[Sca-cooks] Fw: Request from Akim

[Elaine Koogler]

I think it's a grand idea, and would love to support it...but beyond 
having the joy of seeing a possibly extinct variety saved for posterity, 
I'm not sure how I personally could collect the fruit from the tree, 
living in southern Maryland.  Is there any way you could possibly come 
up with a way that we could have the fruit shipped to us...keeping, of 
course, a quantity of the fruit for your own purposes?  If that could be 
done, I think I could persuade my "sweetie" to let us participate.

Kiri

Phlip wrote:

>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.
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>
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>  
>

-- 
Learning is a lifetime journey...growing older merely adds experience to knowledge 
and wisdom to curiosity.
					-- C.E. Lawrence