North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[jeff <linuxasm@gmail.com>]

I've been thinking about inducements to join NAFEX and easy ways handle 
the work.  One idea that won't go away is a simple database of member 
plantings.  It has to be simple, easy to provide, and contain key 
information.  For me a count of what succeeds/fails by zone would be 
enough. I can look at the counts and tell when a plant is on the edge of 
its zone and how well it handles all the sub-zones. This is a crude 
measure, but improves over time.

 A membership committee could handle this and be given a free 
membership to NAFEX as thanks.  It could be a option on the membership 
form along with a box to automatically sign up for the ibiblio list. I'm 
wondering if a database like this would motivate anyone to join NAFEX?  
Would they be willing to provide the information?

One argument against this is that root stock and other information is 
needed. For myself, the success/fail counts will eliminate the need for 
details.   Promising plants can be research in archives and more 
information obtained. I can check success/fail counts in adjacent zones 
and get even more information.  This database could have saved me a lot 
of money when my orchard was started.
Jeff