Followup Pruning Workshop
2023-08-05 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | IL
This event is a followup summer pruning session on 25 young fruit trees planted as an edible trail in 2019. They were pruned is last March, with the club’s help.
Further summer pruning will be performed at this event on Saturday, August 5th at 10am. Meet at 199 Boat Club Road, Aroma Park, IL. See this post for more information.

MidFex 2023 Summer Picnic
2023-07-16 11:00 - 15:30 | IL
The Summer Picnic is a time for MidFEx to come together for a fun afternoon. This year our host is an innovative urban farm that is educating the community about the environment, agriculture, biodiversity, permaculture, horticulture, gardening, and social justice and health issues.
Also on the agenda for the picnic: silent auction, budding demonstration and budwood exchange
Setup is at 11am and lunch is at noon.
Check the Members Only page for event location.

Orchard Seminar: Defending Your Orchard From Four-legged Pests (Chipmunks to Deer): Planning and Techniques
2023-06-11 13:00 - 17:00 | IL
Event Description: Just because you plant a fruit tree doesn’t mean you get to eat the fruit when you have to contend with nature. Kevin learned the hard way that planning is a large part of adequately defending your orchard from four-legged pests.

What you plant, where, how to prune, fruit thinning, branch support and more all affect whether or not you get eat the fruit. Kevin will discuss these factors and also demonstrate many barrier and deterrence methods along with trapping.

Date: Sunday, June 11, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm
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.

2023 Kurle Memorial Lecture - Session 3 Amy Irish-Brown
2023-04-30 13:00 - 14:00 | IL
Amy Irish-Brown, retired Extension Commercial Tree Fruit IPM Educator, at Michigan State University reprises her participation in the Kurle lecture series to discuss research-based growing techniques and options for conventional and organic growers. With 32 years of experience advising growers, Amy provides important insights about the 2023 growing calendar as well as relevant academic projects underway at the University. Mechanical, chemical, and biological strategies for fruit diseases and pests for home-based orchardists are all on the menu.
Date: Sunday, April 30, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Zoom Meeting ID: See Grapevine Update notice or Members Only page.

2023 Kurle Memorial Lecture - Session 2 Christy Wilhelmi
2023-04-23 13:00 - 14:00 | IL
Christy Wilhelmi is the driving force behind Gardenerd. Her obsession with gardening began in 1996 on the balcony of her Los Angeles, California apartment. She specializes in small-space, organic fruit and vegetable garden design, consulting, and classes. Between 70-80 percent of her family’s produce comes from her garden of less than 300 square feet. She is the author of several books, including Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden (Cool Springs Press, April 2021).
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Zoom Meeting ID: See Grapevine Update notice or Members Only page.

The Bee & The Flower - Apple Pollination
2023-04-20 12:00 - 13:00 | IL
Presented by Christelle Guedot University of Wisconsin-Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is hosting a free series of online webinars focused on growing apples.
All of the Zoom registration links are on the following website: https://fruit.wisc.edu/webinars/apples/
UW-M is also running a berry webinar series, available here: https://fruit.wisc.edu/webinars/berries/
In addition to the webinars, a substantial list of online resources for apple growing has been assembled here:
https://fruit.wisc.edu/tree-fruit/apples/apple-resources/

Designing a Spray Program for Disease Control
2023-04-06 12:00 - 13:00 | IL
Presented by Leslie Holland University of Wisconsin-Madison

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is hosting a free series of online webinars focused on growing apples.
All of the Zoom registration links are on the following website: https://fruit.wisc.edu/webinars/apples/
UW-M is also running a berry webinar series, available here: https://fruit.wisc.edu/webinars/berries/
In addition to the webinars, a substantial list of online resources for apple growing has been assembled here:
https://fruit.wisc.edu/tree-fruit/apples/apple-resources/

2023 Grafting Workshop
2023-03-26 13:00 - 16:00 | Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL, 60022
Event Description: Find out what grafting fruit trees is all about. Learn the whys and hows with experienced grafters. A variety of member donated scion wood will be available. The purpose of the grafting workshop is to learn how to graft. Nonmember beginners will learn how to graft selected apple varieties on apple rootstock. If you’d like more information about grafting see the Grafting Page.
Date: Sunday March 26, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. THIS SESSION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and the less experienced or novice grafter. Please arrive on time. Lecture begins at 1:00 sharp.
Location: 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois. Go to the Linnaeus Room in the Regenstein Center building.
Parking: Parking is free for Chicago Botanic Garden members and members of gardens with reciprocal privileges. If you are not a member of the Botanic Gardens you will have to pay the parking fee. Visit Chicago Botanic Garden’s web pages for details on parking and membership. Chicago Botanic Garden
Event Details: THE AFTERNOON EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, but only the individuals actually grafting fruit trees will be allowed in the grafting classroom. Friends, spouses, and children are welcome to explore the grounds during the sessions.
Costs: Our workshop and guidance are free. However you will need to buy rootstock if you want to take home a tree. We will have a limited quantity of dwarfing apple rootstock available to lecture attendees at a cost of $5 each. Grafting requires a very sharp knife with a 2-3 inch blade. Bring your own medium-size pocket knife–we can sharpen it for you if needed, or purchase one at the workshop. Other supplies are available for purchase if you would like to continue honing your grafting skills after the workshop is over.
Map to workshop

2023 Event Set-up and Advanced Grafting
2023-03-26 09:00 - 12:00 | Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL, 60022
Setup Time: 9:00 am to 12 noon.

Advanced Grafting: 11:00-12:00 noon.

For MidFEx members if you’ve had any problems with your past grafts or grafting techniques, then let us help. We will have some of our most skilled members on hand to assist you.

Scion drop-off, Scion and Rootstock Pick up: 10:00 AM to 4:00PM

Pruning Workshop
2023-03-11 10:00 - 14:00 | IL
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 3 year old fruit trees planted along a public edible trail.
Many new fruit growers are perplexed about when and how to prune their young fruit trees. We will discuss and demonstrate strategies appropriate for each fruit type.
Date: Saturday, March 11, 2023
Time: 10 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 and map to the event.

2023 Kurle Memorial Lecture - Session 1 Ronald Perry
2023-02-19 13:00 - 14:00 | IL
Professor Emeritus Ronald Perry, Retired Chairman of the Horticulture Department of Michigan State University, returns to the Kurle Lectern to provide espalier growing techniques and to discuss his recent book, Espalier Fruit Plantings for Northern Gardens: Creating Fruit Trees (May 17, 2022).
Dr. Perry has more than 50 years of experience in fruit research and is recognized as a leading tree fruit pomologist due to his pioneering activities in support of the Michigan apple and cherry industries. Dr. Perry’s research includes rootstock selection, soil management, and fruit tree production.

Date: Sunday, February 19, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m. central
Zoom Meeting ID: See Grapevine Update notice or Members Only page.
