UPCOMING PROGRAMSFeb 12, 2017, 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Florida State Fair- Citrus Celebration. We will need to get the fruit, store the fruit, wash the fruit, and cut the fruit in the days before the event, and serve the fruit on Feb 12. This event provides people the opportunity to taste a wide variety of citrus which they rarely otherwise would have the chance to experience . . . and is another fun activity for our new members! Bill Vega is our coordinator! WE NEED VOLUNTEERS. You must let Bill know you are willing to work so we have time to send you your state fair tickets.
Mar 12, 2017, 2:00 p.m., Christ the King. Members will lead a Grafting/Air-Layering Workshop. Bring rootstocks. You will graft some tried and true producers onto your plant. Grafting “tricks” your new trees into bearing earlier and allows you to select the fruit cultivar you want, regardless of the root stock you have planted. Air-Layering is a method of genetically duplicating your favorite trees. Spring in the best time of year for grafting and air layering because the sap is starting to flow and the trees are in their spring “growth spurt.” Apr 9 and 10, 2017. USF Plant Sale. Volunteers needed. This is a great opportunity to work with and get to know some of the most knowledgeable people in the club, to learn about what grows in our area (and to actually SEE the plants up close), . . . and to help our club raise funds for special events. May 14, 2017, 2:00 p.m., (MOTHERS DAY) Christ the King. Olives! Michael Garcia, Pres. Olive Growers of Florida. Olives are one of the oldest foods known, but they are not a fresh-off-the-tree treat. Fresh olives are bitter. But, cured or pickled olives–YUM! Olives are an easy step into the science of food preservation–with no canning jars, no boiling water, and no strict timing. You can cure green (unripe) olives at home by soaking in water and changing the water every day for a week (or a little more). For the salty olive flavor we crave, follow up with a brine cure. At your desired level of bitterness, pickle the olives in a vinegar, water, and salt solution. Water curing is not enough for ripe olives. Ripe olives will need to be stored for several months in sealed jars of brine. Fully ripe olives can also be dry cured–covered with pickling or kosher salt and stored in a wooden crate in an outdoor covered area for a month. Flavor your olives with spices to create your own gourmet treat! |
Gardeners Wienie RoastNew RFCI Member and Pinellas County Master Gardener Sandy Huff has invited RFCI members to join with The Rare Plant Network and the Safety Harbor Garden Club for a Gardeners wienie roast on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2017 from 11am – 2 pm at her home in Safety Harbor, FL. A $3 donation gets you a hot dog or two with the fixings (buns, ketchup, mustard, relish) , plus iced tea and water. Bring a side dish to share, and your own lawn chair. Wear old clothes, as you’ll toast your own wienie over an open smoky fire. Information on this will be emailed to RFCI members. If you have questions, or miss the email, please call RFCI president Sandra Kischuk at 813.935.7760. BIG CITRUS NEWS!Jan 8, 2017, 2:00 p.m., Christ the King. Speaker: Dr. Jude Grosser, University of Florida Professor of Plant Cell Genetics. (guest of George Campani).Dr. Grosser’s presentation about citrus research, and, in particular, citrus greening (huanglongbing), provided the first truly hopeful news we have heard in years about treating greening. UF is developing a number of greening resistant root stocks and greening resistant scions, but the big news is that greening is being controlled in already infected trees through the application of elevated levels of specific micronutrients. This type of slow-release fertilizer is not yet available on the market. More information to follow, when we get the information from Dr. Grosser about who we need to contact to expedite getting this fertilizer to market. Missing newslettersOur newsletter archives are fairly complete . . . but we are missing some issues. If any older members have any of the following issues, please contact Tom Schaeffer or Sandra Kischuk. The missing issues are: THANK YOU! President’s NoteHappiness is not something someone will hand me because I happened to be “sitting in the right seat” waiting for it to happen. Happiness comes when I am engaged in something productive, where I can see the results of my efforts. “Belongingness” happens when I invest my time and effort in a common cause, where the team effort produces more than I would be able to produce alone. To all our members: We love to see you at the general meetings. And don’t be afraid to volunteer–good things really do happen when you “show up!” PomegranatesPomegranates require a dormant period in order to produce fruit. With the mild weather we have had this year, the trees have not had the chance to go dormant. One of our members told me that the trick to making them go dormant when they have not lost their leaves is to strip the trees of their leaves. PineapplesIan Greig, our “Pineapple King,” informed the club on Sunday, January 8, that this month is the last month to plant pineapples. They need the hot summer months to produce their sweetness. |
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