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MidFEx, short for Midwest Fruit Explorers, is a non-profit organization of amateur backyard fruit growing enthusiasts. Most of our members live in the counties surrounding Chicago.
Gene’s 40” apple tree (click to take a tour)
We are crazy about the best tasting, most flavorful fruits that grow well here. We are also interested in growing special, superior and unusual fruits regardless of their appearance or commercial appeal. This includes little known varieties of apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes and nuts; and more unusual fruits such as the pawpaw, mulberry, persimmon, fig, juneberry, Asian pear, and hardy kiwi. Our members locate, graft, propagate, test, grow and swap these superior fruiting plants, and then get together and share their knowledge.
MidFEx has a video depository located at midfex at vimeo.com. Here you will find videos covering topics such as t-bud/chip bud grafting techniques.
Members receive the Grapevine, our periodic newsletter.
The June 2021 Grapevine was distributed to email recipients on 6/7/2021. The print version was mailed to USPS recipients on 6/10/2021. Archived copies of the Grapevine can be viewed on the Members Only page.
- Summer Picnic
Event Description: The Summer Picnic is a time for MidFEx to come together for a fun afternoon. Al has been in his current home since 1975, and he began planting fruit trees shortly after he moved in. Al’s orchard includes around 45 varieties of apples some multiple-grafted onto larger trees many on dwarf rootstocks many as espaliers, 6 varieties of European pears some as espaliers, 6 varieties of apricots, 2 varieties of persimmon (plus a “boy”), 6 pawpaw, 4 plum, gooseberry and other ribes, raspberry, serviceberry, quince (both fruiting and “flowering”), 1 cherry, 1 nectarine, 1 peach, 2 Asian pears, 1 Medlar tree, and a beehive all on a 1/2 acre lot.
The meal will be served at noon and the club will provide the main entree, beverage and dinnerware. The side dishes and desserts are pot luck, so it is time for you to show off your cooking and/or baking skills and bring something to share.
Volunteers should arrive around 10 am to set up. Lunch will be served at noon. The business meeting will start at 1.
Also on the agenda for the picnic:
Silent Auction: Bring your surplus gardening related items to the picnic for auction. Examples include fruit trees and non-fruiting plants, along with books and gardening related tools. Then bid on some truly unique items and take home some bargains for your garden. Members often graft more trees than they have room for (for insurance) and donate their surplus successes to the auction. Many also take this opportunity to divide those overly crowded garden plants knowing their donations will go to good homes. Proceeds from the auction benefit the MidFEx treasury.
Budding Demonstration: Get an up-close look at summer budding techniques. Ask questions and get answers from experienced members.
Budwood Exchange: Share budwood of desirable or unusual varieties with other members to try your own hand with summer budding. Look for budwood collection and storage instructions in the Grapevine.
Date: Sunday July 11,2021
Time: Setup - 10am, Lunch - Noon
Location: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Directions: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Event Details: This event is for members and guests of members. See your Grapevine newsletter or the Members Only page for additional details.
- Orchard Tour
Event Description: Kevin lives on an 80x120 ft corner lot planted rather intensively with perennials and many types of fruit – many of them still juveniles.
Among them: apples, sweet cherries, Asian pears, European pears, persimmons, plums, pawpaws, butternut, chestnut, apricot, and fig.
Kevin also has an avid interest in pollinators with examples of attractor plants.
Date: Sunday July 25, 2021
Time: 1pm
Location: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Directions: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Event Details: This event is for members and guests of members. See your Grapevine newsletter or the Members Only page for additional details.
- Orchard Tour
Event Description: The first thing Tim did when he moved into his home in 1997 was to plant an apple tree. Then he attended a grafting session and his passion for fruit trees grew exponentially.
Among the fruit Tim is growing: sweet and tart cherries, peaches, plums, apples, pears, apricots, quince, currants, and blackberries. Tim is also an avid beekeeper.
Date: Sunday August 29, 2021
Time: 1pm
Location: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Directions: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Event Details: This event is for members and guests of members. See your Grapevine newsletter or the Members Only page for additional details.
- 2021 Harvest Festival
Event Description: The Fall Harvest Festival at the Chicago Botanic Gardens is our largest public event, fund raiser, and membership drive all rolled into one. It’s a fun exciting experience and a great opportunity to socialize and network with MidFExers while learning the virtues of growing your own fruit. Members bring in fruit for display, and on Sunday starting at 2pm, people are invited to sample the display fruit. [Harvest Fest]
MidFEx will be selling wonderful tasting less commonly known apples, fruit butters, and apple cider. We will also be demonstrating cider pressing and answering any questions you have about growing fruit.
Show Date & Time: Saturday October 16, 2021 10am - 4:30pm
Show Date & Time: Sunday October 17, 2021 10am - 4:30pm
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden
Directions: 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois.
Parking: Parking is free for Chicago Botanic Garden members and members of gardens with reciprocal privileges. Visit Chicago Botanic Garden’s web pages for details on parking and membership. Chicago Botanic Garden
Event Details: This event is open to the public.
- Recent Events
In-person events were cancelled in 2020 and early 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are examples of events that are typical and what we will be getting back to post pandemic.
- Apple Cider Social
Event Description: Cider pressing the old fashioned way with MidFEx’s own cider presses.
Date: Sunday November 3, 2019 (Note - Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 4)
Time: 10am - until we run out of apples
Location: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Directions: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Event Details: This event is for members and guests of members. See your Grapevine newsletter or the Members Only page for additional details.
- Summer Pruning Workshop
Event Description: This will be a follow-up to the winter dormant pruning session on April 14th of this year. These trees had been neglected for several years so attendees will get hand-on experience with renewal training. Please join us even if you did not attend the April session.
Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019
Time: 11 am
Location: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Directions: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Event Details: This event is for members and guests of members. See your Grapevine newsletter or the Members Only page for additional details.
- Top Working and Reworking Apple Trees Workshop
Event Description: Oriana will be leading this seminar on top working some common variety apple trees over to cider varieties. She will also be demonstrating methods to recover mature apple trees that have been incorrectly pruned in the past.
Date: Sunday April 28, 2019
Time: 9:30 am until 3 pm
Location: See the Members Only page
Directions: See the Members Only page
Event Details: This event is reserved for members and guests of members. See the Members Only page for additional details. - Pruning Workshop
Event Description: MidFEx pruning workshops provide a unique opportunity to hear varying pruning techniques and philosophies discussed and see them demonstrated. We will be pruning to rejuvenate mature apple and pear trees that have been neglected.
You may inevitably be faced with what to do with an old apple or pear tree which has not been pruned for say ten years. What do you do? How do you approach the task? We will try to determine how to prune these trees.
Date: Sunday April 14, 2019
Time: 11 am
Location: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Directions: See Grapevine or Members Only page
Event Details: This event is reserved for members and guests of members. See your Grapevine newsletter or the Members Only page for additional details.