## Fruit Only Today

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/Q6vmwJl.jpg)

Today, I am going to take you with me to a meeting of the California Rare Fruit Growers in San Diego. I am a board member of this nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about growing fruit.

The club started almost 50 years ago with friends getting together in each other backyard's and sharing their successes and failures.

And of course, the seeds, plants, scion wood and the delicious fruit they were and are growing.

I have the pleasure to know some of the founding members and their gardens are truly remarkable.

50 years ago the world was a different place. No internet to search for information or to order just about anything one can think off from anywhere in the world.

It was the pioneer gardeners who traveled to Peru or to Colombia and brought back (probably smuggled) for example Cherimoya seeds. They planted them and kept records. And they shared that information first one on one, writing letters to each other. Later, they started a newsletter which my friend Alice remembers to hand-feed through a [Mimeograph machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph) which left them with dirty hands.

They worked hard to learn more and more and compiled an encyclopedia of their collective knowledge known as the CRFG Fruit Facts. Here is an example what you can find out about Cherimoyas in the [Fruitfacts](https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/cherimoya.html)

My Cherimoyas are not producing yet, but my guavas sure are.
![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/QbsXS1r.jpg)

I brought them to the meeting. After we listen to a speaker educating us from the proper planting techniques to pest control to species-specific care, we want to eat. Wouldn't you?

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/CuU3dF7.jpg)
Someone else brought guavas as well. There are so many different varieties. From the outside, they pretty much look the same. Not so when cut - as you can see.

One of our members brought this delicious prickly pear cactus fruit. I love to eat cactus! But I am not fond of fixing it. Even the fruit can have little stickies which can get you good.

I always use tongs when handling cactus! (If you read my last nopales blog post - insider joke. I almost made the same mistake again lol) 

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/x8p0mwK.jpg)

The Fuji persimmons are delicious and are one of my favorite fall fruits. I don't have a tree in my yard yet and am so glad that many others had a bumper crop this year. You can eat them crunchy like an apple or wait until they are soft like pudding. Both ways - delicious!!


![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/W8dJHMc.jpg)

Since CRFG is a volunteer organization and volunteers are hard to come by this day and age, we haven't had a refreshment person for a couple of years. So, we never know if anybody is bringing anything and we, the board members, are doing our best to have at least something on the table.

We try to find some unusual fruit to introduce to our members. Believe it or not but grapes fall into that category. Lately, so many new varieties have come to the markets and most are impossible to grow for the home grower. They are patented and under heavy guard. 

These grapes fit that bill

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/IRcZN3M.jpg)

Hope that you all are hungry now and will have some of this delicious fruit. We don't want it to get bad!

Do you have a gardening club in your area? And do you grow fruit as well? Which is your favorite to grow and/or eat?

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ihziFLl.jpg)

All images are my own unless otherwise cited.

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ihziFLl.jpg)

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![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ihziFLl.jpg)


![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/4eX5OtL.jpg)

![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/TaU4C9e.png)

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