This was my second year volunteering for Urban Harvest's annual Fruit Tree Sale. I think this was the 15th year of the sale? Last year I helped with the pre-sale lot plotting but didn't get to see the trees arrive or attend the sale. This year I really got to experience the whole thing.
First of all, the week before the sale, I helped run the registration table at one of the pre-sale lectures Urban Harvest offered. Isn't that a genius idea? Before you decide from the long list of varieties available, you can go to a live lecture detailing each tree and its merits, and ask all your questions. So much of successful growing is getting the right tree in the right spot, and when you buy immature trees, you sometimes don't realize you got that part wrong until several years down the road! The more you know before purchasing and planting, the better!
On Friday I helped set up. We gathered at Rice University at 7 am, and prepped the site for the trailers and trucks which arrived not long after. Then, hours of unloading commenced. My legs still tremble and threaten to give way when I try to stand up and sit down, and I whisper to my sore muscles "3,500 fruit trees" and give them a minute to steady.
Before the trees arrive
Initially I was part of a fire brigade style line, passing trees from the back of the truck, down the line to their designated sections. Sometimes I was the squatter on the end, taking the tree from the last standing person and placing it on the ground.
The first trailer arrives
My friend in the punishing squatter position at the end of the line
When the semi was being unloaded, the guys from the nursery needed another person in the truck to help move the trees towards the door where the volunteers could grab them. I offered to climb in. When the nursery guy gave me a hand up into the truck, his lift propelled my whole body flying through the air like a bird. I should have realized then, that my muscle, impressive as it is, would be sore after keeping up with those guys!
Each trailer and the semi was stacked triple high
As we got further towards the back of the truck, more and more people were needed inside to pass the trees forward. We came up with a system that really was the most fun I had all day, and maybe for quite some time. We all took positions squatting or on hands and knees. The person at the back slid the tree forward with a mighty shove, and the next person caught it and shoved it on, and so forth till it reached the door of the truck. The best part is when we were flinging trees one after the other, and they were whizzing by at great speeds, like some kind of botanic shuffleboard gone wild. Eventually two would collide, or one would fall, and the system would break down, but it sure beat walking back and forth carrying heavy trees from the front of a semi trailer to the door!
We did it!
After the trees were unloaded, the volunteer area was set up, as well as the check-out tents and tables for the cashiers, fences were built and check-out lines constructed, and pre-orders for volunteers tagged and pulled. I left with my van full of five rather large trees with just enough time to unload them at home and turn right around to get the kids from school. I had a mulberry branch poking me in the head each time I tried to check my blind spot.
After all that heavy lifting, I went home and planted the trees I had bought before I took a bubble bath, and fell asleep on the couch by 8 pm, while my husband and kids watched a movie.
Saturday we were back on site by 8 am, prepping for the line of customers that ran down two sides of the Greenbriar lot. Together with two experienced sellers and an enthusiastic student helper, I positioned myself at my post - Grapefruits and Pummelos - how perfect since I had just recently been singing their praises.
Ready for the crowds
The gates opened, and the first customers poured in, their little red wagons rattling on the pavement. During the course of the day I noted a clear distinction between the early buyers and the later buyers. People who are at the head of the line have been waiting, some for hours, like band fans at a ticket sales line. They streak past with their map in hand, headed toward a specific tree that has filled their garden fantasies. They will have it, they must have it!
In the early rush, the only people who stop for grapefruit and pummelos, are those who came for grapefruit and pummelos: they load quickly and press on to their next destination.
Later in the sale come the meanderers. People stopping to read the signs, people with lots of questions, and inquiring about general garden advice. Some pull out rough sketches, showing you their ideas, asking for input. Families with young children riding in their wagons, or strollers and wagons together. These shoppers might have a list, but they are also piling other things onto their wagon, captivated by the alluring promise of delicious and exotic fruit.
We sold everything in our section, noting what went first and when. After the sale we cleaned the whole thing up, as the numbers were tallied.
At the sale I got to catch up with friends I've made along the way, through Urban Harvest. We talked about our gardens, whether or not we were buying trees this year, and what is happening in our lives. I also made several new friends, cheerful and dedicated people who give hours of their time every year to invest in Houston in this way. Not to wax lyrical, but the spirit and grit of these volunteers, giving long hours of physically hard work, was really encouraging.
Before the sale
My legs might still be wobbly, but I'll be back next year!