2025 Winter Abundance Gathering

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

SATURDAY March 1, 2025

from 9 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🌿

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:

Basic Grafting with David Ulmer at 9:30am: 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 25 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 16 years.

Farm Talk with Nature’s Tune Farm at 11am

Join Rio Patton and Emma Hurley for a farm talk!
Nature's Tune Farm operates on two and a half acres of beautiful valley bottom land.  The farm is cradled to the west and east by forested slopes and sits just above the Garcia River. We are proud to serve the southern Mendocino coast.  providing for our community seasonal abundance in the form of fresh vegetables, fruits and cut flowers.   At the turn of each season, we steer the farm/ecosystem to the next stage while considering our soil health and overall impact. More at https://www.naturestunefarm.com/

Basic Seed Saving with John Valenzuela at 1pm: John Valenzuela is a horticulturist, consultant, and permaculture educator with Cornucopia Food Forest Gardens. His special interests are rare and heirloom fruit trees, home gardens, plant propagation, food forests, agroforestry, ethnobotany, and native ecosystems. He serves on the boards of the California Rare Fruit Growers and the Felix Gillet Institute. 

John first started saving seed in 1983, joining the Seed Savers Exchange, collecting and growing out local seed varieties in San Diego, Hawai’i, and Northern California. Inspired by the legacy of our ancestors, he also grows fruit trees from seed, and loves self-seeding annuals and landrace gardening.  Find out more at cornucopiafoodforest.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 be offered at 11:15am and 12:15pm.

An advanced grafting technique clinic will be offered at 10am.

What to expect

Making the Best of the Scion Exchange

The following information is from our friends at The Golden Gate Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers. Their site can be found here: https://golden-gate.crfg.org/scionex.htm

WHAT TO BRING

• Scion wish list (based on fruit tastings, research, your chill-hours, pollination, and ability to root or compatibility with rootstocks for grafting)

• Gallon zip-top plastic bags to put your scions in so they stay fresh, (include your name on it in case you lay it down and forget)

• Painters or masking tape to label your scions

• Permanent Marker to write on your tape

• Notebook & pen to take notes

• A handled tote to carry them all in (it’s a good idea to label your tote with your name and phone number)

• Scions and Plants to share from your home. Including divisions, tubers, bare-root plants, and seeds of unusual fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, and herbs.

• Grafting Knives and Pruners

• Cash, Credit or Debit card for all your purchases (Root stock, seeds, food, vendor area)

What NOT to Bring:

• NO Citrus or relatives (plants or scions/cuttings) Find out why.

• NO potted fig plants, (cuttings are ok to bring)

• NO Disease or Pests on infected plants

• NO Leaf-litter from all potted plants, and no excess soil from roots and tubers that you have dug up.

• NO Old-Wood with fruit spurs (two years or older wood)
  bring only the most recent tip growth that grew last year. See photo

• NO Non-Edible Plants

• NO Current Patented Plant Varieties

Scion Exchange Essential Knowledge

• Your Master Guide: Making the Best of the CRFG Scion Exchange (pdf)
• Grafting Fruit Trees with Graham Stott (pdf)
• Grafting Dormant Deciduous Fruit Scions with Idell Weydemeyer (pdf)
• Photos & Diagrams for Grafting Fruit Trees with Graham Stott (pdf)
• How to Graft with Illustrations with Idell Weydemeyer (pdf)
• What is a Scion Exchange?
• How Harvest Scions for a Scion Exchange
• Labels to Print for the Scion bags you bring to the Exchange
• Watch Videos showing how to harvest and prepare scions for an Exchange
• How to Collect Scionwood with Photos
   (Do not use paper towels for storage to avoid mold.)

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 Donna at 707-684-0325.

Please do not bring your dog.