Past Newsletters


1995-Present WCFS BeeLine (past two years available to members only)
1990-1994 Western Cascade Fruit Society Newsletters
1985-1989 WCTFA/Western Cascade Fruit Society Newsletters
1980-1984 Western Cascade Tree Fruit Association Newsletters

To search for topics, press CTRL key with “f” at same time to open a search box.

  • 2019 04 Fall Beeline  Cosmic Crisp; WA 38 Cosmic Crisp; SWD; Rising temperatures and red apples; Firecracker red flesh; Humic acid; Crows; Neem Oil; Apple-Pear Dessert; Hard Cider Nurseries; Kiwifruit project; Apple sleuths Northwest; Dulcet apple; and Chapter news
  • 2019 03 Summer Beeline  Peaches, Leaf Hopper Management, Honey Crisp Bitter Pit, Cover Crops, Cotton Soil Test, Harvesting Pears, Cherry Bacterial Canker, Hazelnuts, Wild Honeybees, Plum Problems, “Cascade Premier” Raspberry, Tree Fruit Nurseries, Apple Custard Pie, Cherry Pruning, American Chestnut Genetically Engineered, Soil Evaluation, Managing Earwigs, Chapter News
  • 2019-01/02 Winter/Spring Beeline   Managing Codling Moth; Phytophthora Crown; Bee Attractant Paste; Cosmic Crisp Management; Pest Management; Cover Crops and Voles; Tree Trraining; Native Farmers in Yakima Valley; Blueberries and Hypertension; Bloom; Remembering Tom Wood, Centralia; Apple Replant Disease; TOC podcast; Boulder CO Tree Legacy; Tree Fruit Research ARS; Peach, Plum Rootstocks; Blackberry Seed I.D.; Best Ever Pear; Hardy Kiwi; Apple Tree Architecture; and, Chapter News.
  • 2018 04 Fall BeeLine  NCGR Tissue Culture Phasing Out; Interstem Research Grafts for Dwarf Pears; Fall Nutrients; Callery Pear Nightmare; Cider apple cultivars; Herbicide-resistant weeds; Pears – picking & pollination; Ginger Pear Preserves; Urea Spray for Cherries; Peach Tree Leaf Spot; Apricots, Pluots, Plumcots, etc.; Blueberry soil acidification; Apples for Storage; WWOOF Organic  Farming; Managing Phosphorus; Dan’s Favorite Fig; Pruning in cold temperatures; Pruning 1-2-3; Calcium Myth; Brown Marmorated Stink Bug; and, Brewer’s Yeast for SWD.
  • 2018 03 Summer BeeLine  Growing Hazelnuts in the Pacific Northwest; Thinning Season; WCFS news; Apple and Pear Scab; Roots; Deraeocoris bug (a good guy in pear orchard); Unappreciated Quince; 70 years of Van Well Nursery; Growing Figs in Pacific Northwest; China’s Cherry Production; Chapter News; and some recipes – Salsa and Cherry Cloufuti
  • 2018 02 Spring BeeLine  BIFC and Johnson Farm; Orchard Pesticide spraying; Codling Moth and CYD-X; Honeycrisp Bitterpit; Antique Apples; Cordon Method; Best PNW Pears; WCFS News; Geneva Rootstocks; Cosmic Crisp litigation; More lost apple varieties; Aphid Trap; and Vermiculture
  • 2018 01 Winter BeeLine  Propagation and Grafting Events, Quince Pear Rootstock, Amelanchier Rootstock, Book Review on The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada by Daniel J. Bussey, Growing Figs in the Northwest, Yellow Bellflower, Bloom thinning, Myth of Collapsing Root Balls, and Eating for Healthy Lungs.
  • 2017 04 Fall BeeLine   ‘WA 2’ / Sunrise Magic;  Diploids, Triploids, Etc; Soil Testing Labs; Warren Pear;  Red Fleshed Apples;  Boron Tissue Levels; Fungicide Sprays;  Coddling Moth;  Pesticide Fragrance;  Beyond Soil pH Berries;  Veterinarians/Public Health; Nutrient Deficiency; and  Organic Hydroponic Issue
  • 2017 03 Summer BeeLine  OOS Blossom Blast, Cosmic Crisp Apple, Improving Soil, Applesauce Cake, Blue Stain Disease, Cherries Health Benefits, SWD Management, Lost Apples of Palouse, Lost Apples of PNW, OOS Heritage Trees, Townsend Apple, Planting Natives, Adaara Interstem Study, Peach Leaf Curl, D’Anjou of Coulee City in 1910, US Patent and Trademark, Ambrosia Patent Opens Up, Stone Fruit Pollination, and, WA State Fair.
