No, we’re not talking high tech, we’re talking real, crunchy sweet apples. So how do you boot an apple? We’ll let Lily explain:
This is Lily writing to say that we have two interesting workshops or workparties or playshops or fun times (depending on how you look at these things) with fruit trees in Wallingford, coming up!
We are teaching people how to put nylon footsox (the kind one uses to try on shoes in public!) over baby apples (and possibly pears) while thinning less viable fruits. These nylons create a confusing and bizarre barrier for the ferocious apple maggot and apparently thwart its understanding of what the fruit actually is.
This potentially fun or at least interesting activity is taking place to protect the apples at the Good Shepherd Center, so that come Fall we can harvest maggot-free apples for hungry people at food banks, women’s shelters, senior centers and other places as well as protecting fruit for any hungry passing mammals who may not want to eat worms.
Don Rick of the Seattle Tree Fruit Society and/or myself(Lily So-too) of City Fruit and the Community Fruit Tree Harvest (Don’s a member of both of these as well but its awkward to include all of the organizational affiliations twice in a row) will be in the parking lot of the Good Shepherd Center on two Monday evenings, both the 15th of June and the 22nd of June from 5 pm to 9 pm.
People are encouraged (asked, begged, bribed?) to drop by the parking lot at any point during any of these four hours on either day to help, learn, gawk, bring cool beverages, lend us some ladders or play live music there in the place where Joni Mitchell’s “paved paradise” is half populated by fruit trees. Only in Wallingford could an orchard exist within a parking lot. The footies will be provided and we are hoping to protect as much fruit as possible.
People can feel free to email to me if they’d like any more information or to confirm that indeed this is a real event organized by real people!
May we all be well, free and happy!
Lily at [email protected]