One day, as our neighborhood farmer parked in my driveway as he tried to adjust his irrigation equipment timers, I had a chance to shoot the breeze with him for a little bit. He had recently just purchased the fields our yard sits in and had been working very hard and digging new drainage ditches and get his equipment working properly without covering the road, endangering drivers or drowning our own home. ( The day I talked to him, it hit our home and covered our whole yard in a hurricane force which thankfully he corrected in a hurry and came running to apologize!)
The great thing about this is I discovered he planned on planting cucumbers in this particular field and so I asked if he would mind at harvest time, after his harvest machines went through, if I could glean what is left in the fields. He happily told me if I waited for the harvest machines to go through, I was more than welcome to glean his fields.
You see, a harvest machine while it does pick up a lot, also leaves TONS of product still in the fields that usually will just go to rot and waste. If you glean right after the harvest machines though, you can still get tons of edible veggies.
The cucumbers are now up and I am excitedly waiting for harvest time and plan on looking up as many pickling and relish and whatever else recipes I can preserve and can what I will be gleaning. The field is a good 80 acre plot so it should be plenty of cucumbers for us!
I love it when food becomes free just for the asking and most farmers are more than willing to allow this if only you simply ask and of course wait until their machines have gone through.
Delightful!
The great thing about this is I discovered he planned on planting cucumbers in this particular field and so I asked if he would mind at harvest time, after his harvest machines went through, if I could glean what is left in the fields. He happily told me if I waited for the harvest machines to go through, I was more than welcome to glean his fields.
You see, a harvest machine while it does pick up a lot, also leaves TONS of product still in the fields that usually will just go to rot and waste. If you glean right after the harvest machines though, you can still get tons of edible veggies.
The cucumbers are now up and I am excitedly waiting for harvest time and plan on looking up as many pickling and relish and whatever else recipes I can preserve and can what I will be gleaning. The field is a good 80 acre plot so it should be plenty of cucumbers for us!
I love it when food becomes free just for the asking and most farmers are more than willing to allow this if only you simply ask and of course wait until their machines have gone through.
Delightful!
We used to glean in Idaho :) ask around I bet you could get more then cucmbers! :D
ReplyDeleteperhaps, many of the farmers around here are a little territorial so not too sure on that but I am sure with some looking around I may find others
DeleteThis brings back memories of the time when, as newlyweds, we were flooded out of our apartment and moved into a tiny former one room school house that was converted into living quarters. It was situated at the edge of town, surrounded by corn fields. After the corn pickers had made their rounds, families would come and fill bag after bag of the corn left behind. These families existed because they sold these "leftovers" and I remember the children being thrilled at the prospect of buying new shoes.
ReplyDeleteCucumbers might not have the same commercial value but they would make LOTS of pickle relish and other home made goodies.
You have to be clever in order to be frugal. And not afraid of hard work!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Carrie.
Hugs
Mother Connie
Hard work? Hmmmmmmmm we always called it character building! LOL.
DeleteYeah selling some of the leftovers is always an option! What lovely memories you talk about Mother Connie!
My CSA farmer emails us when it's time to glean any tomatoes, if interested. I canned 30 pints and 30 qts last year, at least 1/2 was from gleaning, if not more. Free, organic, heirloom tomatoes raised right here in town. Can't get any better than that! Yes, I agree with Connie-make relishes-great Xmas gift idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping in again CTMOM, yeah I love homemade relishes and already planned on doing some of that along with a variety of pickles.
DeleteThat is awesome your CSA farmer emails you!
What a great bonus for you this year!! I make up lots of extra bread and butter pickles to give as gifts, they seem to be a favorite of eveyone. I also dehydrate cucumbers to put in soups over the winter
ReplyDeleteMy son wants me to try to make a mexican spicy dill pickle as we could get them in North Carolina but not here where we are in Michigan.
DeleteBut yeah bread and butter pickles are awesome too!
Maybe I will have enough to open a pickle and relish shop? HAHAHA
That's great! Good on you for asking.
ReplyDelete