2024 Winter Abundance Gathering

SEED, SCION & CUTTING EXCHANGE WITH HANDS-ON FRUIT TREE GRAFTING

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2024

from 10 to 3 -RAIN OR SHINE!

Free classes all day on tree & vine propagation

how to grow your own food

and how to save seeds of all kinds of food plants

🌿This year’s event will be held at the AV Grange in Philo, CA 9800 CA-128, Boonville, CA 95415🌿

You can purchase fruit tree rootstocks cheaply here and then graft your own trees from the free scions.

Come spend the day with local green thumbs who understand

the unique climate zones and soils of our bio-region.

🌮 Local Taco truck onsite 🌮

Sign up for a free hands-on grafting clinic where you can try out and even purchase a grafting knife.

Please bring your favorite seeds and scions, and plants to share (see below for instructions)

Bring your love of plants, and enjoy our free, daylong celebration of Abundance!

Speakers and classes:

Scionology with David Ulmer: – The crash course on making your own trees & vines from scions, rootstocks, cuttings, seeds. Basics of scion selection, grafting & budding, and rootstocks.

David has a 24 year old big backyard orchard with 225 fruit trees with 450 varieties. Currently the Biomanager of the Redwood Empire California Rare Fruit Growers and formerly the Chair. He has been giving grafting clinics and talks for over 15 years.

Local Seeds for Local Food: Join Julia Dakin to explore the significance of redefining Mendocino County's local food to encompass locally grown and adapted seeds. This presentation spotlights the challenges of diminishing diversity and nutrient density, and how to long-term food system resilience against climate change. Learn about the transformative power of community-led seed initiatives in Mendocino County and their broader impact.

Julia Dakin is the Co-founder of Going to Seed: Shifting agriculture towards adaptation, community and diversity. Find out more at https://goingtoseed.org/

Jeff Creque farmed organically in Marin County from 1979 through 2013. He co founded the Bolinas Compost Project, Apple Tree International, the West Marin Compost Coalition, the Alliance for Local Sustainable Agriculture (Marin),  West Marin Compost, the Marin Carbon Project, and the Carbon Cycle Institute, where he now serves as Director of Rangeland and Agroecosystem Management; he is currently based in Petaluma. Jeff is looking forward to an interactive discussion around Soil, Compost, Carbon, and Climate.

Seed Saving with Matt Drewno: Victory Gardens For Peace Director, Ecology Action Board Member and Manager of the VGFP Mini-Farm and Seed Bank will be teaching a basic seed saving class that will cover basic to advance techniques. This class will be relevant for beginner seedsavers as well as those with more experience. Find our more about Matt and his work here: https://www.victorygardensforpeace.com/

Hands-on Grafting Clinics

We have found that the hands-on class helps you to learn grafting and builds your confidence with the knife in your hand. We’ve purchased different kinds of grafting knives for you to try out. Our demo grafting knives can be purchased after the last clinic. Or bring your own knife for us to assess. The clinics focus on basic techniques and the feel of the knives on real scion wood. Each of the volunteer teachers may teach their own style, since there are many ways to successfully graft.

There will be a sign-up sheet for each clinic at the registration table. Space is limited, so register early!
Hands-on Clinics are 50 minutes long and will begin at the top of each hour starting at 11am.

What to expect

The Winter Abundance Gathering is sponsored by Cloud Forest Institute and Anderson Valley Foodshed

If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please contact Lama at aforestperson@gmail.com

Please do not bring your dog.

For the health and safety of our community, there will not be

a Winter Abundance Workshop in 2021.

Instead, the AV Village, AV Foodshed, and AV Unity Garden Section are jointly hosting a Zoom Workshop on starting vegetables from seed! Join this free, virtual workshop on Sunday, February 7, 2021 at 4 pm.

This one-hour workshop will begin with two short videos of local seed starters that demonstrate starting seeds in the ground and in a greenhouse. Seed starting resources will then be shared, followed by a three person panel to answer questions from workshop participants. Learn from local, experienced gardeners.

RSVP to help us anticipate who’s coming, ask any questions you have, and receive other details! https://tinyurl.com/RSVPVeggieStarts

Date: Sunday, February 7, 2021

Time: 4-5 pm
Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86084264970?pwd=bTlxcitzVWFTSEVyQVRnSGw5SjVjUT09
Smart phone: +16699006833,,86084264970#,,,,*789934# US

LandLine/Flip phone: 1 669 900 6833

Read Below about last year’s Winter Abundance Fair….

Seed, Scion & Cutting Exchange

with Hands-on Fruit Tree Grafting

Saturday February 8, 2020 -Rain or Shine!

Free classes all day on tree & vine propagation; how to grow your own food; and how to save seeds of all kinds of food plants. You can purchase fruit tree rootstocks cheaply here and then graft your own trees from the free scions. Come spend the day with local green thumbs who understand the unique climate zones and soils of our bio-region. You can purchase an inexpensive organic lunch, snacks, and beverages at the event. Sign up for a free hands-on grafting class, held throughout the day, where you can try out and even purchase a grafting knife.

