U-PICK IS THE BETTER PICK

 

U-Pick farms and orchards offer a unique experience that’s somewhere between farmers’ markets and supermarkets. Farmers markets offer the opportunity to get fresher produce than you would in a supermarket and you have the opportunity to interact with the growers without putting in any extra work. With U-pick farms, it takes a little more time and effort but is well worth the while.

I don’t ever remember when we were growing up that Mom ever bought any produce in stores that could be picked fresh. If it wasn’t grown in our garden, then we found farms where we could pick our own cherries, raspberries, blueberries and peaches.

 

WHY CHOOSE U-PICK

 

Freshness is probably the biggest reason that U-pick farms outshines supermarkets. When you pick a piece of fruit off the vine, it doesn’t get any fresher than that. Even store produce from local growers has some lag time getting from the farm to the market. Some produce that is picked at the peak of perfection has a very small window before it starts to go bad. To counteract this, much of the supermarket offerings are sprayed to slow down the ripening process, thus adding more chemicals.

Another reason is price. The more people who are involved in the process, the more people that need to make money on it. Many U-picks also offer already picked fruits and veggies for a slightly higher price than doing it yourself. Even so, these deals still usually turn out to be a bargain.

 

 LEARNING EXPERIENCE 

Many U-picks offer a little something for everyone, whether it be petting zoos on the side, produce other than what they raise, like local honey and recipes and tips on how to best use their produce.

Both young and old can learn so much. It still amazes me how many folks have no idea where their produce is raised or how it is grown. We country folks take this for granted but for those that have always walked the produce aisles, they only see the end product and not if the fruit or vegetable is grown below ground, on a vine or on plants above ground.

This is especially good for kids. It’s never too early for them to learn where their food comes from and how much work it takes to get it from farm to table. Many farms will have charts and pictures that depict the whole planting, cultivating and fertilizing cycle to get the produce to the final stage.

 

 

 

TIPS FOR THE BEST EXPERIENCE

 

Always remember that you are a guest on someone’s personal property. Be mindful and respectful where you walk so you don’t step on fruit or plants, keep away from irrigation equipment and other machinery and don’t expect bathroom facilities or drinks to be provided, although some places do.

Keep in mind that supermarket produce has been graded and only the prime specimens make it to the shelves. In the field, there are imperfections because that’s how food grows. Don’t be fooled by the biggest because it is not always the best.

There are many different varieties of fruits and vegetables and farmers will usually plant different ones. Some have different maturity dates which extend the season. Flavors and textures are also different. When picking strawberries, the larger ones stand out and begged to be picked. However, the smaller variety that I picked was packed with a lot more flavor and were red colored all the way through as opposed to the white centers of the larger ones.

No matter what I am picking, inevitably I always hear someone in the patch say, “I can’t find any” even though my bucket is nearly full. It’s knowing where to look. I have gone down the same row of strawberries or picked on the same bush of blueberries where someone else just left. Many will go down the outside and pick the fruit that stands out without looking in the center of the row or bush or what lies down underneath. Sometimes, that is where the biggest, juiciest ones can be found.

Also, learn to know the colors. Yes, strawberries are red, but red isn’t just red. A pale red color indicates that the berry isn’t quite ripe and the flavor won’t be as profound. A deep red hue will certainly produce a sweet berry at the peak of perfection, but a deep rose, almost purple color just says that the berry is past its prime.

This can work to your advantage, especially when picking sweet corn or green beans. Some folks like these when they are young and tender while others prefer them a little later in the season when the flavor is more robust.

Yes, you may see a worm or a bug.  After all, this produce is in the midst of nature. Actually, I like to see an insect or two when I am picking. This means that the produce hasn’t been doused with a lot of insecticides and other chemicals, which is better for us. I know of one customer who had picked quite a few strawberries and, after she had cleaned them all, she found one worm. She returned the entire lot to the farm and asked for her money back.

Don’t you think that store produce has been subjected to a worm or two over time…or even something worse! There have been cases of salmonella and e-coli reported from large producers who used the same water, which was contaminated, repeatedly to wash their produce. I’ll take one worm over that anytime!

 

YOU GET WHAT YOU GET  

It all boils down to you get what you get. Those beautiful apples on supermarket shelves look that way because they have been sprayed with a wax to make them look more attractive. Never mind that the wax seals the pesticides on the surface, making them harder to remove. Those bright oranges are that color because they have been sprayed to look attractive.

There is also a feeling of satisfaction from picking your own produce. I will choose the natural colors in the natural habitat anytime. I think most would agree that it is just better all the way around.

 

 

 

SCOURGE OF THE GARDEN

 

It seems lately that everywhere you go, everyone and everything is in a hurry this year. This includes the seasons and what they bring. The scourge of the garden, Japanese beetles, usually show up around July 4 but this year they are here a couple weeks early. What’s up with that!

