LOS ANGELES CHAPTER March/April 2015 Volume XX Issue 2

MEETING th Date: March 28 Time: 10:00 a.m. http://www.crfg-la.org Place: Sepulveda Gardens 16633 Magnolia Blvd. 2015 Chapter Officers & Committees Encino, CA 91316

Chairman: Program: David Karp – Citrus Collection at UC Riverside Jim Schopper Read Words From Our Chairman for more details. 818-362-3007 [email protected]

Treasurer: Attention All Members: If your last name begins with A-M please bring something for our K Payton March table. Since we are usually eating around noon, and even though we love all those 818 222-7556 [email protected] sweet treats, please also consider a dish more appropriate for a lunchtime meal.

Newsletter Editor: Catherine Diaz PROGRAM/FIELD TRIP: 818 772-9523 [email protected] Date: April 25th

Program Chairman: Time: 10:00 a.m. Pat Valdivia Program: Field Trip - Sylmar High School Agricultural Department 805 584-6244 [email protected] Special Guest - Tom Spellman from Dave Wilson Nursery Photographer: 13050 Borden Ave Edgar Valdivia Sylmar, CA 91342 805 584 6244 [email protected] Read Words From Our Chairman for more details about other important guests.

Historian: Emory Walton Attention All Members: The field trip will include a potluck and we are asking all members 805 497-8835 [email protected] attending to bring food for the event.

Food Coordinator Chris Warren 818 362-8537 [email protected] Save the Dates Sales David Payton

818 222-7556 @CRFG-la.org May 23rd - Sepulveda Gardens - Jose de Soto (from Hansen Agricultural Research Center-

Caring for During a Drought Plant Sales Associates David Melcombe Tony Stewart June 27th - Field Trip - Jim Schopper/Bob Wholers - garden

th Secretary July 25 – Sepulveda Gardens - Lana Laskay/Urban Worms-on Vermiculture—not yet Margaret Frane confirmed 310 828 0092 [email protected]

nd Development Fund: August 22 - Field Trip Bob Vieth th 805 495-9789 September 26 – Sepulveda Gardens th Members at Large October 24 - Field Trip - Olive Orchard tour and talk on Olive Oil Making-Buon Marcia Melcombe . Gusto Farms-Ventura area 818 349 8677 [email protected] Debbie Schopper th November 28 - Sepulveda Gardens-Pomegranate presentation and tasting Ed Valdivia - 818 362 3007 [email protected] hopefully no thefts from hungry squirrels - will prevent us from having a good selection of

fruit to sample

December 12th - Sepulveda Gardens - Holiday Party

LOOKING BACK By Debbie Schopper . January Meeting Our annual scion exchange, one of the most anticipated meetings of the year, again took place January Dear Los Angeles Chapter members, at the Sepulveda Garden Center. Unlike the game I’m excited! I’ve heard several people say our Apples to Apples our tables February meeting was great, just hearing were set up with scions that chapter members share their expertise and began with over a dozen experiences was wonderful. I think everyone varieties of apples and ended learned something, I know I did. with the white sapote. In between, were just about every fruit and variety Looking forward to our next two meeting I want of fruit you could imagine, including, but not to encourage everyone who can to please attend limited to, apricots, avocados, cherimoyas, and invite neighbors and friends to attend. On citrus, goumi, st March 21 David Karp will be our guest speaker. jujube, and David is a freelance writer and photographer pomegranates. specializing in fruit. Over the past twenty years, Member Bill his work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Brandt The New York Times, Gourmet, Smithsonian, demonstrated how Saveur and many other publications. He is also an to graft a scion to associate in the Agricultural Experiment Station a tree. at the University of California at Riverside. He Member Betsy Young was presented with a will bring a lot to the table. Don't miss it! Lifetime

Achievement On April 25, we will be meeting at Sylmar High Award. Betsy was School. This will be the third annual Tree one of the people Symposium with Tom Spellman from Dave responsible for Wilson Nursery as our main speaker. Tom is starting the LA always on the cutting edge when it comes to Chapter of CRFG. fruit trees. Also on hand will be Lloyd Cassidy Our meeting ended from L.E. Cooke, Dan Nelson from LaVerne with a plant sale and potluck lunch. Nursery and Toby Lebron from Kellog Garden

