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Permaculture Workshop

[Feb 4]

If you think planting locally adapted seeds and personally grafted fruit trees is a fitting activity for early 2017, mark Mendocino Permaculture’s 34th Annual Winter Abundance Workshop on Saturday February 4, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — rain or shine — at the Boonville Fairgrounds as high priority your calendar.

There are free workshops on how to:

choose the right scion wood (a piece of wood from a tree you know has delicious fruit) from a tree that is adapted to your micro climate;

graft or propagate trees, vines, or shrubs with instruction and hands-on workshops;

save your own seeds; and

plan for a market garden or your own home self-sufficiency.

You will be able to buy fruit tree rootstock, pick out the scion wood of your choice, and graft your own tree (or an orchard!) for only a few dollars a tree. There will also be tables for the seed, vine, and cutting exchange, so bring your favorite saved seeds and cuttings and take home new ones others can recommend.

An example of what you might find to propagate besides fruit trees and seeds is Glenora — a gem of a grape in our climate zone. It’s a wonderful fresh-eating grape. The taste and texture are unique – not too strong, not too mild, not too soft, not too anything — just right for high consumption. The deep black skin is rich in phenolic antioxidants, yet mild in taste. Glenora grapes hang ripe for many weeks without deteriorating in quality, and they make excellent raisins and juice. Glenora is an original experimental “American hybrid” grape, made in the 1940s of Ontario X Black Kishmish, at the (Geneva) New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.

Food and beverages will be available for sale at least through lunch time. The full class schedule, how to cut scions to bring to share, preparation of plants to bring, and rootstocks that will be available is at www.avfoodshed.com. There will be tree, plant, and winter farmers' market vendors at the event. Please note that the Fairgrounds does not allow dogs.

This workshop is co-sponsored by Anderson Valley Adult School and Anderson Valley Foodshed with help from the Master Gardener program of U.C. Cooperative Extension. It is a free public event conceived by Mendocino Permaculture and it has evolved over 34 years with a lot of help from our friends. Our costs are compensated by rootstock sales and donations. There is no charge for admission, classes, seeds, cuttings, or scion wood.

We appreciate additional volunteers for several aspects of the event. If you would like to volunteer to help or need more information, please call Barbara/Rob 895-3897, Richard 459-5926, or Mark 463-8672.

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