The class was very informative, not as hands-on as I had assumed, but very valuable in the sense that you could see, touch, and study the cuts that had been made. I was particularly interested in learning more about pruning plums, and also just really interested to see Dr. Randall’s application of permaculture philosophy to his land. The day began with a brief introduction to basic tools, the importance of disinfecting them, and some history of the property. We then divided into three groups, and rotated about the grounds discussing pruning and training 1.) apples, pears, and jujubes; 2.) plums, peaches, and nectarines; and 3.) blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
The instructors were all great, clearly very knowledgeable, and very patient with my contstant questions and interruptions (especially Nancy). After the class, Scott and I got to hang around for a while with Dr. Randall, and see all sorts of things I had only read about: kat mandarins, sancitrange hybrids, the Cormon’s Harlem fig, the original Mysteak/Nagle fig, and on and on. WE easily could have stayed all day, and Dr. Randall was very generous with his time (and fruit), but we had to get back. I plan on heading back down for Part 2 in a few weeks, hopefully Scott will be able to join me again.