Betty Jo Haggerty and a group of friends collect 170 pounds of plums from the fruit trees behind the Eden Prairie Senior Center. Photo courtesy of Betty Jo Haggerty
Tucked behind the Eden Prairie Senior Center in Pioneer Park sits a grove of unassuming fruit trees that had gone largely unnoticed until recently.
The grove includes apricot, pear and apple trees, but the real stars are the plum trees.
Betty Jo Haggerty, an Eden Prairie resident, noticed the trees near her community garden and wanted to put the fruit to good use. She decided to donate it to PROP, the Eden Prairie-based food shelf.
“They don’t spray them or anything, but the plum trees produce a lot of plums that are really good. I’ve tasted a few,” Haggerty said. “There’s some apples and pears that, since they don’t get sprayed, are scabby and not so great.”
Sue Bohnsack, the Senior Center recreation supervisor, said discussions about planting the trees began in 2017, and by 2018 they were planted in Pioneer Park. The trees were donated to the city by Hennepin County with the intention that their fruit would go to PROP.
The Senior Center discussed planting fruit trees in 2017, and by 2018 they were planted. Photo by Rachel Hoppe
“We have just always chosen PROP because it is easy, accessible, and having access to volunteers and people to be able to bring them right here in Eden Prairie to our food shelf,” Bohnsack said.
Bohnsack said the Senior Center has collaborated with PROP on other initiatives, including Give Back Bingo, held every November, where participants bring nonperishable items to play.
Haggerty said the trees began producing a fair amount of fruit about three years ago, and last year she asked the city if she could pick some for PROP.
“No one seemed to have any objections,” Haggerty said.
She also checked with PROP to make sure there was a need. PROP welcomed the donations.
Haggerty then organized a group of friends to help collect the fruit. In all, four people joined her in the effort.
“Everybody who picked really had a lot of fun doing it,” Haggerty said. “… They’d love to come back and, you know, bring grandchildren to help pick.”
Picking the fruit was easy because the trees are not very tall, Haggerty said. The group gathered plums mostly from the ground or a small step stool, though one woman climbed a ladder to reach the higher fruit.
“We pretty much picked those trees clean,” Haggerty said.
The plum trees started growing fruit about three years ago. Photo courtesy of Betty Jo Haggerty
Because the apple trees are lower quality, Haggerty said she does not plan to pick from them for now. The pears grow higher on the trees and are harder to reach, so she does not plan to pick those either.
Erika Commers, a city forestry specialist, said that of the four kinds of fruit trees in the park, the plums have produced the most – and the best quality – fruit.
“Apples are always a real challenge if you don’t spray them, because they do get a lot of insects. But we did get some decent apples,” Commers said. “The pears didn’t really produce so much this year, neither did the apricots, so they might take a couple more years to get to that stage.”
Commers said the group picked 170 pounds of plums from the 20 trees in the grove.
Holly Link, PROP’s marketing and communications coordinator, said the food shelf accepts fresh produce donations.
“PROP gladly accepts donations of fresh, washed and bagged garden produce during our regular business hours that can be found on our website www.propfood.org/donate,” Link said in an email to EPLN.