Products to answer questions. We will again have February Meeting a fabulous raffle with plenty of fruit trees and This month's meeting, held at the Sepulveda garden materials. Finally we will end with a Garden Center, was a question and answer time. potluck lunch that everyone brings. Believe me The LA Chapter of the CRFG has some of most you won't want to miss either one of these knowledgeable members, who are always ready meetings. Hope you’re as excited as I am. to share their experiences with those who ask. Best, An example: Jim Schopper - PS: To plant a garden is to believe in Q: What are members doing to conserve tomorrow. Audrey Hepburn 2

water? our CRFG organization. A member of CRFG since A: Members shared detailed irrigation systems 1968, not only was he a President of CRFG and on Q: How can I rid my greenhouse of mealy the Board of Directors, he is Chairman of the bugs? Development Fund. Bob has been responsible for A: Buy chickens, or try worm castings planted in the Los Angeles Chapter’s involvement in the the pot w/plant, or soap and water unique High School Apple Grafting Project for Q: What is the best way to juice the past 10+ years. Setting up this program has pomegranates? taking a lot of time and effort on his part. Bob A: Place seeds in a freezer zip bag and roll w/a has had to contact the high schools, get in touch rolling pin. This led to a discussion on the best with the horticulture departments and set up a way to separate the seeds from the fruit. schedule that would work for all participating. Several members shared how they either cut or He, along with our volunteer team has then gone score fruit and separate underwater or by to local high schools to teach the students how hitting the fruit. The possible purchase of a to graft an apple tree and at the same time to hydraulic pomegranate press for chapter use stimulate their interest in growing fruit trees. was considered. Seven high schools, with a total close to 600 Other subjects addressed included the lychee, students every year have benefited from these Saveh pomegranate, atemoya, and what causes demonstrations. some store-bought Haas avocados to be black As Bob now steps down from leading the inside. grafting program we really want to thank him for Member Bill Brandt will head the high school all he has done. Bob, you are truly the “Apple program to teach hands-on grafting to students. of our Eye”! If you are available to be a part of this program, Thank you, Bill Brandt for taking up the reins on please contact Bill at [email protected] this wonderful program. We had visitors from south Australia and also CRFG members from the inland empire. An CRFG – TAKING PART: PAYING YOUR auction of plants and followed the DUES program, and of course, our shared luncheon. Catherine Diaz - Newsletter Editor

HIGHLIGHTING MEMBERS In the column Looking Back it was mentioned Welcome new members: that Bill Brandt will lead the high school program Bill Batta Edie Cole, Andy Johnson, Marietta to teach grafting to students taking over for Yoingco, and Jinghui Zhan. Our So. Australian Bob Vieth. Bill has friend is Robert White. If I have missed asked for volunteers somebody let me know. to continue to assist with the grafting AT THE CORE OF THE GRAFTING PROGRAM program at the high By Pat Valdivia schools. These high Future CRFG members. Bob school students are the growers of the future. Vieth Your participation is welcome. has There are a number of ways to become involved been a with the chapter. February’s meeting was an leading example. Members shared their knowledge and force in 3

