Abundance Manchester

Who We Are

fruitlover — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:11:10 +0000

Abundance Manchester is a voluntary project which picks surplus or unwanted fruit from gardens and public trees around South Manchester and distributes it to local groups and communities. We also collect and distribute surplus vegetables from allotments and have our own Abundance allotment to grow food for groups who can make good use of it. We are also currently looking after Kenworthy Community Orchard in Chorlton. Below you will find the latest updates on the project.

To get in touch please email abundancemanchester@yahoo.co.uk

Feb 2012 Orchard Meeting date TBC

fruitlover — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:13:15 +0000

Abundance meets regularly to plan activities, discuss progress, and distribute tasks. This is usually a core group of about 7 people, and we are always keen to get a few more people involved. Next meeting will be late Feb, open to anyone who’d like to get more involved or just wants to find out more about what we’re doing at Kenworthy. Date will be up here soon. The meeting will be at the Work for Change offices in Hulme, M15 5RF, in the Yellowbricks (same building as Kim by the Sea). Facing Kims, head to your left to the end of that building and turn right around the corner onto Geoge Parr Road. The entrance to the offices is a red door on your right about halfway along the building. If no-one’s there to let you in, ring on 07967 227 981. We’ll probably have a drink round the corner afterwards at Kims.

All Welcome!

Kenworthy Orchard Project

fruitlover — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:50:41 +0000

We’ve just had an incredibly productive day clearing and replanting the raspberry beds plus planting 11 new trees! The pruning workshop on Feb 19th is now fully booked but watch this space for other upcoming events. See the Kenworthy Orchard page for more details.

Making Local Fruit Work

fruitlover — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:09:29 +0000

Making Local Fruit Work

28 January 2012, Todmorden

Abundance Manchester attended this fantastic event meeting and sharing ideas with loads of other like-minded projects involved in everything from co-operatively produced cider to Community Supported Orchards. We also had a look round some of the growing sites of Incredible Edible Todmorden. Inspiring stuff! Thanks to Making Local Food Work for running the event.

Picking over for 2011

fruitlover — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:18:47 +0000

We’ve had a great season with tonnes of apples and veg harvested and delivered to appreciative local projects. But now apple season is all but over we’ve called it a day on that side of our work. If you have surplus fruit you can always take it directly to a local hostel or community project – or even offer it to your local school. We’re now being kept busy with orchard maintenance activities at Kenworthy Community Orchard, see that page for more.

Veg Plot Update

fruitlover — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:18:36 +0000

In the Spring of 2011 we decided to turn the plot over to fruit production rather than veg growing, and to no longer run it as a community plot. It’s a sad decision but we have had serious problems with a colony of biting ants that have invaded the site, making it an unpleasant working environment. We have been unable to get rid of these despite trying various organic methods. For this reason we will slowly be turning the land over to lower maintenance perennial crops – mostly tree and bush fruit that requires little soil disturbance. We will manage the site as a small core group. Thank you to everyone that has participated in growing veg at the site, we hope you’ve enjoyed it and if anyone is interested in helping out with looking after the plot regularly that would be great – but we are no longer holding open plot sessions on Sundays. However the plot will continue to provide local, organically grown produce to people who can make good use of it.

Picking Sep 17th 2011

fruitlover — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:47:35 +0000

There truly was an abundance of fruit to be picked on Saturday with just 2 gardens containing a total of 8 fruit trees! Mostly apples, some cooker and some eaters although each garden had a pear tree as well. Some new faces joined some regular pickers and despite a slight drenching we had a great day. Thanks to everyone who came along. Join us next week, details will be emailed out on mailing list.

Abundant apples, grapes…and figs!

fruitlover — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:56:21 +0000

Yes…figs!!! Last Saturday Abundance Manchester picked two trailers of delicious and juicy eating apples, plus grapes and figs all from Didsbury! These will go to the Boaz Trust which helps destitute asylum seekers (see our Food Growing section), and The Roby (Longsight) which provides freshly cooked food to people with mental wellbeing needs.

Picking Sep 18th 2010

fruitlover — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 07:54:31 +0000

On Saturday 8 of us visited 4 houses in Didsbury & Withington to harvest a mixture of cooking and eating apple trees plus a couple of pears. They included the biggest pear tree in the world, well we don’t know what the record is but this one was definitely a contender. The rain mostly held off until we were safely tucked away enjoying a post-picking coffee & cake.

The fruit was taken to our veg plot, joined by veg kindly dropped off by local allotment sites, plus our own veg from the plot. We left large mixed boxes of fruit & veg for collection by HARP mental health project and The Boaz Trust (who look after destitute refugees), plus we took a bike-trailer full of apples to Cornerstone day centre and a boot-full to the Salvation Army hostel in town. A good weekend overall! Thanks to everyone who participated.

Pruning & harvesting during food growing workshops

fruitlover — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:19:10 +0000

Participants of Abundance Manchester’s food growing workshops have begun to teach others veg gardening skills! Here’s Rudo (left photo, on right) passing on her great tomato pruning tips!

In September a few of us harvested blackberries along the Fallowfield loop in Levenshulme – it was a perfectly sunny, autumnal morning. Elizabeth (left) and Jubreti (right) each managed to find a few handfuls!

The garden has been nurtured by people seeking asylum in the UK, some of whom regularly volunteer at the Abundance Manchester plot and help to grow food that is then distributed to those in need.

MCC’s Carbon Innovation Fund has enabled Abundance Manchester to run these much needed workshops.