  • 2017 02 Spring BeeLine   Steam Cleaning Cantaloupes, Growing Cantaloupes, Taylor’s Gold pear, Apple Burr knots, WCFS Report, Marlene Falkenbury, Why Graft Fruit/Nut Trees, ODA Insect Pests, Prune to Reduce Shoot Growth, Pruning Figs, Pruning Apple Trees, Best Wildflowers to Attract Bees, Hand Pollination, Grape Diseases, Himbo Top (TM) Raspberry, Leafhopper Little Cherry Disease, and Hewes Crabapple.
  • 2017 01 Winter BeeLine  Temperate Orchard Conservancy, WCFS News & Classes, Biochar, Apple Types, Pruning, Dormant Spray, DNA Fingerprinting, Bitterpit, Disinfecting Scion Wood, and Fair Awards
  • 2016_04_Fall BeeLine   Memorial Service for Bob Hartman, Tahoma Chapter; Xylella fastidiosa; Pectin Test; Zestar!; Pear Ripening; Braiding Fruit Trees; Earwigs; Apple Fruit Maturity; Mycorrhizae; Apple Cider Vinegar; Pear Pie; BIFC Johnson Farm Renovation and OOS Fruit Forum.
  • 2016_03_Summer BeeLine   WA Fair WCFS Booth, AYLS in kiwifruit, Erik Simpson’s Nut Trees, Chestnuts on Olympic Peninsula, Safe Mushrooming, Apple bitter pit, Summer Pruning of Apples and Pears, Cherry Fruit Bud Hardiness, Sour cherry research, Cherry crisp recipe, High-Tunnel Peaches, Beekeeping, Plants that repel bugs.
  • 2016 02 Spring BeeLine – Ft. Vancouver apple tree history, Pierce County Gleaning, Triploid Apples,  Book of Pears Review, Fast Track Fruit Breeding, Marty’s Discovery,  Red-fleshed apples,  Root-stock mistakes, Chill Hours, and  Blueberry Viruses
  • 2016_01_Winter BeeLine – New Apple Varieties, Xylella fastidiosa bacteria prompts Oregon quarantine, pear diet and video, pruning vocabulary, growth stages, WWOOF, Forgotten Fruit, Hunt for Tinmouth (hard cider apple), PFC Grafting Show, Scion protocol, rootstock propogation, citrus grafting, WSU Extension classes
  • 2015  04 Fall BeeLine – Fall Fruit Show calendar, Pear pruning, Pollinator Bee Trees, Myth of Replant Disease, Temperate Orchard Conservancy, Portrait of Bob Purvis – Fruit Explorer.
  • 2015  03 Summer BeeLine – Fruit Thinning, Chemical Control of Insects, Liebig’s Law on Nutrients, and SWD Host Plants.
  • 2015_02 Spring_BeeLine – Fruit Tree Sprays and Treatments, WCFS Annual meeting, Plant Patent Law, Blueberry care, VIFC Sunrise Orchard Update, Soil Organic Matter, Backyard Orchard Culture, Quince Pear Compatibility, and Hard Cider Training.
  • 2015_01_Winter_BeeLine – Bainbridge Island Fruit Club, Mollie’s Delicious Apples, Old Home / Farmingdale, Navy and Apple Corps ID, SWD, Scionwood Sources, Weeds Improve Soil, Powdery Mildew, 250 varieties in one tree
  • 2014_04_Fall_BeeLine -HOS-NAFEX-CRFG,  VIFC 10th Anniversary,  Temperate Orchard Conservancy, Berry Netting, Quince Recipes,Cider References, Sea Buckthorn, Carmel Spice Pear Butter, Antibiotics
  • 2014_03_Summer_BeeLine – Blossom Blast of Pears, SWD Lures, Summer Pruning, NAFEX meeting, Confessions of a Figaholic, Fertilization, Blueberries, Currants, new Bainbridge Chapter.
  • 2014_02_Spring_BeeLine – Apple ID Program, Table Grapes, HOS-CRFG-NAFEX Meeting 2014, Rootstock Propagation, Permaculture, Weeds & Soil, Chapter Field Days, Bee Die-off, Fruit vs. Shade, Bitter Pit, Blueberries Mummy Fungus,
  • 2014 01 Winter BeeLine – Notes from Joseph Postman, Curator of the USDA Pear Repository, Pear characteristics, Common Pears in Sequim area, Early Growing Pears, Pear Seed Germination, Pear Pie, Extinct apple Fall Jeneting, Blueberry Propagation, Apple Scab Fungus, and Carrot Rust Fly.
