City Fruit | Classes

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Classes – Summer 2010

City Fruit classes help Seattle residents grow and harvest healthy fruit.

We hope you will consider growing fruit; it is rewarding and easy to do. Besides taking a class, you can download free fact sheets and find other information at www.cityfruit.org .

To register: Go to www.brownpapertickets.org . You can also send a check, with the name of the class and your contact information to City Fruit, PO Box 28577, Seattle 98118. Except as noted, all classes are $15 for City Fruit members, $20 for non-members. After registering, you will receive confirmation and the address of the class. If you can’t afford a class but really want to learn, email us at info@cityfruit.org .

The Phinney Neighborhood Association serves as City Fruit’s fiscal sponsor and is the co-sponsor of these events.

June 12 Grafting, Thinning and Summer Pruning, South Seattle. 10 am – 12:30 pm. “A mid-sized tree will produce close to the same weight in fruit whether it has, for example, 200 or 50 apples on it.” Learn how to remove excess fruit to produce larger/healthier fruit. Learn proper pruning techniques for summer pruning and find out how to train branches. Finally, get an introduction to the whip graft, cleft graft, bud graft and pleach. This class will be held in a residential ‘urban orchard’ in south Seattle with pear, apple, plum and Asian pear trees. Greg Giuliani grew up on a Snoqualmie Valley farm with a 1930’s orchard. He learned how to graft in order to re-create these heritage fruit varieties, not available at stores. He has been a member and instructor with the Seattle Tree Fruit Society for twelve years.

“Horticulture and eating fruit (especially grown with your own hand) are some of my life’s pleasures. . . . I seek to share this passion with others so they may pass on this knowledge and goodwill. These are skills most of our ancestors possessed and have been lost during our society’s transition to urban dwelling.” -- Greg Giuliani

July 17 Summer Pruning, North Seattle. 10:30 am – noon. Summer pruning discourages excessive new growth and “can be used to slow down overly vigorous trees or trees that are too large” (P. Vossen). It is most effective between June and late September. Learn the proper techniques at this workshop located in a heritage urban orchard. Ingela Wanerstrand is the owner of Green Darner Garden Design, specializing in edible garden design and coaching. She has been pruning fruit trees professionally for 14 years and leads the urban agriculture guild of Sustainable Ballard.

Comments on Ingela’s last class: “I wish I had taken this class 10 years ago. It was the best two hours I’ve spent learning about pruning ever.”

Aug 14 Summer Pruning, South Seattle. 10:00 am – noon. Summer pruning discourages excessive new growth and “can be used to slow down overly vigorous trees or trees that are too large” (P. Vossen). It is most effective between June and late September. This class mixes lecture with hands-on demonstrations in a south Seattle urban orchard. Bill Wanless is co-owner of brooke/wanless gardens, specializing in pruning of small trees, shrubs and vines. He is an ISA-certified arborist with 20 years’ field experience.

Comments on Bill’s last class: “Bill knew what he was talking about, had a nice demeanor, and seemed to really enjoy pruning.” “He made sure we covered all of the relevant content and answered our questions.” “Clear explanations. Good hands on demonstration.” “He knew the subject well.”

Oct 9 Planting Young Fruit Trees and New Tree Care, South Seattle. 10 am – noon Plant your tree this fall—before the ground gets hard—and get a head start on your fruit. The class covers site selection, fruit tree selection (how large? What type?), where to buy fruit trees, how to plant them and how to care for young trees. Jana Dilley works on the Green Seattle Initiative with the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. She has a master’s degree in Forestry and in Public Affairs and has organized community tree-planting events in Seattle and California.

Organizations Offering Classes

The following organizations list their classes on our calendar. The idea is that we have a one-stop shop for all classes in the city related to fruit tree care and fruit preservation.

Community Harvest of SW Seattle
Friends of Piper’s Orchard
Seattle Tilth
Seattle Tree Fruit Society
Western WA Fruit Research Foundation

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City Fruit
PO Box 28577
Seattle, WA 98118