Home Orchard Education Center
A 501(c)3 non-profit centered around an established fruit-focused botanical garden, located in Clackamas County, Oregon.
HOEC offers horticultural education, volunteer opportunities, a venue for inter-generational connection, and fruit-focused CSA subscriptions within a unique Community Orchard setting. This special gathering place is a humming hive of community collaboration, and a hub for the distribution of fresh, local, naturally grown fruit.
Learn to grow, tend, and harvest fruit using sustainable methods. HOEC workshops offer hands-on learning opportunities that support organic fruit growing and orchard management. We welcome learners of all experience levels.
Grow and connect. Gain hands-on experience while connecting with like-minded food-growing enthusiasts! The HOEC community orchard is here to educate, contribute, and collaborate as we help to grow strong, local food systems and build community.
Become a part of our farm and take home a nourishing share of the fruit by joining our Orchard CSA or our Homesteaders Bounty bulk fruit box subscription! Enjoy the bountiful harvest with us.
Stay In The Fruitloop!
Sign up for our monthly newsletter, featuring educational content, announcement of new workshops, notice of scion, plant sales, and other HOEC Community Orchard events.
Join us in the HOEC Community Orchard for this hands-on workshop to learn how far to cut back your grape and kiwi vines without sacrificing their fruiting potential for the following year. Do you know where the fruiting zones are? How about spacing, supporting, and controlling that tangle of vines? We will talk about growth habits, site selection, and trellis design. We’ll make sure you leave at the end of the class knowing what part of these plants produces fruit, and having had the opportunity for some hands-on practice on our vines here in the Orchard!
Please Note: The kiwi portion of this class will be mainly demonstration, and the grape portion will be hands-on.
BONUS: All students will get to take home some cuttings to start their own plants! Please bring your own plastic bags, masking tape, and permanent marker for labeling.
Know Before You Go:
If you have them, please bring bypass hand pruners, loppers, and a pruning saw; If you don’t have your own, you may borrow from our stash.
Please bring safety glasses or other eye protection.
If you plan to take home cuttings, bring your own plastic bags, masking tape, and permanent marker for labeling.
All workshops are held outdoors rain or shine. Please dress appropriately for the weather!
Bring a water bottle.
Winter Weather Advisory:
If the CCC campus closes due to inclement weather, the Home Orchard Education Center will also be closed and any scheduled workshops will be rescheduled for a later date. Extreme weather closure alerts can be found here:https://www.clackamas.edu/
Refunds:
Due to limited class space, please note: workshops are non-refundable after purchase, with the exception of weather-related campus closures when rescheduling the workshop is not possible.
We look forward to learning with you!