  • 2013_04_Fall_Beeline – Fruit Tree Soils 3, Myth of Cloxored Clippers, Plant Diseases, Apple Mosaic Disease, Pearleaf Blister Mite, Summer Pruning.
  • 2013_03_Summer_Beeline – Updated WCFS Website, Newly Grafted Trees Advice, WCFS Research Awards, HOS and NAFEX 2014, Pigeon Fertilizer,  Fruit Tree Soils 2, Creating a Better Apple Tree, Heat Units, Capitol Reef N.P. Orchards, Limited SuperMarket Apples, Tent Catepillars, N.Y. apple Protocal for a High Density Orchard, Chocolate Cherry Recipe
  • 2013_02_Spring_BeeLine – Fruit Tree Soils, Extended Saddle Graft, Passive Solar System, Tomato Varieties, Hunting Extinct Apples in Whitman County, Figs
  • 2013_01_Winter_BeeLine– VIFC Demo Orchard, Scion Wood, Stone Fruit from Seed, Fruit Taste Taste, Bug Notes, Choice Pears, Composting Manure
  • 2012_04_Fall_BeeLine – Salt Spring Island Apple Festival,  Hover Flies, Alaska Pie Cherries, Coddling Moth Traps, Peachtree Borer, Orchardist McGraw, Orchard Spray Rates
  • 2012_03_Summer_BeeLine – WCFS Cherry Trial, Orchard Insects, Colony Bee Collapse, WSU Apple breeding, Vinegar Weed Killer
  • 2012_02_Spring_BeeLine – NW Grafting Shows, Norton’s News, New Chapter Snohomish County, Apple Stories, Puyallup Wallop, Pruning 1-2-3, Rootstocks
  • 2012_01_Winter_BeeLine – Blueberries, Storing Fruit, Pear Trellis Rust, Best Apples for Western Washington, New Snohomish Chapter
  • 2011_04_Fall_BeeLine – Fruit Fairs, Apple I.D. program, Heritage Orchards, Iron Phosphate Bait, Tomatoes, Shipova, Fig Uses, Chapter News
  • 2011_03_Summer_BeeLine – Germplasm Repository, Fruit Facts, Seed Storage, Plant Cherry Seeds, Sweet Cherry Beginnings
  • 2011_02_Spring_BeeLine – NW Grafting Shows, Apple Tasting, HOS Fair, Mason Bee Fungus, Orchard Calendar, Food Ordinance, Ancient Apples, Carlyn Cooks, STFS
  • 2011_01_Winter_BeeLine – Cherry Trial Update, What is That Apple?, Apple Daze,  Saving Apple Scion, OOS Formal Tasting, Anthracnose Control, Don’t Top That Tree, More on SWD, What are These Red Bumps – EFNS, Event Calendar, Pimento de Patrone, Fertigation NW Trees, Mycorrhizae
  • 2010_04_Fall_BeeLine – Fairs and Festivals, Kiwi, Figs, Peppers, Native Grapes, Plant Migration, SWD, Rose Hip Marmalade, Fairs and Fruit Shows, Gibberellic Acid
  • 2010  03  Summer  Beeline – Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), Fall Fruiting Strawberries, Thinking Inside the Boc, Organic Food Act, C M Emergence, Apples for Lebanon, Nutrition Rules, Sequim HS Grafting, Food Safety Act, Cherry Liquer
  • 2010_02_Spring_BeeLine_Corrected – Spotted Wing Drosophila  (SWD) Attack, WWFRF Research Program Status, Seedless Table Grapes, WCFS Cherry Rootstock, Mason Bees in Trouble?, NOP Amendment, Anthracnose Control, Magnificent Medlars, Rescue Pears, GF 120NF Naturalyte for Apple Maggot, Carlyn Cooks
  • 2010_01_Winter_BeeLine – Figs, Summer and Fall Fruit Shows, Bumper Raspberry Crop, Vogel’s Views, Made Scientist, Book Review, Quince Jam, Hoop Remesh Compost Bins, American Japanese Fruit Expedition, Haskap Arrives in N. America, Winecrisp Apples
  • 2009_04_Fall_BeeLine – Strawberries in winter, Apple Trees for Sale, Sequim Locally Grown Mercantile, Accessing the Forum Archives
  • 2009_03_Summer_BeeLine – Cultiavte Kiwi in Your Backyard, Kiwibob’s Training and Pruning Basics, Summer Fruit Festival and Plum Symposium, Vogel’s Views, Book Review – Minerals for the Genetic Code by Charles Walters, Cherry Rootstock Trials, Salt Spring Apple Festival, Mad Scientist, Heritage Apples
  • 2009_02_Spring_BeeLine – Hunter’s Mason Bee Programs, Homestead Apple Press, Vogel Views, Big Box Stores or Local Nurseries, Cherry Espalier?, Arden Berry, Book Review – Weeds and Why They Grow by Jay l. McCaman, Louis Bromfield, Let’s Grow Soil Workshop, Growing an Apple Tree in a Container, Garden Shed Comeuppance, The Apple Midge
  • 2009_01_Winter_BeeLine – Finding Our Roots – A Study of Vashon Island’s Fruit Growing Heritage, Growing Sequim Tomatoes from a Cache Vallety Process, Marveling in the Diversity – Applefest 2008 Salt Spring Isalnd, Grape Grower’s Report, After the Pressing, Make Your Own pectin, Recipes,  Beediverse – the Mason bee People,  2008 Washington State Fair pictures
