Sebastopol Rare Fruit Tree Swap Meet

Rare Fruit Gardeners 

Swap-Meet – Open to Public

January 29th 10:00AM until 2:00PM, at the Veterans Memorial Building at 282 High Street, Sebastopol 95472, open to the public, is the CRFG.com Scion (cuttings) and Plant Exchange where commonly over 500 varieties of common, rare and experimental scions and plants from all over Northern California are available free. There are grafting and planting demonstration classes for beginners, plus experts and hobbyists to answer. Custom trees can be grafted by experts for attendees on-the-spot for a few dollars. Bring bags, tape and pens to mark your acquisitions. Entry fee is $5, then all the cuttings and classes are at no extra charge. No patented or GMO plants are allowed.

CRFG has local events throughout the year, including garden tours, fruit tastings, juice pressings, and classes. Membership is $41 per year including national membership and the local chapter, and includes events and an interesting fruit-gardeners' magazine. More information and membership is available on the web anytime at www.CRFG.org/chapters/redwood_empire

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Backgrounder:
There are literally thousands of varieties of trees, vines and shrubs that bear edible fruit. Most people are familiar with only the most common varieties of fruits that are available commercially in stores. Many of these commercial varieties are available primarily because of the durability of the fruit for shipping, handling and storage rather than for best flavor. Even though the best tasting fruits can be too fragile for commercial distribution, they are perfectly suited to the home-gardener. Anyone with at least a six foot by six foot patch of open sunlight can successfully grow a tree with delicious fruits, even if only in a box of soil on pavement. Up to 4 trees can be planted in the same hole. Multiple fruit varieties can be grown on the same plant by means of simple grafting techniques, resulting in a "fruit salad" tree! Properly selected fruit-bearing plants can also be used for edible landscaping, proving a pleasing visual display in addition to gourmet treats.

Many of the best-tasting fruits are only available from specialty catalogs and growers, or through hobbyist organizations like California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG). CRFG promotes interest in all aspects of fruit growing, with special emphasis on rare and unusual fruits. North Bay CRFG members in "Luther Burbank country" get together regularly to taste fruits, trade plants, and to swap tips on local growing techniques and what grows best in local conditions and micro-climate pockets. Many local members grow over 100 varieties of fruit each in their back yards!