Fresh from the field

Fresh from the field

With such a warm spring and fruit ripening a whole 3 weeks earlier than usual, this July the Fruit Tree Project entered its 18th year of harvesting fruit that would otherwise go unpicked in the greater Victoria area. This kick-started another season whereby between 30,000 and 40,000 lbs of fruit will be shared 4 ways: among homeowners, volunteers, food banks and community agencies and back to the project itself!

As with every season, there are always some new and exciting challenges, initiatives and experiments. So firstly the Fruit Tree Project would like to remind fruit tree owners to water your trees during this remarkably dry summer or else fruit will likely drop prematurely. And in other news, we’d also like to let you know that the Fruit Tree Project will be branching out this season and exploring a new collaboration with the Mustard Seed! We’re heading out to local farms to glean unsaleable produce for redistribution–helping to increase access to healthy, local, fresh produce to food insecure communities and individuals in the CRD. Interested in volunteering? Sign up through the Fruit Tree Project volunteer registration to see opportunities to participate, or send a note to Jesse at vicseedlibrary@lifecyclesproject.ca. You’ll be thanked for your gift of time with farm fresh produce as well! Lastly, volunteers with the Fruit Tree Project can look forward to a series of canning workshops to be held in the fall to make the most of this year’s harvest!

This month the Fruit Tree Project has also been profiled in the Times Colonist, All Points West, and the Goldstream Gazette!

Thanks in advance for all the love and support the Fruit Tree Project is sure to see this season!

To volunteer or sign up a tree, please visit here.

Apples

Piles of transparent apples! Photos by Hugo Wong

Cassandra

Fruit Tree volunteer Cassandra Babiy picking apples.

Plums

Harvest Leader Jean-Francois Souvard & plums.