  • 2008_04_Fall_BeeLine – When to Pick Pears, Fast-Spoiling Pear Mystery Solved, Seed Saving and Fermentation, WCFS 20 Year History, Bud Grafting, Japanese Plums in Seattle, Understanding Lichens, Calcium Foliar Spray for Cherries, Apples & Pears, Dutch oven Cooking
  • 2008_03_Summer_BeeLine – Fruit Growing with Water Efficiency, Critical Temperature for Frost Damage on Fruit, Soil Amendments for Planting Fruit Trees, Red Fleshed Apples, Puget Sound Grape Culture, champix tablets online Salt Springs Island Excursion, Myth Busted – Storing Scionwood, Mad Scientist, Gleaning, Rhubarb Recipes, Vashon’s Fruit Growing Festival, Beeswax in the Americas
  • 2008_02_Spring_BeeLine – Scion wood Storage, 2008 WWFRF Calendar, Composting, George Washington Bush Brought American Chestnuts to Tumwater, Do They Grow Apples in Italy, Grapes and Currants, Mad Scientist, Origins of Red and Golden Delicious Apples, Mostarda (Italian pear condiment)
  • 2008 – 01 Winter BeeLine – Northern Italy Tour, Spindlebush Method, Italian Horticultural Labor Issues, Big Crop in Second Leaf, Varroa Mite in Hawaii, Choosing a Fertilizer, Owen’s Square Graft, Elemental Sulphur for Blueberries
  • 2007_04_Fall_BeeLine – Honey Bee Colony Decline, More on Colony Collapse Disorder, Plant Blueberries, Blueberry Haven Farm Fall Tour, Watercore, Hybrid Grapes for the Puget Sound Region, Mad Scientist – Understanding Underused Understock, Mincemeat Recipes
  • 2007_03_Summer_BeeLine – Cherry Cultivars, Spinosid, Organic Fertilizer, Disappearing Bees
  • 2007_02_Spring_BeeLine – Italy Tour, Footie Trials, Glowing Cole Apple Mystery, Mad Scientist, Keep Tools Sharp, Saving our Future by Preserving Past, Cedar Apple Rust
  • 2007 01 Winter BeeLine – Not Published
  • 2006_04_Fall_BeeLine – Snohomish Chapter Welcome, Loganberry vs Boysenberry, Mad Scientist, Search for Prinlew Plum , “Jeanne” Gooseberry, Apple Maggot, Global Warming in Pt. Townsend,  Permaculture
  • 2006_03_Summer_BeeLine – Pest Control Resources, Aromatnaya Quince, Tom Wood’s Greenhouses, making Vinegar, My Favorite Apple, Mad Scientist
  • 2006_02_Spring_BeeLine – Betsy Sestrap Interview, Blue Ribbon Winner, Pears of Mantovane, Mad Scientist
  • 2006 01 Winter BeeLine – Not Published
  • 2005_03_Summer_BeeLine – Salt Spring Island Festival, Hard Cider & Wine in Skagit County, Controlling Apple Maggot & Codling Moth, Mad Scientist
  • 2005_02_Spring_BeeLine – Fall Fruit Show Reviews, Zing Cherry from Turkey, Root Bags, Collecting Scionwood Tips, Walnut Grafting Tips, Dr. Eichman’s Petal Spray, Persimmons, Grafting Asian Persimmons, Training Grapes, Yucca
  • 2005_01_Winter_BeeLine – Pleasures of Eating by Wendell Berry, Montrose Apricot and Dester Plum, Olympia Apple, Mad Scientist
  • 2004_01_Winter_BeeLine – WCFS at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show
  • 2004_02_Spring_BeeLine – Salt Spring Island Festival, WCFS Hat Sales, Apple Festival celebrates Albert Etter, Effective Apple Maggot Control, Wynoochee Early Apple, Tayberry, Whip & Tongue Grafts
  • 2004_03_Summer_BeeLine – (Incomplete – missing pages 18-21) Figs in Early Olympic Games, Figs for Puget Sound Region, Conversation with Lois Twelves, NOFC, Permaculture, Walnut wine, Grafting Analysis
  • 2004_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 2003_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 2003_03_Summer_BeeLine
  • 2003 – 02 Spring BeeLine
  • 2003 01 Winter BeeLine – Not Published
  • 2002_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 2002 03 Summer BeeLine – Not Published
  • 2002 02 Spring BeeLine – Not Published
  • 2002_001_Winter_BeeLine
  • 2000_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 2000_02_03_Spring_Summer_BeeLine
  • 2000_01_Winter_BeeLine
  • 1999_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 1999_03_Summer_BeeLine
  • 1999_02_Spring_BeeLine
  • 1999_01_Winter_BeeLine
  • 1998_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 1998_03_Summer_BeeLine
  • 1998_02_Spring_BeeLine
