The Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association was founded in 1985. Our purpose is to share in the personal experience of successfully growing fruit in Alaska. Anyone interested in growing fruit in Alaska is welcome to join and share in the educational experience. Our goals include locating, testing, and preserving superior fruit varieties in Alaska.
We are continuously seeking to identify superior cultural methods, materials, propagation techniques, and also refine our fruit breeding and grafting procedures. Our primary interest is in tree fruits, such as apples, cherries, apricots, pears, juneberries, plums and pears, that are hardy in our USDA Zone 2, Zone 3, and Zone 4 climate.
Besides trees, we have a number of members who also grow and are willing to share information on their small fruits; such as, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries, and Kiwi vines. We are continuously evaluating fruit for hardiness and unique qualities. We promote group ordering of materials, and encourage sharing of information, and friendships. We also have members who share an interest in wine and cider making, and may even share some of the product of their hard work.
We have monthly meetings with a grafting workshop in the spring, orchard tours during the summer months, apple tasting and apple cider pressing in the fall, and winter meetings. We also have occasional quest speakers. Many of the original Pioneer Founders attend the meetings and are a valued treasure of information. A newsletter is published for the members approximately three times during the year and has many uniquely Alaskan subjects.
We encourage members to join the North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) a national organization, which publishes a the Journal called "The Pomona".