Saturday March 4, 11am-1pm (bees) &  2pm-4pm (trees)

Come to one or both of these hands-on workshops, in which you'll learn the basics of tending for native pollinators and pruning the apples, pears, and plums they help fruit!

11-1: bees.  Mason bees are solitary bees, meaning they don't form colonies and aren't susceptible to the hive collapses that threaten the global food supply.  They are more active in cool, moist mornings than honeybees, and their remarkable lifecycle means they gather a year's supply of food -and do all their pollinating -in the spring when fruit trees are flowering.  Learn how to tend them and increase your flock and buy some farmgrown bees at a discount (if you wish).

2-4: trees.  Fruit trees - especially apples and pears, and to a lesser extent, plums - thrive with yearly pruning to encourage fruit production and minimize bough breakage and disease.  Late winter is the perfect time to prune for structure and fruiting; we'll discuss and demonstrate examples of how to train and prune young trees, repair years of neglect in mature trees, and how to maintain a balance of fruiting wood and young growth.  Bring your own sharp loppers or secateurs if you want to practice!

$25 suggested donation for each session (no one turned away for lack of funds).  Bring a lunch, if you plan to stay for both sessions. To register, or for more information, contact brush@tryonfarm.org

Workshop presenter Brush, TLC Farm's orchardist, has been tending fruit trees at TLC Farm for ten years, and cultivating mason bees for five.  He is especially infatuated with the cider and perry trees he has grafted and nursed that should bear first fruits this year.

Natural Building Work Parties - Weekends, April-May
Bloom Spring Celebration - Sunday, June 10
Village Building Convergence - June 1-4
Apple Fest - Saturday, September 22
(more events to be added, as the year evolves)

We hope to see you here in 2018!