No pests are welcome but Japanese beetles may just be the worst of all. In no time at all, they can devour all the leafy greens of plants, leaving only the veins. They don’t eat the fruits of the plant, so technically they don’t destroy the crop. However, without green leaves, plants have no way to make chlorophyll for food.

I try to be ready for them each year because when you first see one or two, you know they will be here in droves in no time at all.

They are named Japanese beetles because they were virtually unheard of in the United States until 1916 when they were accidentally introduced here from Japan. Since then, Japanese beetles have spread throughout most states east of the Mississippi River. However, partial infestations also occur west of the Mississippi River in states such as Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Oklahoma. They have now completely colonized 20 states and partially colonized 15 others. Ironically, with all the diversified crops Florida raises, they are not there…yet.

They have spread in the United States because of favorable climate, availability of widespread host plants and lack of natural enemies. Our country provided the perfect storm for them to establish themselves. They feed on more than 300 species of plants.

The adults feed on the flowers and fruits of plants while the larvae, white grubs, feed on the roots of grasses, destroying the turf in lawns, parks and golf courses. They are the most widespread and destructive pests of turf, landscapes and ornamental plants in the United States, costing $450,000 in management.

Japanese beetles usually complete their life cycle in one year. Females will lay an average of three eggs by burrowing three or four inches into the soil. Then she will re-mate more than 16 times in a season, depositing a total of 40 to 60 eggs which hatch within 10 to 14 days.

After hatching, the larvae spend about 10 months of the year in the ground. In early spring, the grubs return to the turf and continue to feed on roots until late spring, when they change into pupae. In about 2 weeks, the pupae become adult beetles and emerge from the ground.

Adult beetles, which live between 30 to 45 days, have a broad, oval shape which is about one-third to a half inch long and one quarter inch wide. They are metallic green with coppery brown wing covers and are somewhat attractive (this depends on your point of view, nothing that eats my plants do I find attractive!).

 

CONTROLLING THE NASTY PESTS

 

Once they arrive in an area, they are usually never totally eradicated. Rather, the name of the game is control when they are in both the larvae and adult stages. There are various methods of doing this, depending on your particular circumstance.

 

*When you notice the first ones, they can be hand picked off plants and put in a bucket of soapy water. If there are quite a few, plants can be shaken and let them fall into their bucket of death. This should be done on cool mornings when they are less active.

*Japanese beetle traps. This one is a two-edged sword. The traps have scents in them to attract the beetles, which they cannot get out once they enter the trap. This reduces small or isolated populations. Be careful where you place the trap though because, if placed too near the host plant, it works in reverse and attracts more beetles to the plant.

*Cultural control. Soil moisture is essential for egg survival. In dry summers females seek irrigated soil and low-lying areas to lay their eggs. Withholding irrigation disrupts their life cycle and reduces the population. This, too, is contradictory since you may reduce their population by not irrigating but you also deprive your crops of water.

Just this year, I had buckets of water setting near my plants to warm before I watered and I noticed that many adult beetles were trapped in it and yet they were not on my plants. So, water is a natural deterrant.

*Biological control. Two species of wasps have been proven to successfully be biocontrol agents against grubs. Moles, skunks and racoons also prey on grubs. Beneficial nematodes can be released with will help control the grub populations. Nematodes are elongated, cylindrical worms used in organic farming to destroy pests.

*Chemical control. This is where most people are at. There are different agents that work well and different ones work better in different areas. The USDA has a handbook on how best to control them with information for different areas. Folks can also check with their local county Cooperative Extension Service office.

One of the most popular products to control the beetles is Sevin brand insecticide, either in powder or liquid form.

For organic gardeners like myself, Neem oil works well when they are in the larval stage. It is a naturally occurring pesticide found in the seeds from the neem tree. Personally, I like any product with spinosad in it. It is a natural substance made by a soil bacterium that can be toxic to insects. It is an organic pesticide that is an all-natural choice that can be used on edible crops.

*Other natural deterrents include garlic, rue and tansy as well as planting geraniums near plants as they don’t like them either. They are also repelled by the smell of peppermint and wintergreen oils.

 

OTHER BEETLE TIDBITS

*Whatever you do, don’t squash them since doing this releases pheromones which only attract more beetles.

*The best time to spray for them is early morning or evening when they are less active. This is also a good time because the sprays will not harm bees so much as when they are also more active.

*If using insecticidal soap, remember that it has no residual effect, so you need to spray it directly on the beetles themselves.

*Beetles like to feed in the sun during the day and they pull a 9 to 5 shift since they go back to their nests during the night. These nests are a few inches underground.

*They are good fliers. They travel several miles from where they first emerge to feed and mate.

*When plants are damaged, they release certain chemical compounds which attract more beetles…kind of like their way of getting the word out. These compounds can carry in the wind for hundreds of yards.

*Working in the garden the other day, the beetles were landing all over me. Although they cannot bite, they may try to grasp using their mandibles and they have sharp spines on their legs that don’t feel comfortable either.

