ANETA, N.D. - Rhubarb isn't the first crop that comes to mind when people think of Upper Midwest agriculture. Even here in Aneta, wheat, corn, soybeans and some other prominent field crops are the agricultural stars that drive the economy of this northeast North Dakota farm town of about 220.
But Bill Miller, Janice Mills and other stalwart supporters of the Aneta Community Orchard, Gardens and Arboretum hope to develop more appreciation for rhubarb - as well as other fruits and berries, and healthy food options in general.
"It's here, and we want people to make use of it," said Miller, project manager.
Agweek visited Aneta during the community's annual rhubarb tasting, which featured more than 20 different foods containing rhubarb - everything from rhubarb cookies to rhubarb pizza. The tart-tasting and highly nutritious perennial plant most often is associated with rhubarb crisp or rhubarb pie, but, as the June 16 event demonstrated, it has many other potential uses, too.
Three different varieties of rhubarb are grown in the Aneta Community Orchard, Gardens and Arboretum. The 1.3-acre orchard offers more than 50 varieties of fruits and vegetables that guests can pick, sample and bring home when ripe.
The Arboretum, also open to the public, occupies another 1.5 acres. About 150 varieties of trees are planted on it.
The 2.8 acres - on city-owned land that had been in grass for many decades - is enclosed within an 8-foot-high fence that keeps out deer and rabbits. Birds and pocket gophers are troublesome, however.
The site offers generally good soil, though it's short of phosphorus, which is crucial for healthy plant growth. And it often suffered from excess moisture.
But the local elevator supplied phosphorus and an area tiling company installed tile drainage, alleviating those problems, Miller said.
Many individuals and organizations helped and continue to help with the project, he stressed.
Mills, a master gardener and Miller's sister, is one of the most active. Among other things, the self-described "good little weeder" has led seminars, including one on canning, designed to help Aneta-area residents make better use of the fruits and vegetables grown in the orchard and gardens.
People who don't live in Aneta are welcome to pick fruit and vegetables there, too.
"We really want to be a benefit to the community," Mills said.
Gardener haven
The project dates to 2012, when Aneta officials applied for and received a state grant intended to give residents better access to healthy food.
Planting of the sampling orchard began in 2013, said Miller, who works for a local farmer. Miller has a master's degree in horticulture and spent many years as a truck gardener and organic farmer.
The project also offers 20 40-by-20-foot vegetable plots to rent at $20 a year each. The plots provide good soil, access to free water nearby, protection from deer and rabbits, and the camaraderie of working near other gardeners, Miller said.
"It's fun to see people's personalities expressed in their different plots," he said.
But on this pleasant mid-June, attention was focused on rhubarb. The festival - part of Aneta's long-popular annual Turkey Barbeque and Summer Festival - drew an estimated 120 to 150 people, who sampled the many foods containing rhubarb prepared by local residents.
Anez Thompson, a 92-year Aneta resident, was one of the people sampling the food.
"This is such a nice day, and it's so good to come and see all these different kinds of food with rhubarb," she said. "There's a lot of them, that's for sure."
1/18: Janice Mills, among others, helped organize the Aneta Community Orchard rhubarb tasting event in Aneta, N.D. on Friday, June 16, 2017. Beyond traditional fare showcasing rhubarb, the event also offered dishes to sample such as spinach and rhubarb salad, rhubarb salsa, chocolate rhubarb cake and many more. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
2/18: Rhubarb wild rice pilaf was among the foods available to sample Friday, June 16, 2017 during the annual rhubarb festival in Aneta, N.D. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
3/18: Chocolate cake with rhubarb is one of many foods guests could sample at the annual rhubarb festival in Aneta, N.D. on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
4/18: Rhubarb brownies were some of the foods free to sample during the annual rhubarb festival in Aneta, N.D. on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
5/18: The Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens offers private plots for individuals to grow crops and plants in addition to public areas. Photo taken Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
6/18: Bill Miller is a master gardener who helped develop and continues to work at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens, which began as a grant designed to increase the access of local, fresh fruit to the Aneta community. Photo taken Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
7/18: On Friday, June 16, 2017, the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchards and Gardens hosted a rhubarb festival with many different foods to sample featuring rhubarb, including curry, salsa, spinach salad and rhubarb tart, among others. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
8/18: Master gardener and retired farmer Bill Miller walks past shrubs at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens during the annual rhubarb festival held Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
9/18: Master gardener and retired farmer Bill Miller (right) speaks with Agweek reporter Jonathan Knutson (left) and intern Lora Horner (center) during the annual rhubarb festival on Friday, June 16, 2017 at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
10/18: Bill Miller, a master gardener and retired farmer, sits on a bench at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens during the annual rhubarb festival on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
11/18: An Aronia Viking berry plant, also known as black chokecherry, grows in a plot at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
12/18: Besides plants and trees that are available for public enjoyment and consumption, the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens also offers private plots for guests to grow their own crops. Photo taken Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
13/18: Budding juneberry plants, flush in vivid fuchsia, grow in the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
14/18: On Friday, June 16, 2017, the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchards and Gardens hosted a rhubarb festival with many different foods to sample utilizing rhubarb, including curry, salsa, spinach salad and rhubarb tart, among others. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
15/18: Guests sample a variety of foods featuring rhubarb during the annual festival held at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchard and Gardens on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
16/18: Haskap berries, also known as honeyberries, grow amongst other like bushes at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchards and Gardens on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
17/18: A wide variety of plants and trees are grown at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchards and Gardens, including the Crandall Black Currant (pictured) plant. Photo taken Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
18/18: Haskap berries, also known as honeyberries, grow amongst other like bushes at the Aneta (N.D.) Community Orchards and Gardens on Friday, June 16, 2017. (Nick Nelson/Agweek)
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