NAFEX

Starting a New Orchard: Lessons Learned - A Virtual Interest Group Meeting
2024-01-30 19:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | ZOOM
Join us Tuesday, January 30, for our monthly NAFEX Interest Group meetup on lessons learned starting a new orchard. NAFEX members Josh Fuder and Matt Stevens will lead the conversation.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!

Future Apples and Pears - A Virtual Interest Group Meeting
2024-03-26 19:30 - 21:00
Are you curious about what’s going on in the world of apple breeding besides crispy apples? Maybe the future releases of a 100 year old pear breeding program peak your interest? Either way join us on March 26th as Christopher Gottschalk, Ph.D. of the USDA ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station discusses these topics and more.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!

Cicada and Lanternfly - A Virtual Interest Group Meeting
2024-04-30 19:30 - 21:00
Are you worried about your fruit trees and the billions of cicadas that are about to emerge? Perhaps invasive lantern flies have started to make their way to your area and pose more of a threat? Join us as Douglas Pfeiffer Ph.D. of Virginia Tech discusses how to deal with these pest pressures and provides tips to safeguard your own trees.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Rediscovering Lost Goldrush Era Fruit Trees - A Virtual Interest Group Meeting
2024-05-28 19:30 - 21:00
Does the thrill of the hunt to rediscover California gold rush era fruit trees intrigue you? Maybe you’ve heard of the work of the Felix Gillet Institute or the man himself. Join us to discover how a team of fruit detectives and preservationists search abandoned ghost towns and the countryside for 100+ year old fruit trees. Learn how the Felix Gillet Institute works to preserve lost heritage fruit trees and bring them back for future generations to enjoy.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Pawpaw 101 and KSU Pawpaw Program Update - A Virtual Interest Group Meeting
2024-06-25 19:30
What’s new in the world of pawpaws? Join us for an evening of discussion about North America’s largest fruit with Dr. Kirk Pomper of Kentucky State University who will provide insights into all things pawpaw and an update on the KSU Pawpaw program. Come with your questions for one of the country’s foremost experts on pawpaws.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Beneficial Birds: Rewilding our yards and orchards to control pests - A Virtual Interest Group Meeting
2024-07-30 19:30
Learn how to support raptors and other beneficial birds in fruit growing operations to manage pests. Ashley Chesser with Wild Farm Alliance and Dr. Catherine Lindell from Michigan State University will provide an overview about how and why to incorporate birds into the farm landscape and some specifics about the use of American Kestrel boxes. Participants will learn about the behavior and ecology of birds and their role in providing ecosystem services and disservices in agriculture landscapes. Dr. Lindell will share results of her team’s studies to investigate the value of attracting predatory American Kestrels with nest boxes in cherry orchards to diminish the number of fruit-eating birds.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Concepts for Understanding How Fruit Trees Work
2024-08-27 19:30 - 21:00
Join us for an evening of discussion on understanding how temperate deciduous fruit trees work and how growers can efficiently manage tree fruit orchards. Dr. Ted Dejong of UC Davis University will provide insights into working with fruiting trees within the orchard setting highlighting peaches, plum and nectarines. Come with your questions!!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Food Forests - Community Orchards
2024-09-26 19:30 - 21:00
Join us for an evening of discussion about food forests and community orchards. Josh David of the Bloomington Community Orchard in Bloomington, IN will introduce the concepts of establishing forests in communities and highlight topics from planning and design to maintenance and community input. Come with your questions!!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Pollination for Production
2024-10-29 19:30 - 21:00
Are you interested in promoting pollinators in your backyards or orchards? Join us for an evening of discussion about bee biology and how habitat relates to having bees present at bloom-time. Dr. Rufus Isaacs of Michigan State University will also discuss establishing a wildflower habitat and sources of funding to support seed purchase, and habitat establishment.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Interest Group meeting is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Winter Scion Wood and Pruning
2025-01-28 19:30 - 21:00
This is the 1st of 3 townhalls. We will have an open discussion about winter collection of scion wood and also discuss pruning. February will also be focused on pruning and grafting. We hope that many of you can show up and add your questions and expertise to the open discussion and converse with your fellow members!!
Have a favorite brand of pruners or saws show us!
Found a way to keep your scion stored for a longer period tell us about it!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Grafting, Rootstock and More
2025-02-25 19:30
This is the 2nd townhall with an open discussion about rootstock choices and grafting. We hope that many of you can show up and add your questions and expertise to the open discussion and converse with your fellow members!!
Have a favorite grafting tool to show us!
Tell us your favorite grafting method, and why!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Starting Your Own Small Nursery
2025-03-25 19:30 - 21:00
NAFEX member Larry Stephenson and owner of Southern Cultured Orchards and Nursery will be sharing the in’s and out’s of getting your own business going. Come with your questions for this very informative talk.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Cold Hardy Fig Production
2025-04-29 19:30
For our April Meetup NAFEX President, Kris Heeter, will be talking with us about a USDA-SARE Partnership research grant on cold-hardy fig production.
Kris will be sharing the details of a funded partnership that is studying a number of cold-hardy fig varieties in Zones 5 and 6, planting techniques, and winter protection to produce local fig production. Value-added products from these varieties will also be discussed.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