Please bring your favorite seeds and scions, and plants to share. 

Bring your love of plants, and enjoy our free, daylong celebration of Abundance.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

9:00 – 4:00  Open tables – Scions, seeds, cuttings and selection advice

9:30 – 10:30  Class – Mark Albert:  Scionology – The crash course on making your own trees & vines from scions, rootstocks, cuttings, seeds. Basics of scion selection, grafting & budding, and rootstocks.

10:30 – 12:00 Class – Marc Robbi: Growing under Cover, What a Greenhouse can Do for You - The benefits of greenhouse growing in our Mediterranean climate, and mitigating greenhouse problems

10:30 – 2:00  Grafting Hands-on clinics hourly – local grafters share their techniques. You try out new knives on real wood. Buy our knife if you like it. Or bring your grafting knife to get a tune-up. Sign up at the registration table. 

12:00 – 1:00  Lunch for sale – organic, made by Anderson Valley Girl Scout Troop 10597 to fund community service projects, camping and adventure trips. BYO: Please bring your own plates, cups and utensils to reduce our carbon footprint.

1:00 – 2:15  Class – Seed Saving – with Matt Drewno, Victory Gardens for Peace

2:15 – 3:30  Class – Patrick Schafer:  Advanced Grafting, Budding, Top-working old or young trees, Q & A 

Seed Exchange:  Seeds from local growers with local seed savers on hand. Bring your own saved and labeled seeds to share. Glass jars are good. We supply free seed envelopes.
 
Scion Exchange: Free scions will be available all day, with local experts on hand. Please bring labeled scions of your favorite fruit trees – especially the gems that are proven here. New varieties and your own seedlings are also welcome.  If the varietal name is unknown, just label with your name, phone, brief description.  Best scions are cut from the lower portion of the longest, straightest new shoots. Cut scions 8-12” long and clear bag them. Cuttings for rooting should be 12-18” long and bundled. Store them damp and cold on the north side of a building, or refrigerate.  Cut dormant scions now or ASAP instead of waiting until the last moment in this unpredictable season. Our dormancy period is short, so picking scions early is best, especially the Prunus. We’ll have free bags and labels.

Scionology Class: The first class is basic but densely packed with information: When and how to cut, store, and label a scion or a cutting to root. How to assess the scions on the scion tables. Which plants are easiest by which method. How to make a simple bottom heat box, for cuttings and for seed germination. Why some cultivars are better in our climate zone. Why different grafts are better for different seasons and situations. The reasons and methods of the different rootstocks. Previously manager of an avocado & citrus tree nursery in Santa Barbara, Mark packs 45 years of propagation tricks into a one hour class.

Advanced Grafting: Patrick’s class in the afternoon focuses on techniques and strategies for specific plants, how to top work trees to other varieties, summer chip budding, and answers your individual questions. Patrick is a nurseryman, sells hardy palms, loquat, feijoa, and native persimmon, and he’s an expert on all local fruit.

Grafting Hands-on Clinics throughout the day: We have found that the hands-on class helps you to learn grafting and builds your confidence with the knife in your hand. We’ve purchased different kinds of grafting knives for you to try out. Our demo grafting knives can be purchased after the last clinic. Or bring your own knife for us to assess and sharpen for you. The clinics focus on basic techniques and the feel of the knives on real scion wood. Each of the volunteer teachers may teach their own style, since there are many ways to successfully graft. Email Lama at avfoodshed@ gmail.com if you want to teach one of these short classes at a specific time slot. There will be a sign-up sheet for each clinic at the registration table to keep the class size sane.

Grafting Clinic Schedule: We plan on having 2 clinics running simultaneously at each time slot. Please make sure to sign up at registration as class size is limited.

10:30-11:20 / 11:30-12:20 / 12:30-1:20 / 1:30-2:20

Marc Robbi’s Class: Marc currently runs 3 greenhouses and uses them for many things: growing his own food, nursery production, and a mother-tree haven for his online business, Fruitwood Nursery. His farm is 5 hours north of Boonville in the heart of the Klamath River country outside of Orleans, yet he has a surprisingly similar climate to our own! He and his wife Corrina grow over 1,000 varieties of temperate and subtropical fruiting plants and other perennials right on their homestead, and sell many of them through their website in the form of propagation material or rooted cuttings and divisions. They also started and ran Rolling River Nursery for years before selling it a few years back to the good folks at Planting Justice, in Oakland.  

Seedsaving Class: Matt Drewno from Victory Gardens for Peace Seedbank, a project of Ecology Action located at the Stanford Inn in Mendocino, will lead a class on seedsaving that will cover basic to advance techniques. This class will be relevant for beginner seedsavers as well as those with more experience. 

Rootstock sales: We sell over 500 tree rootstocks of major fruit types, for a few dollars each. We try to choose the best rootstocks for our climate and soil. Some years there are specific rootstock scarcities, due to crop failures, disease and extreme weather.

