December 4, 2018 – THE POWER OF PURPLE FRUITS
A very interesting article on CBC News regarding the power of anthocyanins to heal our bodies. Riverbend Orchards has an excellent selection of fruits with high anthocyanins including: saskatoon berry, honeyberry (haskap), tart cherry, chokeberry (aronia) and cherry plum. We need to work with local research groups to better characterize these prairie fruits and get the message out to local consumers that prairie fruit not only tastes good, but has the potential to fight disease.
October 31, 2018 – YOUNG PLANT INVENTORY FINISHED
We have finished our counts of 1 year-old rooted cuttings and 2 year-old containers of haskap. This year our available stock is mostly made of two outstanding cultivars from the University of Saskatchewan: ‘Aurora’ and ‘Boreal Blizzard’. These new selections represent the best haskap genetics available at the present time with refinements to fruit yield, fruit size and plant habit. Visit our Fruit Plant page to view pricing and download an order form for spring 2019.
September 6, 2017 – FRESH-PRESSED APPLE CIDER
Today we hauled 2500 lbs of surplus apples to Burwalde Juice in Winkler for pressing. The process of wringing juice out of apples is quick and efficient with a modern day apple press. We took home 180 2 litre bottles of organic, fresh-pressed apple cider. Thanks to the Marcus and his folks. We’ll be back!
July 31, 2017 – SOLAR POWER FOR RIVERBEND ORCHARDS
Construction began on our solar generating system today. We have an ideal site along the northern edge of the farm that provides shelter from the north and unobstructed sunlight to the south. Thank you to Shayne Hutchins and his team who came all the way from Barrie, Ontario to install this beauty. Jake Waldner from JAW Electric of Portage la Prairie handled all the hookup including trenching.
July 3, 2017 – A BIG BOOST TO OUR HASKAP PRODUCTION
Today was planting day for 2 acres of haskap plants at Riverbend Orchards. We used ‘Aurora’ as the main cultivar with ‘Tundra’ as the pollinizer (3:1 ratio). The plants were 2 years old, growing in 1 gal containers. Thank you to Henry Dyck who was a huge help getting these plants in the ground.
