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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] project continuity/ contingency plans

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  • From: Heron Breen <breen@fedcoseeds.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] project continuity/ contingency plans
  • Date: Sun, 04 Sep 2005 21:52:28 -0500

Hi Tanis,
I have been trying to get "in" with a few places recently to establish
a "collection" of things I find interesting. My first idea is a high
school/primary
school/junior high situation where I try to offer my horticultural interests
as
free decoration within a current landscape plan. Of course all plants are
free as
well as my advice on how to care for them and place them. Seems a possibility
in
schools with an enviromental awareness class or activity. Offering to work
with
classes and do demonstrations of whatever horticultural you are interested in
helps
too. This approach is better with ornamentals, but I hope fruit tree can fit
into
this idea as well. I have had limited success thus far, with one specimen
planting
installed at a high school campus in my area. My stipulations are I can have
access
to the plantings at anytime for propagation.
My other idea has been to work with municipal dept or community garden clubs
to
distribute plants into public plantings, display gardens, and enthusiastic
backyards. Willingness to speak at garden club workshops about your hobby and
demonstrate propagation techniques is needed. I am experiencing some succes
in
these areas. Universities a sometimes an option, but I haven't seen that to
be the
case at our largest state U. The campus plan keeps changing and there is
little
promise that specimen plantings will not fall victim to foot-traffic or the
axe in
a few years. The university is considering a campus wide arboretum plan,
which
designs for plantings of this type, but they are not there yet.
I think a person must be satisfied with having their discoveries or works in
more
than one place. You have to be offering some excellent, unique, and
well-known
works for a whole collection in one place to be established. To me, the best
goal
is to get the variety or species into commerce. I am working with a nursery
much
larger than my own to offer any cool plants I bump into. I get no money out
of
this. Of course they will only attempt to sell the ones they think are
possible
sellers, but, hey, in a few years those few offerings could be in someone's
backyard, without them even knowing my name. I actually get joy out of that
idea of
anonymous beauty or edibility. The patenting technique is good, but I like
the idea
of someone liking the plant so much that they give propagated plants away to
friends and family as gifts. Even if something losses its ID and just becomes
a
family, local, or regional favorite with a generalized name, I think that
would be
great! Just as long as it is still kicking. I like people liking things so
much,
they don't bother with details. That is when would know I found something
good. But
to footnote all this, I really don't know if I have anything good yet!
Not much success thus far, but I have only been working at finding a few
places for
2 years,
Heron Breen
zone 4, Maine


On Thu Aug 25 16:17 , 'tanis cuff' <tanistanis@hotmail.com> sent:

>What kind of contingency plans are NAFEXers making for their plantings? I'm
>thinking mostly of those explorers who are doing increases on their
>collections of great selections, and breeders who are making crosses and
>looking 20 or 30 years ahead. For example, a plum breeder could lose a year
>just because of a cold at blossom time. Examples from the list include a
>nursery owner who had a temporarily disabling bike accident, & someone who
>had to move a 10-year-old orchard because of a land-use dispute, and most
>recently the death of Tom V of "Applesource" (which is a service rather than
>an orchard, but same principle applies.)
>
>I have a couple nice chance-seedling apples which I hope I'll share with
>enough people (and how many are "enough"?!) before I quit gardening in 4 or
>40 years. But I'd like to learn what the more serious explorers & breeders
>have planned for preserving/continuing their work.
>
>
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  • Re: [NAFEX] project continuity/ contingency plans, Heron Breen, 09/04/2005

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