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2 CapitalPress.com September 1, 2017 People & Places A passion for exotic plants Jim Gilbert grows rare cultivars that produce fruit at his Oregon nursery Western Innovator Capital Press Jim Gilbert Occupation: Owner of Northwoods Nursery Hometown: Molalla, Ore. Family: Partner, Lorraine Gardner, and four grown children Age: 73 Education: Bachelor’s degree in Russian Language from Portland State Universi- ty in 1997 Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Quote: “I’ve always liked growing edible things. It’s not just ornamental, it actually gives you something.” Jim Gilbert has combined an interest in Russian with an interest in unusual fruit-bearing plants at Northwoods Nursery near Molalla, Ore. stan, Ukraine and Belarus. He also traveled farther east, col- lecting rare persimmon variet- ies in South Korea and pine- apple guava in New Zealand. Unusual varieties Among the nursery’s sig- nature products are unusual varieties of common fruits, such as columnar apples, which gardeners with small yards favor for their vertical tree structure. Gilbert has also found success with previously little-known American fruits, such as pawpaws. Nursery stock that produc- es fruit has generally been more resilient during econom- ic downturns, he said. “I’ve always liked growing edible things,” Gilbert said. “It’s not just ornamental, it ac- tually gives you something.” Originally, Gilbert spe- cialized in chestnuts, black walnuts, black locusts and Norway maples, but he had his fruit “breakthrough” in the mid-1980s because of the popularity of hardy kiwis. As he delved deeper into rare cultivars, Gilbert found that some information wasn’t readily available in English — prompting a reacquain- tance with the Russian lan- guage, which he studied in high school and college. Aside from easing plant research, his increased pro- ficiency in Russian helped Gilbert complete his bache- lor’s degree in the language in 1997, which he’d begun roughly three decades earlier. These days, Northwoods Nursery grows hundreds of varieties of roughly 60 types of fruit on 66 acres, with about 60 percent of the production dedicated to containers and the rest to bareroot stock. Managing this broad as- sortment of species isn’t easy, he said. “For a lot of plants, there is no guidebook. You have to figure it out on your own.” Labor challenge He is now facing a problem common in agriculture: insuf- ficient labor. Despite strong demand for his products, Gil- bert’s growth is constrained by a dearth of employees. “It’s a really frustrating sit- uation,” he said. “We’re going to cut back on what we grow.” Labor shortages forced Gilbert to sell off his retail op- eration, One Green World, in 2015, allowing him to focus on wholesale marketing to in- dependent garden centers and mail order nurseries that sell through catalogs. However, his nursery op- eration is finding ways to im- prove efficiency and make the best use of available workers. For example, employees now graft buds onto trees with Parafilm — a wax-based ad- hesive — rather than plastic tape, avoiding labor later in the process. “It breaks down on its own. You don’t have to go back and cut the tape,” Gilbert said. He’s also covering rows of plants with sheets of plastic — thereby suppressing weeds while reducing water usage and boosting growth. He also recently invested in a more ef- ficient potting machine. “There have been some major changes in the way we do business,” he said. College selling tickets, soliciting sponsorships for fall Harvest Fest By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press REDDING, Calif. — A community college agricul- ture program is selling tick- ets and signing up sponsors for its annual fall fundraiser on Oct. 7. Shasta College’s annu- al Harvest Fest will feature tours of the college’s 90-acre farm and a dinner with local- ly produced food and bev- erages at the adjacent Ross Ranch. The ranch is owned by the McConnell Founda- tion, a local philanthropic organization. “This year is going to be better because we’re back in a ranch and farming setting,” said Trena Kimler-Richards, an agricultural instructor and Calendar Tim Hearden/Capital Press File John Livingston, a heavy equipment instructor at Shasta College in Redding, Calif., shows off a 1956 McCormick Cub tractor at the agriculture program’s annual Harvest Fest last year. This year’s festival, a major fundraiser for the program, will be Oct. 7. program coordinator. Last year’s dinner was held at a Sponsored by: To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@capital- press.com. Through Monday, Sept. 4 Oregon State Fair. