CANTON, N.Y. — Now is the time to plant fruit tree seedlings in your backyard! If you want to grow fruit trees and berries in your yard, or start a small homestead orchard, the Local Living Venture (LLV) is offering a workshop to help North Country growers get started, and maintain what they have.
Fruit School: Establishing Your Seedlings Edition will be held on Saturday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. at Sweetcore Orchard & Farm, 150 Hill Road off of Route 25 near Canton, NY. The first segment will be instructional, followed by an optional hands-on planting session at noon. An RSVP is appreciated.
This workshop is focused on planting your seedlings, geared towards those who want to establish and maintain your backyard fruit plantings. Those wishing to create small commercial or homestead orchards and small fruit (berries, etc.) plantings are also encouraged to attend.
Apples and pears will be the subject of the actual plantings, with discussion also of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Site selection, soil preparation, varieties and rootstocks for the North Country will be addressed, as well as planting tips, fertilization, and pest concerns with an eye towards organic solutions.
Group ordering is a potential benefit of participation in this “Fruit School” series of workshops, designed to cover all of the bases of fruiting trees, bushes and perhaps nuts.
The series also includes: Hands On Fruit Tree Pruning in March; Open House for Trouble Shooting Common Concerns in August; and, Establishing and Maintaining Your Plantings in November.
Workshop presenter Dave Rice has a degree in horticulture with a focus on fruit science. He has devoted the past thirty years to fruit and vegetable production, currently as the owner of Sweetcore Farm with his wife Kathy. For the past five years he has presented the very popular Fruit Tree Pruning workshop coordinated by the Local Living Venture each Spring.
For this unique learning experience, a $25 general public, $45 couple/family of two, $12 student donation is requested for material costs, to cover overhead expenses and to benefit Local Living Venture non-profit workshop creation. Scholarships are available upon request.
Registration is not required, but appreciated, and details, including directions, what to wear/bring, and relevant hand outs will be included in the RSVP Confirmation that is sent to all registered participants.
Contact either LocalLivingVenture@gmail.com or (315) 261-1926 with the workshop name, your name(s), phone numbers, and number in party. A confirmation message with all details, including directions, will be emailed within 24-48 hours.
—Local Living Venture
For more articles out of New York, click here.