  • 1998_01_Winter_BeeLine
  • 1997_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 1997_03_Summer_BeeLine
  • 1997_02_Spring_BeeLine
  • 1997_01_Winter_BeeLine
  • 1996_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 1996_03_Summer_BeeLine
  • 1996_02_Spring_BeeLine
  • 1996_01_Winter_BeeLine
  • 1995_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 1995_03_Summer_BeeLine
  • 1995_02_Spring_BeeLine
  • 1995_01_Winter_BeeLine
  • 1994_04_Fall_BeeLine
  • 1994 – 03 Summer BeeLine
  • 1994_02_Spring_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1994_01_Winter_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1993_04_Fall_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1993_02_03_Spring_Summer_Newsletter
  • 1993_01_Winter_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1992_04_Fall_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1992_03_Summer_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1992_03_Spring_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1992_01_Winter_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1991_04_Fall_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1991_03_Summer_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1991_02_Spring_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1991_01_Winter_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1990_04_Fall_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1990_03_Summer_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1990_02_Spring_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1990 01 Winter WCFS Newsletter – Not Published
  • 1989_04_Fall_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1989_03_Summer_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1989_02_Spring_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1989_01_Winter_WCFS_Newsletter
  • 1988_04_Fall WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1988_03_Summer_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1988_02_Spring_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1988_01_Winter_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1987_04_Fall_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1987_03_Summer_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1987_02_Spring WCTFA Newsletter
  • 1987_01_Winter_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1986_04_Fall_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1986_03_Summer_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1986_02_Spring_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1985  Sampler Newsletter WCTFA – Northern Spy, Plant Wizard of Puget Sound, New Rootstock, European Canker, Apple Maggot Quarantine
  • 1985  All About Fruit Show WCTFA Newsletter – Fruit Show Awards, Apple Maggots, Southmeadow Collection, Fruit Show Varieties – 275 Apples; 59 Pears; 93 Grapes; 10 Other, Wealthy Apple, Apple Nomenclature
  • 1985_04_Fall_WCTFA_Newsletter – Annual Fall Tour, All About Fruit Show, Plant Wizard of Puget Sound, Identifying Apples, Grimes Golden Bio
  • 1985_03_Summer_WCTFA_Newsletter – New Rootstock Surveyed, Apple Interstems, Pollination, Best Pie Apple, Northern Spy apple
  • 1985_02_Spring_WCTFA_Newsletter – Growing Jonagolds commercially, Summerland BC Trou, New Seattle & Piper Orchard Chapters, Peach Leaf Curl, Apple Maggot Concerns, Liberty Apple
  • 1984  Summer WCTFA Newsletter – Pest Inventory, WCTFA Goals Defined, Tours
  • 1984_Spring WCTFA Newsletter – New Fruit Varieties for Western Washingon, Resources for apple Problems, Double Grafting Made Easy, Fruit Storage
  • 1983  04 Fall WCTFA Newsletter – Orchard Tours, Piper Orchard, Apple ID Workshop, Spray Guides for Home Orchardists, Story of Growing Fruit for U-Pick Business
  • 1983 Summer WCTFA Newsletter – NOFC Chapter Formed, Peach Leaf Curl, Plastaic Mulch for Strwberries, Spraying, Table Grapes
  • 1983  02 Spring WCTFA Newsletter – Orchard Tours, Spacing for Dwarf Apple Trees, Classification of Cultivars by Vigor
  • 1982_WCTFA_Newsletter – Three Training Systems for Apples
  • 1981_WCTFA_Newsletter
  • 1980_WCTFA_Newsletter