There is a reason for every season and I am sure there is a reason for Japanese beetles to be here, we just haven’t discovered it yet. Wouldn’t it be great if they could be used to cure some disease or be found to be beneficial in some other way? They certainly would never be in short supply!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FARM ELVES

 

I believe in elves. After all, we all know that Santa’s elves make all the Christmas toys throughout the year and then there is the Elf on the Shelf, the mischievous little guy who appears every holiday season.

Having been around farms all my life, I definitely believe in farm elves. They, too, are mostly seasonal and appear mostly during planting and harvest seasons. What other explanations could there be for all the little things that happen to make a farmer’s life just a little easier during the hectic spring and fall times?

 

FOOD AND DRINK.

 

Farmers are indeed a rare breed. They have wants and needs just like the rest of us but during planting and harvest those needs take a back seat to either getting the crop in or out of the field. Meals are no exception. As a matter of fact, there is no such thing as “regular” meals during this time. The single most important thing is the crop.

 

However, ready-made sandwiches regularly show up in coolers which magically show up in whatever tractor is being used that day. Extra sandwiches and snacks show up in the refrigerator in the barn.

Sometimes lunch shows up at just the right time, like when they are moving from one field to the next or waiting to get the planter filled or a wagon dumped.

Mysteriously, drinks appear regularly too. Steaming hot coffee starts out the cool mornings. On hot, sweltering days, ice cold water is always at hand and bottles of Gatorade show up as the day wears on. Then, at just the right time, the beer elves show up with the cold brew.

Somehow, these elves make their way to the house and have something hot waiting at the end of a very long day when the farmer finally calls it and drags himself into the house. Usually, farmers have no recollection of what they ate at the end of each day, they just know that it was something substantial before they shower and fall into bed, only to repeat the same process the next day.

 

ELVES TAKE CARE OF THE MUNDANE. Farmers’ main focus is either to get the seed in the ground or get the crop out of the field and into the bin or loaded out on the semi. Both of these tasks are pretty much on a hurry up and wait schedule. When the weather is right, it is time to get it done. The elves are there to make this process go as smooth as possible.

 

For example, in the spring, when a farmer needs to refill the planter, bags of seed are opened and ready to be dumped in the seed boxes whenever he needs refilled. And, the elves are such smart little devils, there are usually just the right amount of bags waiting and ready to go…how do those they do that!

If the farmer is using bulk seed, the seed wagon shows up at just the right spot (hopefully) every time he needs to fill up. Believe me, this is no small feat, it takes ingenuity on the part of the elf to read the farmer’s mind and to be where he is supposed to be when he is supposed to be there.

Just as important, what about all those empty seed bags. They magically get burned in the field, never to be dealt with again.

 

Elves make sure that any incidental supplies are at hand also. When the last of the graphite is used on a fill up, a couple of new bottles appear the next time around. Any tools not in the toolbox on the tractor magically appear when needed. Marker flags show up when the farmer switches from one type of seed to another.

 

In the fall during harvest, wagons and grain carts strategically show up right where and when the farmer needs to dump… well, most of the time…or at least some of the time it works like this! Although hard to imagine, farmers are sometimes known to change their mind or the whole game plan in the blink of an eye! Imagine that!

At the end of the day, which is usually edging toward midnight, incidental things used during the day are put away, barn doors are opened so machinery can be pulled in and lights are turned on.

 

MUNDANE CHORES STILL GET DONE. Usually, after a long day in the field, a farmer’s clothes can almost stand by themselves, held up with a good dousing of dust, grease, oil and who-knows what else. Again, magically, clean ones always appear the next morning.

The same goes for paperwork. Credit card companies, utility companies and even farm suppliers don’t seem to understand that farmers just don’t give these things a moment’s attention during planting and harvest. The companies just keep sending the bills anyway. I guess that they know that the little elves will take care of these things too.

The elves skip out occasionally, between tasks, to take of other little things around the farm. After all, even though it is secondary, the garden usually always needs to be planted the same time as crops. Somehow, this gets accomplished. The same goes for fall when the last of the garden produce is ready for harvest and preserving. Yep, in between hauling loads of grain from the field, the elves also button up the garden for winter.

Unless it is an unusual year, guys are still in the fields over Memorial Day, but the elves make sure that cemeteries get visited and loved ones’ graves don’t go unattended.

 

These elves truly are enchanting, only showing up when needed. Spring and fall, they are here for sure and off and on throughout the summer and are almost never seen during winter. The other magical part about them is that they and their deeds are hardly ever noticed. However, it’s when things aren’t going smoothly and things don’t get done that they are missed.

 

These little guys make farmers’ lives a lot less hectic and help their days to go a little smoother. In some ways, their tasks are just as important to getting the crop in and out as the guys that are in the field. By the way, these elves are sometimes known by other names such as farmers’ wives!