Gleaning Abundance Program
Sharing the Abundance
The Gleaning Abundance Program brings people together to help harvest our local abundance of fruit and vegetables and share it with the greater community. Produce that might have gone to waste becomes a welcome source of fresh food for many who might otherwise go without.
Our main focus is fruit trees, but we also glean farms and gardens. People with an overabundance of produce get their crops harvested, our volunteers get free fresh-picked produce, and local community groups receive fruit and vegetables for their clients and programs. This year we are connecting with 22 different organizations throughout our city!
Join us!
Have fun, meet new people and take home fresh produce! Join the Gleaning Abundance Program to receive email notifications about upcoming harvests and other food action opportunities. If you are unable to pick fruit, there are other ways for you to get involved and share in the harvest.
Register your tree or garden
We can help you share your abundance! Register your tree or garden to have a volunteer gleaning crew pick your produce and share it with the community.
Before we schedule a harvest we’ll call you to get some details about your garden or trees.
Be Bear Aware
It’s normal for a bear to travel though our community in certain instances, such as accessing natural food sources or relocating to areas once included in their natural home range. However, when bears begin to utilize human-provided food sources in a community, it creates the potential for human-bear conflict.
Caring for our Trees
While many trees are pruned for either aesthetic and/or maintenance purposes, fruit trees are pruned for optimal growth and production. If not well maintained, they can easily become a burden to homeowners, who sometimes opt for complete removal over remediation. To avoid the loss of these valuable community assets, we at the GAP have put together some resources to give people the confidence to tackle some of that maintenance on their own. The benefits to this care can be seen in increased crop production and resilience to ever changing weather patterns.
There are generally two times of year that you should prune your fruit trees. Structural or remedial work is done in late winter/early spring before the buds have opened and the sap starts running. This involves the removal of larger limbs to improve the overall shape and structure, and should be your first step when restoring trees that are damaged, overgrown, or neglected. During the summer months is when we refine the structure of the tree. This includes removing dead or vertical branches, and training lateral branches to encourage fruiting growth.
Pruning Info & Resources
Click below to find videos and resources on pruning your tree.
Basic Principles of Pruning
This article gives a great outline for the basic principles of pruning.
Pruning for Young Trees
Timing for Pruning
Created by the US centre of Agroecology, this video explains what kind of pruning can be done during the summer months and elaborates upon different types of seasonal care.
Online Pruning Course
Free Online Permaculture Course for Beginners
Tips for Selecting & Growing Fruit in Zones 3 & 4
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Top 10 Cold-Hardy Fruit Trees
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Video: Prune-Along Remediation of an Unmaintained Apple Tree
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Video: How 2 Overgrown Fruit Trees are Maintained Over 4 Years
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Video: How to Use a Soil Testing Kit
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Integrated Pest Management
Integrated pest management (IPM) is a system that was created in order to help reduce our reliance on noxious pesticides. Benefits include reduced pesticide use, lower costs and less exposure to harmful chemicals. By using cultural, mechanical, and biological control measures we are able to manage pests while creating healthier agricultural practices.
Five Main Components of IPM
Organic Pest Control Methods
DIY Organic Pest Spray for Fruit Trees