Plant share: Everyone is welcome to use our venue to give away or swap plants. Due to Sudden Oak Death and other root pathogens, please minimize the attached native soil. Try to use soilless potting mixes if possible, or bring plants bare root, gently washing native soil off dormant plants. Moist pine wood shavings (sold in bags as animal bedding) are best for packing roots and scions. Wet newspaper also works short term.

Trees & plants & seeds for sale by local tree and seed companies, who are invited to come and sell. No charge to vendors.

Food sales by local non-profit group: Lunches, snacks, beverages. Proceeds will help AV Girl Scout Troop 10597 to fund community service projects, camping and adventure trips. Please bring your own plate, utensils, & cups.

Winter Farmers' Market will be set up for sales. Find onion starts, fresh veggies, mushrooms and crafts. Contact avfoodshed@gmail.com for vendor information.

Donna D’Terra and the Mendocino County Herb Guild will have a table with herb seeds and information.

This is a free public service event conceived by Mendocino Permaculture. It has grown and evolved over the last 37 years, with a lot of help from our friends. Our costs are funded only by rootstock sales and donations. There is no charge for admission, classes, seeds, cuttings, or scion wood.

This workshop is co-sponsored by Mendocino Permaculture, Anderson Valley Adult School, and Anderson Valley Foodshed, with volunteer help from the Master Gardener program of U.C. Cooperative Extension.
 
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About the Boonville Fairgrounds venue: We use two buildings. The classes will be in the dining hall. The scion and seed tables will be in the Library/Arts and Crafts Building. Rootstock sales, tree sales and plant exchange will be under the large eaves overhanging the library building. We are using only the front parking lot and street parking on Hwy 128 near the fairground entrance. Vehicles that arrive before 9 AM will be allowed into the grounds to drop off plant material or supplies. The AV Community Library is open for its regular hours, 1:30 – 4:00 PM and their used book-sale table. Paperbacks 25¢, hardbound 50¢ and a bag for $5 – bring your own bag. This is a rain or shine event – we have enough indoor space and roof cover for all of us to be sheltered should the weather turn rainy. It’s a bit chilly indoors, so dress warm.

Please do not bring your dog. It is a Fairgrounds rule.
BYO: Please bring your own plates, cups and utensils to reduce our carbon footprint.

For more information, call Barbara/Rob at (707) 895-3897, Richard 459-5926, or Mark at 463-8672.

Herbs and Winter Abundance

       At the 37th annual Winter Abundance Gathering at the Boonville Fairgrounds on Saturday, February 8th, the Mendocino County Herb Guild will feature herbalists Donna d’Terra and Lisa Montez who will be answering questions and offering free herb seed at their display table in the Arts and Crafts Building. Lisa is a plant lover who works at a local garden center and Donna is a well-recognized herb grower and herbal educator. With community support the Herb Guild has accomplished much in its three-year history, including the production of Mendocino Vitality Tonic, a vinegar/honey/herb tonic using locally sourced ingredients. It is sold throughout the County at natural foods stores. The last two summers, the Guild has donated locally made herbal medicines to firefighters and fire victims in our greater bioregion. Last November the Guild held its second annual Harvest Dinner at the Grange in Willits, featuring local chefs, local food, local herbalists, and a speaker; it was a fundraiser towards the acquisition of an Herb Bus that will someday travel around the County doing education and outreach.

The mission of the Guild is: "Full circle herbalism that benefits the community through regenerative cultivation and wildcrafting, conscious education, and development of accessible apothecaries and clinics, so that healing plant medicine can be available to all who need it.”

Winter Abundance: Save Your Own Seeds

One of the many opportunities available to explore plant propagation at the Winter Abundance Gathering on February 8th at the Fairgrounds in Boonville is to learn how to become proficient in saving your own favorite seeds. Purchasing seeds can be expensive and you can’t always get varieties adapted to your soil and climate. Matt Drewno, Vice President of Ecology Action and Manager of Victory Gardens for Peace Mini-Farm and Seed Bank will present Seed Saving Basics from 1-2:15 in the cafeteria.

Matt is certified in permaculture, restoration of oak-savanna ecologies, and biointensive food production. After a Bachelors of Architecture from Iowa State University, he founded RhythmicWater Ecological Design, a permaculture design business in the mid-western states. He has been working with Ecology Action since 2010 training individuals and communities in the principles of biologically intensive food production. In 2018, Matt was awarded Master-Level Teacher Certification for biointensive agriculture. His experience includes organic farm-scale food production, design and implementation of food forests, residential-scale food production and community gardens. Matt manages Ecology Action's Victory Gardens for Peace Mini-Farm (VGfP), the Stanford Inn's Biointensive Gardens, The Victory Gardens for Peace Seed Bank, and has developed the Garden Friendly Community Initiative to strengthen local garden initiatives and increase access to garden space for communities. He recently authored Achieving More With Less, a model for growing a complete diet, including all of your compost in less than 1,000 square feet.