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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
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Index
California .............................. 14
Idaho ...................................... 9
Farm & Ranch Safety .......... 10
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................. 8
Washington ........................... 7
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