These are the times and logistics.
Membership will be checked at the gate and non-members will not be admitted into the gated area until 10am. Membership sign ups ONLY occur BEFORE 9am and AFTER 10am. You can renew your membership online at CRFGSD.org beforehand to skip waiting in line.
Schedule:
7:30-9:00am Members Social Hour and Setup
9:00-10:00am Members-Only, first 15min for Volunteers
10:00am-11:00pm General Public Shopping
At 8:30am will start checking membership. Please leave your scion wood or seeds with a volunteer at check-in and they will bring place your donation on the appropriate tables.
At 9am, members who volunteer will be allowed to take the first 15 minutes to gather scions. After volunteers are in position again, the line will proceed with non-volunteer members.
PLEASE EMAIL CRFGSD@GMAIL.COM WITH THE HEADER "VOLUNTEER REQUEST" TO BE CONSIDERED AS A VOLUNTEER FOR THIS EVENT. IF YOU ARE SELECTED YOU WILL RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL AND DETAILS ABOUT WHAT IS NEEDED THAT DAY. ONLY PAID MEMBERS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR VOLUNTEERING.
While you wait to enter exchange tables at 9am feel free to trade with other members in the social hour.
Please take only what you need and limited amount. Please keep table in order when you are done then move on.
Make sure you come prepared with a bag for collecting, tape to label items and marker
The plan is when you check in, you will also pick up your name tag please take care of them a small fee will be needed to make a new name tag.
We value all our members so the plan is to give them the best chance to get material they need first.
If you have questions about any propagation techniques there will be plenty of help and examples on how to use your findings.
GUIDELINES FOR SHARING SCIONS from our neighbors at CRFG North County
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(Used with permission from the CRFG Foothills Chapter)
• Do not share citrus and citrus relatives (see notes above).
• Do not share cuttings of patented fruit varieties that are still under patent protection. If the tag on your tree says “Propagation Prohibited” or “PPAF”, do not bring cuttings from it to the exchange.
• Do take cuttings of dormant wood (not newly-sprouted) from clean, healthy plants.
• Cuttings should be of wood that is only 1-2 years old, about the size of a pencil (6”-8” long and 1/8” to ¾” in diameter), and include at least 2-3 buds.
• When you cut scions, make a slanted cut at the top of the scion and make a straight cut at the bottom (perpendicular to the stem). The slanted cut identifies the top so the stem can be oriented correctly during grafting.*
• Label each bundle of cuttings. Include variety name (such as “Santa Rosa plum” or “Granny Smith apple”), description, and, if possible, your name (in case someone wants to know more about the cuttings)
• Place the cuttings into a plastic bag, wrapped in a clean, damp paper towel or damp newspaper to keep them from drying out.
• Store bags of cuttings in the refrigerator (not the freezer) until you are ready to bring them to the scion exchange or to graft them onto one of your trees.
• During the exchange please take only 1-2 scions of a variety and leave the rest for others to share. (After everyone has had a chance to get cuttings, we can announce when people can go back and get more from the left overs).
7 MIN VIDEO ON COLLECTING SCIONS
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThpvzdPOAy4
HELPFUL TO BRING
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If you are planning to take scions or other plant cuttings home the following items are helpful to bring:
a: ziplock bags to separate and keep your scions from drying out. Moistened paper towels in each bag are also very helpful.
b: permanent marker and/or white out pen - to write on labels, and also you can write straight on the thicker cuttings. Liquid paper pens that write in white are even better than black permanent markers. Black markers, even when permanent, do fade with time, even within a few months. The Liquid Paper/White Out ink lasts much longer. So far labels I wrote more than a year ago show no change on my trees.
c: some kind of tape: masking tape, duct tape, even scotch tape wrapped around a cutting and stuck to itself. Then you can write on the tape itself.
d: A bigger bag or box to collect all your bagged up scions or other garden treasures.