answered questions posed by those in Publishes the Fruit Gardener magazine attendance. Arranges group liability insurance for chapter From time to time a question is posed in the officers (this is a big one!) newsletter and members are invited to respond Sponsors the fruit shoot (do you know what this for publication in the coming newsletter. is?) Several members have submitted articles and Provides a comprehensive web site for rare recipes for the newsletter. The newsletter fruits (have you looked at this lately?) becomes more interesting and reflective of our Assists new chapters in getting started chapter when people share their knowledge. Maintains resources to help chapters organize Please feel free to send any information you Festival of Fruit believe may be of interest to others. Provides IRS tax reporting to maintain non- This newsletter is distributed by the Los profit status for the organization and chapters Angeles chapter of the greater/central Files paperwork needed to allow chapter raffles California Rare Fruit Growers Inc. (CRFG). In to be legal. order to be a member of the chapter you need What our local chapter does to be a member of the greater/central CRFG Maintain a level of funds from year to year, try organization. Membership is open to anybody, in to have sufficient surplus to be able to support state or out of state. There are 18 chapters in important/worthy enterprises such as Steve California and several in Arizona and Texas. List's with the student horticulture The greater/central CRFG dues vary as follows: opportunities. 1 yr. 3 yrs. Life We also support the routine expenses of food Regular $36 $100 $700 service, awards and gifts, misc. other costs as First Class $46 $120 $900 well as the publication and distribution of the mail newsletter. The rather modest membership fee Electronic $25 $70 $500 is greatly supplemented by the kindness, only (PDF) generosity and volunteer contributions of the Regular $46 $120 $900 members. For example, did you know that one and chapter sets up a “tasting table” at their electronic meetings? Members bring their fruit and First Class $56 $150 $1100 request a small fee for the privilege of tasting. mail and Our members contribute freely. electronic More than money your in-kind contributions such (PDF as the photography of Paul Kao, Deborah Oisbiod Foreign Membership rates are listed in the Fruit and Edgar Valdivia are immeasurable. Please, Grower and are available from CRFG, 66 think of ways you can contribute to the efforts Farragut Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112-4050 or of the Los Angeles chapter of CRFG. at http://www.crfg.org MEMBER Q AND A

Los Angeles Chapter dues are $6 a year. This is A question was raised in the last newsletter well below many other chapters in the state. about the state of a members tree after Each chapter is self-sustaining. the frosty day we had and was illustrated by a Return on Investment picture. What the greater/central CRFG does for the chapters: 4

Member Charles Portney responded with this 6 salmon steaks information: Q: What’s Wrong with My Tree? Mix first 6 ingredients. Transfer to a sheet of A: Babaco are more frost-tolerant than parchment paper and shape butter into a 6-inch tropical papayas and usually recover from a log. Wrap and freeze about 30 minutes. frost. Even in the 1998 freeze, none of my Grill or broil salmon steaks, turning once until babaco plants died. They lost leaves, looked cooked through, about 5 minutes. lousy for a time, dropped most of the fruit Transfer one salmon steak to each dinner plate. already on them, recovered in the spring and Place a 1-inch slice of citrus butter on each produced fruit higher up the stalk than before steak and serve. the freeze. I think it would take an extended 6 servings. freeze to kill a babaco if it was healthy to start Kombucha with and at least a few feet tall. Last spring, at our field trip to Jerry Schwartz’s This is all assuming that cold weather is the garden, one of the visitors brought and shared some source of the problem for the plant pictured. homemade Kombucha. If you are that person could you share more information or a recipe? In addition, Mountain is even more frost- hardy than the Babaco. Thank you for your contribution, Charles, my VOCABULARY FOR NEWBIES tree is making a valiant attempt to recover. I was interested in knowing a little more about our March speaker so I did an online search. Here are Question from February meeting some terms and phrases related to him. If he Q: Can a mulberry tree be trained to become a references them, knowing the terms might inform fruiting weeping mulberry tree? your understanding. Maybe because I’m new to all A: Yes. Prune branches that grow up and keep rare fruit it just interests me. the branches that grow to the side. • rosaceae crops • greening If you have a question send it to me and I will • pomologist include it in the next newsletter. • Dekopon • Greengage plum RECIPES • Why blood oranges are colored as such. As we look forward to hearing from David Karp at our March meeting consider this recipe that I REMINDER - PLAN AHEAD found online:

Grilled Salmon Blood Orange Citrus Butter 1 teaspoon grated zest and 3 teaspoons juice from one blood orange 1 teaspoon grated zest and 1 teaspoon juice from one Meyer lemon 1 teaspoon grated zest and 1 teaspoon juice from one lime 3 tablespoons minced parsley

1/4 pound butter, softened 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

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