At our November meeting we had the double pleasure of hearing from TWO horticultural experts in their respective fields, and their presentations both contrasted and complimented each other in fascinating ways.

Alice Wise spoke to us about the scientific  and practical challenges of growing grapes and producing wines on Long Island. She is the Senior Issue Educator of the Grape Program at Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE-SC), and she shared her extensive knowledge of the grape growers and vintners of Long Island. 

It was so interesting to learn that the first winegrape vineyard on LI was begun just 50 years ago and that there are now 70 wine producers, 25 wineries, and 3000 vineyard acres on the island! 

After this fascinating presentation, John Helsey engagingly brought us into the practical, "Hands-On" world of farming, with a focus on Apple Growing.

John expressed appreciation for the research being done by CCE-SC, as he and his family and workers concentrate on experimenting and problem-solving to grow their varieties in the most ecologically sound and sustainable way. We learned about such planting and growing principles as developing shorter trees for easier harvesting, the reasons for grafting, and why to plant trees on a V-shaped trellis (also for ease of picking).

John set up a display of bags of apples representing many of his varieties and generously invited the audience to sample the apples and take some home! All were delicious!He also invited us to visit the family store in Water Mill. It's called Milk Pail https://www.milk-pail.com

Thanks to Alice and John for a most delightful and informative presentation!