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. Website: https://oregonstatefair. org/ Twin Falls County Fair. Twin Falls County Fairgrounds, 215 Fair Ave., Filer, Idaho. Events include the Magic Valley Stampede PRCA Rodeo, con- certs, monster trucks, carnival and many other features and activities. Website: http://tfcfair.com/ Through Friday, Sept. 1 Idaho Grower Shippers Asso- ciation 89th Annual Meeting. Sun Valley Resort, 1 Sun Valley Road, Sun Valley. On behalf of the board of directors and convention committee chairman Weston Crapo, members are invited to join the IGSA for educa- tion, fun and business at its 89th An- nual Convention in Sun Valley, Idaho. Website: http://bit.ly/2wkjkQU Friday, Sept. 1- Saturday, Sept. 9 Eastern Idaho State Fair. 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Eastern Idaho State Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Mike Omeg Corporate Officer Heidi Wright Chief Operating Officer By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI The combination of two obscure passions — for the Russian language and exot- ic fruit — led Jim Gilbert to success in his career as a nurs- eryman. Gilbert launched his nurs- ery roughly a decade before his first visit to Russia in 1990, when the communist Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse. There, he discovered un- common varieties of seaber- ry, honeyberry and Cornelian cherry, among others, to bring back to his Northwoods Nurs- ery near Molalla, Ore. “I had a feeling of opening up a treasure chest,” said Gil- bert. In the Soviet era, a lot of Russia’s agricultural research was devoted to home garden- ers, he said. While commercial production was carried out on collective farms, many fruits and vegetables were grown by city dwellers on small inten- sively managed plots. “That’s how people sur- vived, by growing their own food,” Gilbert said. Plants that can endure Russia’s brutal winters are often suited to growing in the Pacific Northwest, where they still experience the necessary winter chill but not extremely low temperatures. Over time, Gilbert expand- ed his network of plant con- tacts in former Soviet states, such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz- Capital Press nearby community center. “We’ll be able to come www.oxarc.com and beyond. Website: www.theheir- loom.com Friday, Sept. 1- Sunday, Sept. 24 FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food — One-Day Blended Course. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Hilton Garden Inn, 1741 Harrison St., Twin Falls, Idaho. The new Food Safety Modernization Act regulation requires every pro- cessing facility to have a trained resource person or “Preventive Controls Qualified Individual” who has completed a specialized train- ing course (such as this one) that was developed by the Food Safe- ty Preventive Controls Alliance and is recognized by the FDA. This person will oversee the im- plementation of the facility’s food safety plan and other key tasks. Jeff Kronenberg, an assistant pro- fessor at the University of Idaho and Food Safety Specialist at TechHelp, will offer this One-Day FSPCA Blended Course as an alternative to the traditional 2.5- day course. Cost: $330. Website: www.techhelp.org Tuesday-Friday Sept. 5-8 Western Apicultural Society’s 40th annual conference. University of California-Davis Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, Davis, Calif. Bee Culture magazine editor Kim Flotton will address “The Rapidly Changing Bee Scene;” beekeeper and author Les Crowder will discuss managing honeybees in top bar hives; and bee expert Larry Connor will cover “Keeping Your Bees Alive and Growing.” Cost: $225. Website: www.westernapicul- turalsociety.org/ Tuesday-Thursday Sept. 5-7 The National Heirloom Expo. Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, Calif. The 6th Annual National Heirloom Exposition will feature a wide array of natural vendors and speakers from across the country 4 p.m. and include student presentations about various projects. The dinner will be held under a big tent and will include chicken and pork produced at the college as well as locally produced beer and wine. The event will also fea- ture live music and silent and live auctions of donated goods. Tickets are $35 in ad- vance or $40 at the door and can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/2wKGboj. Ta- ble sponsorships are avail- able by filling out the form at https://www.facebook. com/shastaagriculture/ . For information, contact Leimone Waite at (530) 242-2210 or Kimler-Rich- ards at (530) 242-2209. GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE Fairgrounds, 97 Park St., Blackfoot, Idaho. Website: https://funatthefair. com/ Washington State Fair. 