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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 24, 2020 16:17:39 GMT
Could they go to U-pick, letting in only a few customers at a time to pick their own berries in a designated part of the plot? What part of the news did you miss about national "lockdown"? Local people probably grow their own strawberries, and even if they didn't, they would be able to pick at most maybe 2% of the production.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 24, 2020 16:31:12 GMT
Total mandatory lockdown?
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 24, 2020 16:35:32 GMT
Yes, not only the entire country but also French Polynesia, Mayotte, Guiana and every other French place.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 26, 2020 19:10:49 GMT
An appeal was sent out by the government for crop pickers. Although 200,000 are needed in the coming months, they were surprised and delighted that 40,000 people have volunteered. Hairdressers, sales clerks, construction workers, ticket takers, etc., appear to be ready and willing to go. I'm sure that a lot of them just want to get outside in fresh air in spite of the pitiful salaries. But it is a good thing, and not all of the strawberries will be lost.
They have not told us what health precautions are being taken for these people.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2020 0:58:35 GMT
That is really nifty! I guess some of those people must be regular crop pickers and will probably be able to train the others from six feet away. It must be better to go out and pick crops than to try to stay on some kind of boring exercise routine in your living room.
If the government sent out the appeal, can we assume they will also put some kind of health precautions in place?
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Post by mich64 on Mar 27, 2020 3:25:10 GMT
I remember when I was in high school friends getting jobs in southern Ontario picking crops. They were well paid summer jobs back then. Especially if you got a job picking tobacco. Groups would apply together and find cheap lodgings, work about 8-10 weeks. Many continued after high school and each summer made enough to pay for University. That is not the case now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2020 3:46:45 GMT
In Oklahoma and undoubtedly some other states going on wheat harvest was a rite of passage for young men. Part of the appeal was being able to operate monster farming machinery.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 27, 2020 5:39:10 GMT
I guess some of those people must be regular crop pickers The normal crop pickers are imported from Poland and Romania, so there will be almost none of them.
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Post by bjd on Mar 27, 2020 6:49:09 GMT
A common job for a couple of weeks in summer around Toulouse was working in corn fields, "castrating" the plants. Something to do with cutting the tops. Horrible job because it was always hot outside and the plants had little bits that scratched the skin so they had to dress with long sleeves. One of my kids did it but not for long. The job was high turnover and only lasted while the plants needed to be dealt with. And both my sons went to Denmark to pick strawberries. Just before the eastern European countries joined the EU and the farmers decided that Lithuanian or Estonian youth would work for less than kids from western Europe.
In southern France, students used to be hired to pick cherries and a friend of mine in Toulouse picked melons as a student.
These jobs were not necessarily well paid, but were among the rare summer jobs offered to students. The worst were those where you were at ground level, like strawberries and melons.
And until the 1980s, grape pickers in the south came from Spain for the season.
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Post by bjd on Mar 27, 2020 12:07:05 GMT
Thanks, Huckle. I guess "de-tasseling" corn is what the French call "castrating".
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 27, 2020 12:11:54 GMT
Thanks, Huckle. I guess "de-tasseling" corn is what the French call "castrating". De-tasseled sounds so much nicer...
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Post by mossie on Mar 27, 2020 13:53:22 GMT
If you had them both done at once that would be disastrous.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 27, 2020 14:51:06 GMT
There were also a lot of young people from Québec doing such farm work in south and southwestern Ontario, including a former beau (long ago) from Lac St-Jean in central-northern Québec. Obviously some crops ripened faster in those much-warmer Ontario regions. They young workers enjoyed it (conditions like mich described, and a good take for teens and very young adults. However, sometimes there was anti-francophone sentiment in such parts of rural SW Ontario.
Nowadays the workers come from much farther south. They were Mexican for a while (and some Mexicans stayed on and opened small businesses or took on management roles on large farms) but now most are from Central America, and some from the Caribbean.
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Post by mossie on Mar 27, 2020 15:34:02 GMT
Here the farmers are appealing for workers to replace the East Europeans who normally do the dirty work but who cannot come because of the dreaded lurgi. It seems that many of our youngsters who used to do these jobs in the distant past, have had the work ethic educated out of them, and are too precious to bend their backs and get their hands dirty.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 27, 2020 16:09:52 GMT
Here the farmers are appealing for workers to replace the East Europeans who normally do the dirty work but who cannot come because of the dreaded lurgi. Are you sure it isn't also because of Brexit?
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Post by mossie on Mar 27, 2020 16:22:00 GMT
Yes, that is also a factor, but hopefully it will keep out the Roma who are a real nuisance, which the Europeans have been craftily dumping on us, along with all their other undesirables, which is what has helped to give the EU such a bad odour. I was told earlier that, despite all cafes being ordered to close, that the ethnic cafes in the part of the town overrun by Roumanians, are still open. I guess the police dare not shut them down for fear of the race card being played.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 27, 2020 18:28:38 GMT
Well, I guess you'll just have to haul yourself out to the fields then to give a shining example to British youth.
