HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-04-02, Page 1616 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Lucknow sees
spring on
the horizon
Ruth Dobrensky
Lucknow Sentinel
Imagine my surprise just after that lovely
snowstorm last Tuesday when despite the
snow, I saw three Robins in a tree outside my
window.
Speaking of that storm, I drove through it to
take Mrs. Andy Yoder down to Seaforth and it
was quite harrowing at times. But, after lunch,
the sun came out and you would never have
known it had been storming earlier that day.
By the way, half of Lucknow was in the same
clinic and one person said we should have
hired a bus.
While in Seaforth, we stopped in to visit
former Lucknowites Betty and Danielle Small
and Danielle's baby boy, Grayson, at their
shop Sally's. It was nice to visit with them and
catch up on their news.
The Lucknow Rumoli Club got together last
week to have their usual good time playing
Rumoli and eating and eating and having fun.
The ladies of St. Peter's Anglican Church
spent a fun -filled couple of days making beef
pies in the parish hall. Guess who was covered
in flour? Give up? It was me.
Last Wednesday night, the Lucknow Sepoy
Ranees spent a fun night at the Lucknow
Bowling Alley, as I predicted, my scores were a
joke, but, we did have fun and Anita put on a
nice lunch for us after we finished bowling.
Sympathy of the community to the families
of: Edith Dougherty, 98, Lucknow; Robert
Aitchison, 76, Lucknow; Wesley Keller, 82,
Teeswater (formerly Orangeville and
Shelburne); and Doreen Young, 84, Kinloss.
Ripley Apple project funded by Pine River Watershed
Troy Patterson
QMI Agency
The Ripley Apple project received a
financial injection from the Pine River
Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN) to
ensure the new species of apple tree has a
chance to take root across the region and
beyond.
The project, spearheaded by Bruce
Botanical Food Garden's Lynne Taylor,
will see a minimum of 60 trees grafted
from the 'Ripley Tree' selected during a
survey process at the 2013 Ripley Fall
Fair.
Taylor said the $3,390 provided by the
PRWIN will cover the cost to see the trees
grafted by Bruce County apple experts at
O'Keefe Grange at Dobbinton in Arran-
Elderslie.
"This money makes it all possible," said
Taylor. "These trees will be the only trees
from the Ripley Tree to be available and
carried all year. We're hoping to be able to
supply everyone who requests one."
O'Keefe's will be grafting both dwarf
and semi -dwarf trees using last year's
growth. Taylor said their hope is to offer
up one -foot high grafts through O'Keefe's
and the BBFG, so the 'Ripley Apple' can
grow from the single tree it's starting from.
Upwards of 100 cuttings have been taken
for this year, in areas where new growth is
considered disease resistent.
Taylor said people sometimes think
apple trees could be duplicated just be
using seeds produced by each apple, but
the reality is much different.
"Every single tree is genetically differ-
ent," she said. "Trees are pollinated by
many different ways, be in bees, animals,
butterflies. So the fruit itself is true to the
tree, but the seed itself is not."
The Ripley Apple Tree is thought to be a
combination of MacIntosh and Snow,
with a yellow colour and red streaks
where the sun shines on it.
The selection of the tree scrutinized the
taste and growth consistency, as well as
Troy Paterson QMI Agency
Bruce Botanical Food Gardens received a $3,390 injection into its Ripley Apple project last
week from the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network. Graftings of the Ripley Apple tree
will soon be available and preorders are being taken. L -R: PRWIN's Murray Jamieson and
Adrienne Mason presented the cheque to BBFG's Lynne Taylor on March 21, 2014.
ability to naturally fight off pests.
"It's a very pretty apple," she said. "It'll
be a lot of flavours in one apple. That's
what makes it special because of its mixed
heritage."
The BBFG location is also unique in its
positioning next to the former rail line. A
wide variety of heirloom fruit trees and
bushes are located there, partly from trav-
ellers disposing of their food waste before
arrival in Ripley. Using those same plants,
they hope to "invigorate" them through
care and nurturing so they grow strong
once more.
"We do have some very rare and endan-
gered food plants," said Taylor. "We'd like
to focus on that history and how this com-
munity was developed. It's a real
opportunity.
Food Tourism will be a major focus of
the BBFG and a demonstration of the
importance of fruit -bearing trees to com-
munities over the years.
PRWIN's Murray Jamieson said they
were happy to contribute to the project,
as their supporters are focused on refor-
estation using a wide variety of trees,
including fruit -bearing ones.
"It fits in with our agenda to get trees
planted," said PRWIN's Murray Jamieson.
"Private citizens who have been donating
seem to think this is a good spot to donate
their money to."
Taylor said based on the success of the
project this year, they hope to continue to
expand the project's reach across the
province and beyond.
"We want the Ripley Apple spread
worldwide," she said.
For more info visit www.bbfg.org
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