Growing up in the Warren area one of the best memories of summer was when the Saskatoon Berries were ripe.  You could walk out into the bush and grab a juicy handful straight from the tree.  Our house was always full of Saskatoon goodies – crisps, pies, tarts, you name it.  A big bowl of Saskatoon crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is one of the most traditional Manitoba desserts you will find.  Only a few short years ago when you were driving around during berry season you would pass lots of berry pickers on the side of the roads. It was just the country thing to do, park on the side of the road and head into the bushes. The experienced pickers had the setup down pat – first you go steal a belt out of your husband’s closet, then you thread the belt through the handle of an ice cream pail, next you buckle it at just the perfect length around your waist, and voila the perfect hands free picking apparatus. Before all this you would usually need to pull on the long pants and long sleeve shirts. Then douse liberally with bug spray since those skitters were always hungry in that bush. Typically it would be in the middle of a heat wave. As you can imagine this was not really a fun time for most people. But in the end when the pail of berries was sitting in the fridge ready to eat, it was all worth it. And yes I speak from experience as I have donned the gear and picked a few pails in my day. Unfortunately many of these prime berry patches seem to be disappearing and fresh Saskatoons are getting harder to find. I am lucky to have an inside track on some fresh, local saskatoons and I thought I would share with all of you. Eastern Plains Saskatoons is a group of local growers who have recently started selling their berries in our area. Anyone that is interested in getting some fresh berries can preorder now. The exact date of availability is still yet to be determined as it is somewhat up to Mother Nature at this point. As of right now they are leaning towards availability sometime in the first few weeks of July. Once that date is confirmed anyone that has preordered  will receive a phone call or email to let you know when and where to pick up your berries.  And then after you have picked up your berries and created some tasty treats feel free to drop off samples at the office 😉 jk

If you would like to order you can contact me by email (rducky2@mts.net)

or Brent from Eastern Plains by email wolfeb@mts.net  phone 204-461-2623