Open House at Luther Burbank Experiment Farm

• Visitors can join a docent tour and learn why Luther Burbank was one of the most famous men of his day, along with Edison and Henry Ford, as they stroll around the paths.
• Kids love to make rope with the antique rope machine that they turn by hand.
• Burbank’s historic cottage will be open where you can see the photographic exhibit of the history of the farm and buy strawberry rhubarb jam, plus boutique aprons, books and gifts.
• Plant sale, including culinary herbs, 5 varieties of tomatoes, Jalapeno peppers, Hollyhock, Delphinium, and succulents as well as the regular favorites.
• Refreshments, including popcorn, lemonade, and homemade baked goods.

Schedule:

• 11:00 a.m. — Shaping Not Pruning your Fruit Trees, all Summer Long
  Have you always thought that trees can only be pruned while dormant? That water-sprouts or suckers are always bad? This slide show debunks and replaces common winter-based pruning myths with scientifically-proven guidelines. You will learn how to mostly abandon your pruning shears yet have a more bountiful harvest than ever. And, for example, how to use toothpicks and rocks to increase yields. Speaker: Robert Kourick
• 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. — The Real Roots Story
  The roots that provide sustenance and support for all plants have a profound effect on every garden in the world, yet because they’re out of sight, many people, even gardeners, harbor common misconceptions about them.  Speaker Robert Kourik will root out many commonly-held false notions about these essential subterranean penetrators, to reveal numerous common growing practices which are gravely in error in their use of water, fertilizer, mulch and planting techniques and to demonstrate the kindest and most productive way to treat these much-abused underground friends.