Author Archives: tami

You asked for it! You got it!
BLUEBERRIES!
We are fortunate to have a Pam Sinclair speak to us this month about Blueberries. Pam will present an overview of growing blueberries – how to select, grow (soils, pH, watering, fertilizing, pruning, etc.) and the common problems blueberry growers face.
Pam is a longtime nursery person, a certified professional horticulturist and garden educator. She has taught college level soil and plant ID classes, and does a series of basic gardening classes for Valley Nursery in Poulsbo each spring. She has also been published in several national gardening publications.
Pam has been operating a landscape design and consultation business for the past 25 years, GardenGal Designs. She was a longtime resident of the north Seattle area then moved to Kitsap about 10 years ago living in Indianola on the beach for most of that time. She moved to Bainbridge last year. Pam says, “I garden with the help of a loveable but clueless Cocker spaniel and a very helpful, hunting cat. Just wish he was big enough to keep the deer out of the garden!!” “I love talking about plants …any kind!”.
JOIN US FOR A FUN EVENING!

• Location – Bainbridge Island Grange, 10340 Madison Ave NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (Downstairs)
• Date & Time – Thursday, June 15, 2017, 6:30 – 8:30pm PDT

The Good Fruit Grower Magazine has a ‘good’ 🙂 article archived in the March 2017 edition called – Don’t Invest in Unwanted Growth. Young Trees Can Benefit from Pruning in the Summer.”  Yay!  Now I don’t have to feel guilt ridden by not pruning in the cold spring months!

Hi There Fruit Club!

Here is the low down on May’s club meeting…Permaculture!! Or as our speaker, Scott James says… ‘The (Mis)adventures in Permaculture: A Decade of Fun and Fruit’. Scott says, “It all started with a peach tree…a welcome-to-the-world gift from a neighbor when my little girl was born…”.

Scott plans to talk about– what permaculture is, how he got into it, the benefits of permaculture and maybe some trial & error stories followed by Q&A time.

Please join us for this lively discussion!

• Our meeting (as usual) is the third Thursday of the month, May 18 at 6:30pm.
• Downstairs at the Bainbridge Island Grange– 10340 Madison Ave NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

*Note our new Grange location is at street level entrance on the north side of the building.

Scott James Bio—
BusinessWeek named Scott as one of America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs and Forbes Magazine profiled him as a Game Changer.

The products from his companies have been featured in publications as diverse as Oprah’s O Magazine, National Geographic, Parents Magazine, the Washington Post, Outside Magazine, and US News & World Report. His film projects range from the opening shorts at the United Nations Climate Change Summits (Producer Lyn Lear and Director Louie Schwartzberg) to the breakthrough nature-based series on Netflix (title series: “Moving Art”).

Scott was awarded a Governor’s Award of Excellence in Service by the state of Washington for his nonprofit community preparedness work. His related book – Prepared Neighborhoods – is in the publication process now. Scott’s training includes permaculture, Transition Towns, CERT, as well as mindful movement techniques such as MovNat and yoga…all of which tend to be reflected in his work. Details at scottjames.me.

I hope to see you there!
Tami

Hello Bainbridge Island Fruit Club!

Due to popular demand and because it’s just that time of year, our April meeting topic is “Renovating Old Fruit Trees” with Randy Lee!
Randy will be sharing his expertise in ‘Renovating Old Fruit Trees’ or ….What to do with old trees that haven’t been managed properly. Randy has presented to our club in the past, he is a knowledgeable resource and very entertaining to listen to. Mark your calendar!!

Day: Thursday, April 20th, 2017
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: Bainbridge Grange Hall, 10340 Madison Ave NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Randy’s Bio-

Randy, grew up on a farm in the Wenas Valley north of Selah WA, hauling irrigation pipes and lighting smudge pots. He has been a WSDA/USDA horticulture inspector, quality manager for Dole NW fruit orchards and facilities, tree fruit packing line manager, researcher and trainer for one of the largest WA state tree fruit grower/packer/shippers in the state, a college educator, agriculture program radio host, food safety consultant for Green Giant, and member of numerous horticultural groups. Randy has a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from Washington State University, a Masters in Environmental Science from University of Denver, and a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from University of Idaho, specializing in apple flowering, fruit quality and post harvest physiology. He is a former Master Gardener and trainer to the Master Gardeners. And, “Most importantly I am husband to beloved Wife Lizzie, and father and grandfather to some wonderful kids.”
Randy also likes to fish.

As always bring your friends and get ready to learn some interesting facts about older fruit trees!

Due to popular demand, it’s our Annual Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop!! This is a very fun, informative and hands-on event so come prepared to learn all about grafting fruit trees at this meeting!

• Thursday March 16th
• 6:30pm to 9pm
• At the Bainbridge Bainbridge Grange Hall-10340 Madison Avenue, NE.

• Learn how to graft your own fruit trees or add onto existing ones.
• Learn how to root your own grapes, kiwis, figs, and currants from cuttings.
• Buy a fruit tree at your local garden store and graft additional varieties to it.
• Buy rootstock and cuttings/scion wood from a wide assortment of heirloom and other fruit varieties that are disease resistant and do well in the Pacific Northwest.

This event is open to members and to the general public.  There is a slight charge for the cuttings and rootstocks that will go to future Fruit Club activities
Members:  Cuttings (50 Cents) and Rootstocks ($4 dollars).- Non-Members:  Cuttings ($1 dollar) and Rootstocks ($5 dollars).

Hope to see you there!

The January Fruit Club Meeting and Potluck was a great success! We want to try doing a potluck again it was fun sharing each others dishes and chatting more socially. The February meeting will be held the 3rd Thursday of the month (like all the club meetings). The Club has several new members and a new Vice President for the club! Welcome and Thank You Angela Tinker!!

Everyone is invited to the 2016 Fall Fruit Show presented by Peninsula Fruit Club, a chapter of Western Cascade Fruit Society. Come join us for a fun day of fruit tasting and learning about growing fruit. Get your mystery apples identified—bring 4-6 samples of each kind, don’t wash, leave the stems on, tell us about the tree. Sample dozens of different varieties of apples, pears, and other fruit. Take in a video or browse our information tables. Learn about pests, diseases, and mason bees. Find something interesting at our plant sale, and stock up on supplies for next year. Ask questions of our experts. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.

Details: Sat., Oct. 22 from 10 am to 4 pm at the West Side Improvement Club, 4109 West E Street, Bremerton 98312. Take the Loxie Eagans Blvd. exit off Hwy 3 and follow the signs.

Here’s a link to our flyer: http://wcfs.org/wp-content/uploads/Fall-Show-Poster2016-Rev6.pdf

and to our event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1783318178606452/

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Here is a link to a hand out from a webinar on the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) in the Pacific Northwest.

This month we will be at a club member’s house to press apples and sample apple varieties. If you are interested please go to our facebook page/events and inquire there.