) are: chocolate sapote, white sapote, citrus (over 10 varieties easily), avocados, dragon fruit, ice cream bean trees, blue sausage tree, currants (red, white, black, pink and golden), mulberries, apples, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, cherries, feijoa, Himalayan Chocolate Berry, honey berries, blueberries, raspberries (red, gold, purple), blackberries, boysenberries, service berries, figs, paw paws, edible bamboo, strawberry tree, strawberry guava, lingonberry, wintergreen berries, pepino, asian pears, chee fruit, loquat, pistachio, pecan, walnut, almond, hazelnut, chestnuts, macadamia, persimmon tree, passion fruit (purple and the sweet green pulp variety), white walnut (butternut), hickory nut, grapes, jujubee, gooseberries, guamuchil, cherimoya, kiwis (cold hardy, fuzzy and trying arctic this year), olives, pomegranates, autumn olives, blue lilly pilly and cactus fruit (prickly pear and apple cactus). Things I'm trying to graft and/or add this year are hawthorn, mayhaw, medlar, and service tree.
We have a bamboo room near a large shady oak tree for people to sit under if they need shade and we will transport people as needed on a golf cart around the property. We do have geese that will be in a pen, but they are loud and may annoy some people. If anyone is noise sensitive, it might not be a good tour for them.
Schedule
12:00 pm: Setup for members setting up signs, tables, etc.
1:00-1:30 pm: Attendees arrive, snack, and socialize.
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1:30 pm: Meeting
2:00pm: Guest speaker and tour of property
3:00 pm: Clean up
Location & Directions
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Location: 3560 Colima Road, Atascadero, CA
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We will have signs out to help guide you.
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Directions:
1. Take Hwy 101 to Atascadero.
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2. Take the "San Anselmo" exit, and head north-east.
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3. Turn left onto El Camino Rd.
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4. Turn right onto San Anselmo Rd.
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5. Turn left onto Colima Road. Park along the road near 3560 Colima Rd. Please be respectful of the neighbors mailboxes and driveways.
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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.
Future Chapter Meetings
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.
September 14th, Saturday
Nipomo High School Shade House
525 North Thompson Ave.
Nipomo, CA
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October 12th Saturday
Oak Creek Commons
635 Nicklaus St, Paso Robles, CA
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November 9th, Saturday
Open to the public.
Nipomo Native Garden
999 Osage St., Nipomo, ca
www.nipomonativegarden.org
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December 14th, Saturday
Members only. This meeting alone is a good reason to join CRFG!
Annual Holiday Party, potluck, and plant exchange.
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January 11th, 2025 Saturday
Open to the public.
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February 15th or 22, 2025, Saturday (the 3rd or 4th Saturday)
(The exact date is dependent upon when we will be able to receive our rootstock orders, and will be displayed here closer to the date of this event.)
Open to the public.
CRFG Demonstration Orchard Workdays
Be sure to check here the morning of each workday for rescheduling or cancellations.
Sat Oct 26th, 2024 9am - 12pm
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.