Jim Bathgate
"Persimmons and other low chill fruit"

Along with wisdom from his extensive experience with persimmons, Jim will also be imparting details on growing other deciduous fruit trees in a warm climate.  

Gary Bender
"The Future of Tree Crop Agriculture in Southern California"

Gary Bender has been the Subtropical Horticulture Farm Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in San Diego County for more than 21 years.  Gary received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from UC Riverside in 1985 having worked on the cause for dry root rot of citrus.

Gary conducts a research and education program for approximately 3000 avocado growers and 1000 growers of other types of tree crops in the county.  His current projects include:
        Avocado Pruning Trials
        Avocado Bloom Spray Trials to increase fruit set
        Cherimoya girdling to improve fruit set without hand pollination
        Blueberry variety, irrigation and spacing trials
        Pitahaya collection at South Coast Field Station
        Avocado Root Rot rootstock trials

On a personal side, Gary's wife Patty is the 4H goat leader for Fallbrook and she has her goat herd, Gary's oldest son Tad is in his third year of vet med school at UC Davis and is training to be a horse veterinarian, his middle son Andy just graduated in mechanical engineering from San Diego State, and his youngest son Joel works for Homeland Security and is one of the plant and animal inspectors for the shipping terminal and the SeaTac airport in Seattle.

Julie Frink
“Choosing the best avocado varieties for your home garden”

I am curator of the Avocado Variety Collection at the South Coast Research and Extension Center.   I am also CRFG Avocado Specialist and past chair of the Orange County chapter of CRFG.  I have compiled a list of over 1500 registered or named avocado varieties.  During my presentation I hope I can help people find the avocado variety that is best for their location, space available and growing conditions.
I graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and was a classroom teacher in Garden Grove and Costa Mesa some years ago.  I also taught classroom music in Huntington Beach and have been a private piano teacher for 37 years.  I grew up on a farm near Pendleton, Oregon, and still am interested and somewhat involved in wheat production there.  



Kevin Hauser
"Growing apples in a warm climate"

Starting out as a hobbyist, Kevin’s involvement with apples has grown phenomenally over just a few years, to the point where he’s published a book on the subject and has become vigorously involved with propagating the trees.  

Mark Hoddle
"Potential New Avocado Pests for California from South of the Border"

Tom Del Hotal
“Optimal citrus pruning”

Tom will present citrus pruning designed to minimize the development of dead wood.   

Kern Hunewill
 "Growing avocados in marginal areas"

Kern loves everything about avocados except their lack of hardiness.  He has spent many days looking for avocado trees that have managed to live in his the Modesto area and produce good fruit.  Probably everyone in the Modesto area knows this avocado explorer and researcher!  He believes if you are going to do something, do it to the "nth" degree and never give up.
Kern has lived in Newman, Ca. for 58 years.  He’s been married to the greatest person on the planet for 35 years and has two perfect children.  He enjoys gardening, golf, fishing, hunting, going to the movies, being with friends, and learning new things.  He’s a past president of the Newman Rotary Club with 31 years of perfect attendance.  He’s worked for Yancey Lumber in Newman for 45 years and purchased the company in 2003. Kern has also served as a volunteer hunter safety instructor for the Ca. Dept. of Fish and Game for the last 16 years, is currently a volunteer golf course rater for the Northern Ca. Golf Association, and is a 21 year member and current president of the Turlock Mosquito Abatement District.  


John Kabishima

Ramiro Lobo
“Pitahayas”

Ramiro will discuss findings from his pitahaya plantings at the South Coast Field Station.  

Steven J. Markell
"Nutritional value of fruit"

Steven has a broad and deep background in both orthodox and complementary medicine and the role of nutrition in supporting human health.  He will discuss details of fruit nutrition and go on to take questions from the audience, a task he much enjoys.  

