Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees/And the flowers and the trees – Herb Newman Howdy Fruit Lovers, It's that time of year again, when the heady pollen-infused winds and buzzing honeybees compel us humans to wax romantic. We can't help but want to hold hands and go for an evening stroll, or pen a few lines of bathetic verse for the object of our desire. Here at Neighborhood Fruit, we intend that this issue of The Grapevine helps you make the most of your spring time. We are pleased to announce that the Neighborhood Fruit website has been completely redesigned; you can now create a login for yourself and pretty soon you will be able to register your trees! We are progressing toward our goal of having the Beta version of the site fully functional before the summer. We are very excited about these developments and hope you continue to support us and refer your friends to us. People have been asking us whether the service will be available in their area this year. Our current plan is to Beta in 2009 in the 10 counties of the San Francisco Bay Area, but if you can make a compelling argument for your city, we'll think about it. On the subject of the birds and the bees, we are pleased to announce a partnership with the San Francisco Beekeeper's Association. Karen Peteros, SFBA President has helped us write an article for us about those hardworking garden helpers. In the kitchen, we've whipped up some nectarous treats to tempt any paramour. In anticipation of the abundant harvests coming soon, we offer plans for a vintage fruit box. The fruit label, the Pineapple Pirate, is sure to make you smile, matey! May the fruit be with you, Kaytea and Oriana Neighborhood Fruit Web Site

Yar Matey! I'm the Pinapple Pirate! Every month we present a fruit label for you to enjoy, featuring a monster that eats seasonal fruit. These labels can be printed out and affixed to a box of fruit you want to share, or downloaded for a desktop background! Each month, we will introduce different artists to you through this label. If you would like to contribute, please request design guidelines. Yar, matey! I'm here to pilfer yer pineapples and gaffle yer guavas! Download the label now.

Keep the Bees Bumbling! Neighborhood Fruit is pleased to announce our new partners: San Francisco Beekeepers Association. Karen Peteros, SFBA president, was kind enough to assist us with this month's gardening tips: Something that has been causing us great concern over the last few years is Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has been plaguing honey bee populations. The good news is, at least from our conversations with beekeepers in the Bay Area, is that CCD has not been a problem for urban honey bees who seem to be doing ok where they are allowed to live in the absence of major threats of fungicides, insecticides and other chemical inputs. We need to continue to help all of our bees thrive - native bees and honey bees - so they can keep our ecosystem humming. While honey bees are generalists, native bees tend to be specialists who rely on "native" flowering plants and shrubs. Flowering weeds, even dandelions and wild mustard, can help our pollinators by providing diverse sources of pollen and nectar. Consider planting natives, and even letting weeds flower and pulling them only after the flowers wilt but before full seed-set or seed dispersal. If you have the space, you also might consider contacting a local beekeeper organization to see if they have members who need space for their hives. If conditions are right for the honey bees, you can have the enjoyment of helping the bees and share the honey they produce without the cost, time and responsibility of actually tending to the colony. The SF Beekeepers Association is interested in linking up people in San Francisco willing to host a hive in their back yard or roof top with members who need a location for hives. Regional and international beekeeping groups can be found here. Beekeeping groups may also be willing to offer short-term "nucleus" hives to help you pollinate your fruit trees. For the truly ambitious, maybe 2009 is the year you decide to take up beekeeping? Joining your local beekeeping club is a great way to learn, connect with other like-minded and interested folks and understand the "do’s and don’ts" of beekeeping in your region. The friendly folks at Bee Guardian have plenty of information for people who are interested in sheltering and protecting bees and becoming non-commercial beekeepers. If you would like to share gardening advice with the community, please visit the Notes from the Yard Forum. Notes from the Yard Forum

Notes from the Kitchen: Desserts for Spring Passion! The month we're focusing on dulcet detectibles to tempt your palate featuring seasonal fruit. Vegan-Diabetic-Whatever Chocolate Mousse We got this recipe from Jim of the Darkroom Theater, who loves him some stevia-powered desserts. Ingredients 2 large soft avocados (approx 1-2 pounds of avocado) 1/2 cup hot black coffee 2 tablespoon cacao powder (preferably pure, fancy stuff) 1 dash agave nectar stevia to taste Directions Peel and pit the avocados. Dump avocados, coffee, cacao powder and agave nectar into a bowl and mix till smooth (use a hand mixer). Add the stevia slowly to taste. Put in pretty serving bowls and chill. Really, it's that simple. Candied Citrus Peel For some romantic sweets on the go, go with candied citrus peel. We got our recipe from Kelleigh "Love on the Run" Trowbridge, former Delfina, Zuni and Le Colonial pastry chef and owner of the Ebbtide Café. Ingredients 6 lemons or 2 grapefruits or 3-4 oranges (use ONE of the three!) 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus some for tossing 1 1/2 cups water 2 tablespoon corn syrup (optional) Directions Cut fruit into quarters; peel the rind (peel!) off. Cut peel into desired shape; make all the pieces the same so they cook the same. Put peel piece into a saucepan, cover with water, bring to boil and drain. Repeat step #2 two more times. After the third boil, leave peel in the strainer. Put 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of water into the saucepan and 2 tablespoons of corn syrup into the sauce pan. Bring saucepan to a simmer on medium heat, add peel. If you’re not using corn syrup, you will need to put the lid on the pan to simmer it for 6 minutes before continuing. Let it cook, uncovered, at a rolling simmer until it is done. For hard-ish candy, cook until the liquid is almost gone, and for chewy candy cook until only 3-5 spoonfuls of liquid is left. Put peels into strainer and let cool until you can touch it. Put peels into a bowl, add some sugar, and toss them together. Toss every 15 minutes until really cool and the candy is coated with sugar. For best results, spread the candy on racks to dry. For harder candy, cook it and dry it for longer, for soft and almost chewy candy, cook and dry it less. Store candy in airtight containers. If you store them in the fridge they will seem very hard- but only because they are cold! More recipes can be found in the Notes from the Kitchen Forum and don't forget to share your favorites! Notes from the Kitchen Forum

Notes from the Shop: Make a Vintage Fruit Box! Build your own vintage style fruit box from scrap wood. Intended for fairly novice builders, these instructions will guide you through a fun and easy project. Download the plans

Help us with a survey! If you haven't helped us out with a survey recently, we would love for you to take the time to do one now. The company name, branding and identity all were emerged from your feedback in the first round of surveys. Now, to successfully bring Neighborhood Fruit to the big top, we need your help again. Please take a moment to fill out our latest survey, which we will be using to develop the features of the site. Take survey now

Thanks for reading! If you would like to let us know what you think of The Grapevine, contact us. We love hearing from you. To reward you for reading this far, we'll send you a Neighborhood Fruit sticker if you email us your address!