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. Fairground in Puyallup, 110 9th Ave. SW, Puyallup, Wash. The Washington State Fair, commonly referred to as the Puyallup Fair, is the largest single attraction held annually in the state of Washing- ton. Closed Tuesdays and Sept. 6. Website: www.thefair.com/ right through the gate and take the farm tour over here,” she said. The festival was start- ed several years ago after the ag program survived a budget crunch in 2009 and needed to find ways to generate revenue. Proceeds from the event fund lab projects, farm dormitories, logging sports and equip- ment and work with live- stock, organizers said. The farm raises live- stock, hay and other com- modities, and its dormitory program immerses students in the operation. It’s now a money-maker for the com- munity college district, sell- ing premium goats, pigs and cattle. The tours will begin at Wednesday, Sept. 13 Thursday, Sept. 14 Food Safety Internal Auditor Workshop. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Hilton Garden Inn, 1741 Harrison St., Twin Falls, Idaho. A comprehen- sive audit system is essential to a company’s food safety and product quality. It provides con- firmation that systems and pro- cedures are operating effectively and identifies areas that require improvement. The Internal Inter- nal Auditor Workshop will teach 20 Northwest Locations you how to conduct internal au- dits in your facility against one of the GFSI Audit Schemes, which are becoming a standard for the food industry as a tool for assur- ing food safety and regulatory compliance and have become a customer requirement for many processors. Many of the schemes require formal, documented train- ing for personnel who conduct internal auditing. This one-day course will provide attendees with a full understanding of audit requirements as well as promote personal professional develop- ment. Cost: $330. Website: www. techhelp.org Friday, Sept. 15 2nd Annual Rice Weed Course. 8 a.m.-4:25 p.m. Rice Experiment Station, 955 Butte City Highway, Biggs, Calif. Website: http://cesut- ter.ucanr.edu/ Saturday, Sept. 23 Goat Education Day. 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. OSU Southern Oregon Re- search and Extension Center Audi- torium, 569 Hanley Road, Central Point, Ore. Choose four classes from a selection of 11, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, for $35. Or choose two morning classes and cheesemaking in the afternoon for $50. Class topics are geared to both beginner and ad- vanced goat owners from Getting Ready for Kidding Season and Ho- listic Goat Care to the foundations of Nutrition and Feed and the Mak- ing of Goat Milk Soaps and Lotions. 1-800-765-9055 Presenters include Dr. Charles Estill, OSU veterinarian; Gianac- lis Caldwell, author; and Christina Strickland and others from the Rogue Valley Dairy Goat Associ- ation. Register online at http://bit. ly/JacksonGoatEdDay2017 or call 541-776-7371. Ask about a youth discount. Cost: $35 to $50. Web- site: http://extension.oregonstate. edu/sorec/SF-classes Friday, Sept. 29 Fall Forestry Educational Sem- inar. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Cowlitz Region- al Conference Center, 1900 Sev- enth Ave. SW, Longview, Wash. Sponsored by the Washington Tree Farm Program, this seminar includes information on managing and maintaining tree farms. ATFS certified tree Farmers are $70 ($105 with spouse), others are $80 ($120 with spouse). Register by Sept. 8. Website: watreefarm.org Tuesday-Wednesday Oct. 3-4 Drone World Expo 2017. San Jose Convention Center, 150 W. San Carlos St., San Jose, Calif. The Expo will feature a robust exhibit floor, visionary keynote speakers, timely and indus- try-leading educational programs and networking events. The busi- ness-to-business event attracts over 3,000 professional attendees from a variety of industries from agriculture to law enforcement. Website: www.droneworldexpo. com Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2017 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. 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Capital Press ag media www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo Index California .............................. 14 Idaho ...................................... 9 Farm & Ranch Safety .......... 10 Markets ............................... 13 Opinion .................................. 6 Oregon .................................. 8 Washington ........................... 7 Correction policy Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com. We want to publish corrections to set the record straight.
