Thanks to Karen Sturgeon a volunteer on our Advisory Board, we have some new Got Fruit and Thank You notes to share!
Check out the Flyers page of our website for things you can print that will help us find more fruit to share and to thank the homeowners that are sharing with us.
Here’s a sneek preview. For the full pdf documents that you can print click here.
Which is your favourite?
Now that we’ve sent out our first notice of rhubarb picks, here are a few reminders about picking rhubarb.
Before & After Picking
May.23,2012Here’s a look at the first batch of rhubarb shared with us for 2012. Weighing in at 4lbs 4oz, this pre-picked bundle was shared with us by home owners from the South Osborne area who have been donating their rhubarb since 2010.
I’ll be sharing this rhubarb, where I shared the very first batch back in 2010 – with the seniors of Fred Tipping Place. The rest I’ll prepare for the Dig In Manitoba Urban Fruit Harvesting workshop on June 6 at the Riverview Community Centre. Click here for workshop details and to register.
Last year we picked about 36 patches of rhubarb. This year, let’s see if we can capture more untapped rhubarb throughout the city and in Steinbach. Let no rhubarb be forgotten!
To that end, we have sent reminder notices to all of our registered rhubarb owners to see if they’d like to share with us again this year. I suspect we’ll see some requests come in as early as next week.
In the meantime, if you spot unharvested rhubarb why not knock on the door and see if the owner will allow you to pick a few stalks. Or, drop a Got Fruit? note in their mailbox to encourage them to sign up their rhubarb with Fruit Share.
We have volunteers ready and eager to pick the rhubarb growing in Winnipeg or Steinbach.
Please pass on the message that Fruit Share is looking for surplus rhubarb. Even if it’s just one plant, chances are we’ve got a volunteer down the street who’d welcome the opportunity to pick a small patch.
The other day, I was asked “What’s the magic ingredient of Fruit Share?” You may think that Fruit Share’s success is due to the fruit we harvest, but I`ve experienced that it`s about so much more than just fruit.
The magic of Fruit Share comes from the fact that everyone involved gets to experience the sense of satisfaction, connectedness and happiness that comes from sharing. It makes people feel good to share their surplus fruit, to help a neighbour, to harvest a tree, and to literally share the fruits of their labour. It just feels good to know you`re doing something that connects you to others and makes them happy.
And now, we have one more partner that is interested in sharing their gift with us. Brent Toderash and his team from Webriggers.net have offered to to help us create a more effective and efficient harvest scheduling system. This behind the scene work may seem boring or superfluous to some – but to those of us who volunteered our time to coordinate 200 volunteers to pick 7,300 lbs of fruit last year – it’s nothing short of a miracle! Thank you!
We`re excited to partner with private companies like Webriggers who support our efforts and share their talents to make our work easier – the magic of Fruit Share!
Today was a great day. Today, Fruit Share received a cheque from the Assiniboine Credit Union’s 2012 Community Grant Program!
The grant is in support of Fruit Share’s Community Education Program – our efforts to provide education on the identification, harvesting, sharing and use of prairie fruit.
We’re thrilled that they believe in us and our ability to contribute to environmental sustainability and community renewal.
Our Community Education Program will focus on these key activities:
May.9,2012Not sure whether your rhubarb is ready to be picked? No need to worry, Fruit Share is here to offer some helpful tips of when to harvest this tasty treat!
Rhubarb is perfect for our prairie gardens. This cool season perennial is winter hardy, drought tolerant and requires a cold dormant season to stimulate spring growth. It does not do well in extreme heat and will slow its growth considerably in the summer. It is typically the first fresh produce ready to harvest on the prairies, often starting as early as May or June. This year, has been an ideal, early spring for rhubarb and I’m sure we’ll be harvesting in just a couple of weeks.
PLEASE don’t wait for your rhubarb to turn “all red”. Colour is not an indication of ripeness when it comes to rhubarb – it is just an indication of variety. Just like there are green apples, red apples or green apples with a red blush or red apples with green stripes – there is red rhubarb, green rhubarb and combination rhubarb that has both green and red. You wouldn’t wait for a green apple with red blushes to turn “all red” – so don’t wait for your green/red rhubarb variety to turn all red. The most common rhubarb is the mottled green/red variety although at Fruit Share we’ve seen all colours.
The key to knowing when your rhubarb is ready to harvest is size. Stalks should be about 7-15 inches (20-40 cm) long when they are ready to harvest.
Be patient, but be ready. It won’t be long until we’re enjoying this tasty, fruity vegetable.
For more great rhubarb facts and tasty recipes search past blog posts here at FruitShare.ca or buy the Prairie Fruit Cookbook !
Have you seen this plant?
It’s rhubarb and it’s growing all over the province in lanes, backyards and abandoned farm sites. It’s hardy, it’s tart and it makes awesome pies, crisps, coffee cakes and jam. And, it’s almost ready to harvest!
If you see a patch of this plant that isn’t being harvested, why not knock on the door and see if the owner will allow you to pick a few stalks. Or, drop a Got Fruit? note in their mailbox to encourage them to sign up their rhubarb for Fruit Share.
We have volunteers ready and eager to pick the rhubarb growing in and around our city.
Please pass on the message that Fruit Share is looking for surplus rhubarb.
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