[Sca-cooks] Fw: Request from Akim

[Phlip]

Just got the following message from Akim. Desp[ite repeated requests from
both me and from Akim, Gunthat hasn't responded to either of us, to see what
we can fix so Akim can post again, so I suppose I'll just hafta forward his
messages along. Go ahead and post your responses to the List, y'all- he can
read them, and I'll be happy to forward anything he has to say.

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well
please.
And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the
consequences. -- P. J. O'Rourke

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Diamond Randall" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>
To: <phlip at 99main.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2004 12:19 AM
Subject: Request from Akim


>  RE: A Period Orchard
>
>
> Hi y'all,
> Getting ready for spring at Cumberland Centre here in Middle Tennessee,  I
was out this weekend doing Spring chores in the orchards. The need to expand
period varieties in the Centre orchards is very much on my mind, but if the
trees start producing fruit in quantity, I can see where I might
> have a lot of rotting fruit lying around due to the inconsistency
> of SCA market needs. I have an idea that might take care of this and also
might be interesting to SCA-COOKS.  So many of you are so knowledgeable(dare
I say fanatical?) about the minutiae of period recipes, but in many cases
getting document ably accurate ingredients is really tough (especially if
the critter is extinct).  I have orchards here on the property that I am
growing personally to make period produce available to cooks and folks
holding events at the Cumberland Centre.  This is not an official program of
the Centre, but one I make available for the educational aspects of the
Centre. For those of you not familiar, my home is on site on 50 acres which
is leased by the Cumberland Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies,
Inc. which, like the SCA, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (see:
www.cumberlandcentre.org ! ).  The Centre's purpose is basically to make
affordable facilities for groups like the SCA to hold events and offer
classes in period subjects.  At any rate, the idea I have possibly could
> be very useful to SCA-COOKS in particular, even if you live too far away
to participate.  Perhaps this could be considered a model idea for other
areas as well if a willing manager with the right land could be found.
>
> I have located some new sources of extremely rare period fruit trees (I
have to have them custom grafted though). I think that the source even has
> found a living tree of the thought-to-be extinct British 12th century
> Costard apples. It would be wonderfully educational to have an
> orchard full of these period varieties. Eventually, perhaps I could even
> begin grafting them myself for fruit tree sales to the SCA. But I don't
> want to go to the expense and trouble if no one will PICK AND USE the
> fruit.
>
> How about a crop share program? I can order and plant these rare trees
> on a lease basis. I can plant and tend the trees and show them off to
> SCA visitors attending events at the Centre and more importantly, help
preserve these ancient genetic lines as well. A tree leaseholder would have
rights to say 80% of the crop from "their" tree(s) and a limited amount of
> sampling/tasting would be available for educational purposes at the
> Centre. I have available period apples, quinces, medlars, plums and
> hopefully pears, peaches and apples. Of course, I am not personally
> going to pick and pack the fruit, but would email status reports 2 or
> 3 times a season. A Spring report would tell how the tree has grown,
> how it fared over the winter and if it got past frost damage and
> actually set fruit. A early Summer report would tell about how much
> fruit is on the tree and a Harvest report would advise when the
> exp! ected harvesting dates would be. Of course, this would be a long
> term lease affair payable yearly and transferable. The leases would
> start with the newly planted trees (for a minimal rent until it
> reaches bearing age) and would extend for a 10 year or so period of
> its best production years. After that, the tree would be "retired" to
> the Centre's use perhaps or the Centre getting a share of the crop?
> Perhaps a reasonable range is $25 initial lease to plant it; $10 per year
until it starts bearing and then $20-$30 per year after that depending on
whether the tree is a full size standard or a semi-dwarfed one. I think this
is an idea tailored for those folks with black thumbs, no land or
> perhaps a shire or cooking guild could even sponsor trees. The
> pruning, spraying, fertilizing and other things that have to be done
> would have to be covered by the lease price. In order to do this kind of
> thing on a working farm,I need to be able to show reaso! nable income to
the IRS to show a profit occasionally. Of course,there are no guarantees
that individual trees will live, set fruit or not suffer normal chances of
damage from deer, insects, etc. But these are the things you would have to
chance with trees on your own property. I would think that I (and possibly
Centre volunteers interested in learning orchard skills) would gain greater
expertise in managing a diverse orchard in a reasonable time and be better
prepared to tend the trees than the average person as we have the interest
in their period importance as well.
>
> What do y'all think? I am suggesting that interested Meridies folks and
folks from nearby kingdoms get together at Meridies Kingdom A&S which is
being held here at The Centre on Memorial Day weekend and further discuss
the viability of the concept. I would greatly appreciate your ideas and
comments, particularly as you all are the main folks who would have the
greatest use of this kind of agricultural produce.   This is a proposal/idea
for discussion: I am not leasing trees until a great deal of thought has
gone into this idea.
>
> Akim Yaroslavich
> "Je fais mal, donc je suis."
>
> --- Diamond Randall
> --- ringofkings at mindspring.com
> --- EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet.
>
>