CANTON -- The time is coming soon to care for apples, plums and other orchard fruits, but pruning your trees properly can make a difference in bearing capacity for years to come.

The upcoming workshop "Hands-on Apple Tree Pruning & Orchard Fruits" will share techniques and tips for doing a good job on Saturday, March 11, from 1-3 p.m.

The Local Living Venture partners with David Rice of Sweetcore Farm to share these skills, in this hands-on Spring edition of their "Backyard Fruit School" series, at a local orchard. Participants will take these new skills home and be able to work on their own trees while the season is ripe.

David Rice of Sweetcore Farm near Canton will cover choosing and caring for pruning tools, as well as pruning lingo and ways to improve orchard quality and fruit health. He will focus on a "central leader style" and will also briefly cover special care for pruning neglected trees and training your apple trees.

This hardy workshop may involve some "hands on" activity and will also touch on berries, plums and other orchard fruits.

Other editions of the Backyard Fruit School include "Establishing Seedlings" in mid April, an "Open House for Trouble Shooting Common Concerns" in August and "Establishing Your Plantings" in the Fall. Some are hands-on and other instructional. A buying co-op is also an opportunity that the public can participate in.

Presenter David Rice has a degree in horticulture with a focus on fruit science and has been farming for 30 years. He has 20 years of hands-on experience with tree and small fruits and has worked on orchards ranging from very small operations to upwards of 100 acres.

He has pruned orchards and hosted workshops and demonstrations in Stratford, New Hampshire in the past, and this is his seventh season presenting the pruning workshop with the Local Living Venture.

Attendance is limited and weather-dependent so you must RSVP at 315-347-4223 or LocalLivingVenture@gmail.com.

Please note the names in your party plus email and phone numbers. A confirmation will be emailed to you noting the exact location.

A suggested donation of $22 general public is requested, $40 couple/family rate for two people, $10 student rate, to benefit Local Living Venture workshop creation.

More than a light drizzle of rain or snow will postpone the workshop.