Save the Date: Fruit Fest — Fig (and Fruit) Cutting Swap Day PLUS Make-up SEED SWAP

 

Bring your friends and family! There will be cuttings (and SEEDS) available for everyone — you do not have to bring cuttings to participate — though sharing is highly encouraged!

Expect a mix of:

• Fig varieties (common, heirloom, and regionally adapted favorites)
• Fruit tree and shrub cuttings (where seasonally appropriate)
• Berry plants and vines?
• Other edible and perennial fruiting plants?
• PLUS Native and adapted flower and vegetable SEEDS!

We’ll also have expert growers and educators on hand throughout the day sharing tips on propagating fruit from cuttings, fig care in North Texas, and choosing varieties that actually thrive in our soils and climate. 🌳✂️

A few notes:

• The event is completely free and drop-in friendly.
• If you bring cuttings, please label them clearly with:
  • Common name (and cultivar, if known)
  • Approximate origin or parent plant (yard-grown, nursery, etc.)
  • Any useful notes (flavor, vigor, cold hardiness, growth habit)

 

Cutting Tips:

Please bring dormant, healthy, disease-free cuttings. Bundle and label each variety and keep them cool and slightly moist for the trip. To keep everyone’s gardens safe, avoid bringing anything with pests, spots, or signs of stress, and skip invasive or overly aggressive plants. We’ll have a few bags and labels available, but bringing your own is always helpful.

Seed Tips:

Please bring clean, dry seed and label everything clearly with the plant name, variety, and any helpful growing notes (like stratification or light needs). We encourage sharing non-invasive, regionally appropriate plants only, and ask that seeds be free of disease or chemical treatments.

Seed Swap Speaker Schedule & Talk Descriptions

9:00 am

Rooted In Opens: Begin setting up your swap donations

 

10:20–10:50 a.m.

“The Science of Sweetness: What Makes a Fig Taste Great?”

 John Wright – Proprietor of Two Doves Bees and Garden, beekeeper and garden educator

Discover why figs grown in North Texas can taste unbelievably sweet — and how you can grow your own rich, flavorful harvest right at home. In this engaging session, we’ll break down the simple science behind fig sweetness and share practical, gardener‑friendly tips that make a real difference. Whether you’re a seasoned grower or just fig‑curious, you’ll walk away inspired, confident, and excited to taste the difference in your own backyard.

10:50–11:00 a.m. — Q&A

 

11:00–11:30 a.m.

Falling Fruit: A Fruit-lovers Journey plus Tips for Success

Anh Ainsworth- North Texas fruit grower known for cultivating a wide range of uncommon, heirloom, and hard-to-find varieties

Join Anh for a practical, experience-driven look at growing fruit in real North Texas conditions — from everyday favorites to rare and unique finds. Drawing on years of hands-on trial, error, and success, he’ll share the variety choices, techniques, and seasonal strategies that have earned him a reputation as a local fruit-growing guru, with tips you can apply to build a more productive, resilient backyard orchard.

11:30–11:40 a.m. — Q&A

 

11:40 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

Air-Layering Basics: Growing More Plants from Propagation

Joshua Quast- Local Expert fruit tree propagator/grower at Timber County Farms

Learn the simplest, most reliable way to clone your best fig tree through air-layering — creating new, fully rooted plants while the branch is still attached to the mother plant. Joshua will cover timing, tools, step-by-step technique, and aftercare for consistently high success rates, plus how this same method can be used to propagate other fruits and woody plants so you can multiply your harvest without buying more trees

12:10–12:20 p.m. — Q&A

12:20–1:20 p.m.

Lunch Break

1:20–1:50 p.m.

Eat the Yard: Designing your Food-Scape

Daniel Cunningham- Owner, Rooted In; horticulture educator focused on sustainable, practical gardening

Learn how to turn your yard into a productive foodscape with fruits, nuts, and berries that actually thrive in North Texas heat, clay, and drought. We’ll cover what to plant, where to put it, and how to design for years of reliable harvests — so your landscape finally earns its keep at the table.

1:50–2:00 p.m. — Q&A

 

2:00–2:15 p.m.

Buffer / transition time

 

2:15–3:00 p.m.

Wrap-up swap, speaker meet-and-greet