Roger Meyer
"Let's grow something different"

What can we grow that is unusual for our area? Roger will be talking about unusual plants he is working with to see how they do in southern California. He will bring potted examples of these plants and discuss how they are doing.

Tom Mortell
"Plant nutrients"

Tom will make a well-organized presentation that will include details of mineral nutrients and their effects on plant growth.  

Greg Partida
"An overview of avocados"

Greg will discuss the three races of avocados, rootstocks currently used, why we graft the trees, flowering of the trees, importance of weather, frost protection, irrigation and fertilizer needs and general cultural practices and insect problems.  

"Avocado culture: treating the problems"

Greg will discuss root rot, collar rot and sunblotch virus.  He will also cover what to do when the trees are hit by frost and how to prune avocados in order to maintain size and increase production.

Ben Poirier
"Fruits of the Myrtaceae family"

The Myrtaceae family contains many varieties of fruit trees, including guava, feijoa, rose apple, Surinam cherry and grumichama.  Ben will share his extensive experience growing and propagating such plants.  

Charles Portney
"Feed the soil, not the plant"

Chemical fertilizers are manufactured to give a temporary boost to plant growth without regard to the long-term health of the soil.  Organic methods in contrast emphasize long-term sustainability, where plant growth is stimulated not with a temporary “fix” but with improvements to soil health.  Charles will discuss how the organic approach generates these lasting improvements to the soil.  

"Plant propagation"

As an avid gardener Charles has grown and propagated a great variety of plants.  In this talk he will share his broad and deep experience with plant propagation. 

Pieter Severynen
“Perfect Orchard - Happy Owner: how to keep your fruit trees and yourself happy, healthy, and productive, the natural way”  

Part I: Beginners' Basics
“Beginners' Basics” is an introductory and refresher course.  Pieter first takes a broad look at how fruit trees function. In a lively and richly illustrative style he explains their biology, photosynthesis, transport and storage of food, buildup of trunk and branches and self repair mechanisms. He then paints the underground jungle picture of roots and mycorrhizae, soil types and microbiota. Next he briefly explains water management, nutrition and fertilization. He shows why performing a site analysis before you do any planning or planting results in a better functioning orchard. Pieter then demonstrates how to guide nature with a gentle hand, preventing tree diseases and pests by keeping trees healthy, and using natural means as opposed to harmful chemical ones where ever possible.
 
Part II: Veteran's Views -Advanced Techniques
This builds upon knowledge gained by the veteran fruit gardener or acquired in Part I described above. Here Pieter contrasts the trees' needs and wants with our demands for unusual, out of locale, tasty fruit, high production, easy pickings, great looks, low maintenance and communion with nature. He shows why with the best of intentions we so often do not get the results we want because we don't know the trees' requirements (they are alien species after all), but how our understanding of proper plant functioning is the basis for successful trees and happy fruit growers. He explores tree selection, planning and placement in greater detail and demonstrates many unusual pruning and other tree guidance techiques. Optimum mulching, watering, fertilizing, maintenance and integrated pest managment are reviewed, and Pieter shows how some sound engineering choices in our orchards coexist happily with our emotional and artistic decisions.

Edgar Valdivia
“Semitropical fruits for California”

I retired from the computer industry and have been a member of CRFG for about 11 years. Because I was born in Peru, I grew up enjoying many delicious fruits, some of which are unknown here in the states. This led me to CRFG, where I found a group of wonderful and enthusiastic growers of rare fruits. In the last eleven years I have been growing semi-tropicals under very challenging weather conditions (extreme heat/cold).  I have researched and developed quite a few hybrids (pitaya, passion fruit, citrus and quince), most of which have turned out to be successful—delicious!  

Rick Yessayian
"Fruits from pole to pole"

Rick has traveled a lot and has a keen eye for the fruits that grow in different parts of the world.  His talk will include fruit photos from Australia, South America and North America through Alaska.    

"Frozen Desserts"
Rick will describe how to turn fruits into ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, etc.