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Post by mossie on Mar 27, 2020 19:49:11 GMT
Too late, I can't haul myself anywhere now. I did my stint of heavy farm labour in the 5 or 6 months immediately after leaving school, in the days when it was hard work and during harvest we worked 13 or 14 hour days. In those days Saturday morning was part of the normal working week for most workers and during the shooting season we had to work all day on Saturdays to act as beaters for the guns. At least we were able to share out any of the rabbits which had been shot, and I would happily ride home with 2 or 3 rabbits swinging from my handlebars. My mother was only too glad to skin and cook them, made a welcome addition to our diet.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 27, 2020 20:03:48 GMT
Good stuff Mossie. I love rabbit but not many others do.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 27, 2020 20:15:10 GMT
I had rabbit just before confinement.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 27, 2020 20:50:22 GMT
I didn’t even know you were pregnant...
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2020 22:48:45 GMT
Mick! I've always been disappointed in rabbit because I think I've only had the farmed kind, so it wasn't a taste thrill. I do love squirrel, though.
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Post by casimira on Jun 24, 2020 12:56:44 GMT
The figs on my tree are coming in fast and furiously. We regret not having pruned it back more than we did as it is enormous. I have put the word out to my friends and neighbors to please come and pick when they are at their peak in the next couple of weeks. I will make preserves and bake a few clafouti's for us and friends as well as making some ice cream. I my even have a go at making the Italian fig cookies, cuccidati, if I can find Bixa's recipe. There are likely many versions online I could play around with too.
Ah, I just looked and there are a gazillion recipes. I always love the one's that people post that are "just like my grandmother used to bake".
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 24, 2020 13:08:16 GMT
At one of my gardening jobs there are masses of gooseberries. I shall be picking some tomorrow.
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Post by casimira on Jun 24, 2020 13:31:53 GMT
OOHH!! I love gooseberries!! We don't have them here and I would venture to say that almost no one here has ever heard of them. We had them on our farm and not a one went to waste. The shrubs that produce them are really quite attractive too. I haven't had any for many, many years. Your mention of them brings back very fond memories Mick. Thank you.
I just read some interesting things about gooseberries. They have many health benefits, high in vitamin C, antioxidants, and used in the treatment of many maladies. They are also purported to slow the aging process.
There used to be Gooseberry growing contests in Cheshire, UK, in the mid 1800's and there were Gooseberry Clubs. Trophies were given to growers with the largest gooseberry (they were actually the size of a goose egg!) at contests that were held in the local pubs there. (Brits sure are funny with their pastimes).
I see that there are many different varieties/cultivars of gooseberries. The ones grown on the UK have thorns. I am sure that the ones I remember did not have thorns and were about the size of a blueberry.
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Post by casimira on Jun 24, 2020 14:55:45 GMT
Elderberries grow like weeds here. They volunteer all over the place. I allow for one or two of them that are located in desirable out of the way spots in the garden to mature. Aside from being a valuable wildlife source for birds (up to 60 plus species of birds dine on the berries, therefore, all the volunteers...) they have many, many uses. There has been a huge resurgence and popularity in their being valued as a source for all manner of uses. The flowers are also used for various recipes. (I made elderflower fritters a few years ago with elderberry syrup used on them). Aside from the jam I make some years, I make a elderberry flavored vinegar most every year to give to people as gifts. I have a recipe from one of our former posters, Lizzie, for elderflower champagne but I never did end up making it.
They also have a long list of health benefits, many of them similar to gooseberries.
As with the gooseberry, there is a cultivar that grows in the US that is different than the one grown in the UK.
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Post by casimira on Oct 13, 2020 15:45:47 GMT
The Farmer's Market today had an array of seasonal items that were very enticing. Citrus (Meyer lemons, satsumas) both of which are radically early this year. (my own Meyer lemons will be ready in the next week, way earlier than usual). Turnips, radishes, kale, mustard greens, potatoes (several varieties), scallions, leeks. Too early yet for spinach which I anxiously await. (I have some baby leaves of it coming up in my garden. As the weather gets cooler it will take off along with the arugula (roquette), and mustard. Fresh shrimp (prawns), it's an exceptionally good season this year and the price reflects it in being very cheap for the jumbos. Crabmeat, claw and lump, also very reasonably priced. In many ways, I much prefer the cool season vegetables and other cool season items over the Spring and summertime crops here. And, with that, much more pleasant cooking conditions. Gumbo weather!!!
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Post by casimira on Jan 21, 2021 13:52:58 GMT
Yesterday's Farmers Market had a bounty of produce available. Many cool season vegetables, radishes, turnips, Brussel sprouts, beets, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli among others. The most exciting offering was strawberries. The queue for these was very long and I was afraid that they would run out before it was my turn. I made it just in time but was only able to purchase one pint. Because it's early enough in the season there will be more and more available in the coming weeks.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jan 21, 2021 14:10:27 GMT
Sounds lovely. Coincidentally I’ve just ordered new strawberry plants.
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Post by casimira on Jan 21, 2021 14:24:12 GMT
Do you grow the Alpine strawberries Mick? They are my favorite. So much sweeter than the cultivated commercial varieties. At one point many years ago I had some that grew on our property. Over a period of time, they just stopped and I was very saddened by their disappearance.
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