USDA Pomological Paintings: History and Uses
2025-06-24 19:30
Join us June 24th for an evening of discussion about the USDA Pomological Watercolors. NAFEX Board Members will discuss their history and usefulness beyond their aesthetic value. We will provide some tips on how to use the paintings to support your own fruit exploration efforts or just how to enjoy and understand these treasures.
Between 1886 and 1942, USDA’s Division of Pomology commissioned artists to create illustrations of thousands of fruits and nuts. A historic botanical resource, the Pomological Watercolor Collection, which is housed at the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland, contains 7,497 watercolor paintings, 87 line drawings, and 79 wax models created by approximately 21 artists.
USDA botanists introduced thousands of plants and fruits through exploration around the globe in an effort to advance agricultural endeavors in the United States. Additionally as people across the country created new cultivars, or varieties, through hybridization, the US Department of Agriculture set out to document them with a national register of fruits. The paintings indirectly became a way of patenting discoveries and inventions through breeding before a formal patent system existed in the US.
In order to ensure color accuracy, watercolor—rather than photography—was the preferred medium. These technically precise paintings were used to create lithographs illustrating USDA bulletins, yearbooks, and other series distributed to growers and gardeners across America.
These valuable paintings represent the rich history of fruit development and introduction to the US. Today the pomological watercolors are used by historians and fruit explorers to identify fruit based upon phenotypical characteristics in an effort to identify fruit trees and possibly rediscover lost heirlooms.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Orchard Resilience Through Homegrown Soil Fertility
2025-07-29 19:30 - 21:00
Join us July 29th for a discussion with NAFEX Board member Ryan Watson who also works at the Giving Grove. He will be talking with us about improving soil fertility for tree health and also give us some background into the Giving Grove.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Preserving Heritage Fruit Trees
2025-08-26 19:30
Join us August 26th for a discussion with Leslie Duthie of the Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston MA.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Cultivating Connections: Fall Harvest Show and Tell
2025-09-30 19:30
Join us September 30th for a open member discussion about this years fall harvest.
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Growing Tropicals in Temperate Zones
2025-10-29 19:30
Join us October 29th for a discussion on growing tropicals in temperate zones
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Integrated Pest Management
2026-01-27 19:30 - 21:00
Join us for our January 27th session with this month’s interest group speaker Rick Weinzierl of Weinzierl Fruit and Consulting, LLC. Rick will be speaking to us about Integrated Pest Management specifically in apple orchards and covering some stone fruit. He will be highlighting conventional and organic methods of pest management for small orchards to backyard growers. A retired entomologist from the University of Illinois Rick has his own orchard and consults with large commercial orchards. Bring your questions and join us!!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Grow Your Own Grapes
2026-02-24 19:30 - 21:00
Have you ever thought about growing your own grapes but felt a little stuck on where to start? Join us on the evening of February 24th for a Zoom session with Alice Wise from the Cornell Cooperative Extension. She’s going to walk us through all the basics—from picking the right spot and the best varieties to tips on getting a great harvest and keeping those pesky pests away. It’s going to be a great informative evening so bring your questions!!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org

Mechanical March
2026-03-31 19:30 - 21:00
Let’s talk tools! Do you have a favorite tool that makes your life easier? Want to tell us about it? Join us on the evening of March 31st for a Zoom meeting where members share about their favorite tools. Don’t have a favorite? Come anyway and see and hear what others are using!
The meeting will be held on ZOOM and by phone from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central time. This virtual NAFEX Townhall Meetup is FREE with your $19 NAFEX membership. Find the ZOOM link and call-in numbers in your inbox or on our member Interest Group page. Plan to join us!
Not a member yet? Join for $19/yr and get access to this ZOOM meetup and all past recorded meetings and conference settings! www.nafex.org
