Free Veggies

Kathy in MD · #1 07/30/04, 12:42 PM

I have found a great source for free veggies or at least much cheaper veggies. I would be willing to pay a minimal fee to pick my own. The neighbor small-scale farmer has been using a bean picker this year. There are so many beans left on the vines that it is a sin to let them go to waste. I am thinking about asking to go thru and pick them since they will just get plowed under. The same thing with the broccoli, only one picking and they are left to rot. They never did pull the leeks or spring onions last year. It’s a father, mother and one son who work the farm. I know how hard they work, but I hate to see so much waste.

fin29 · #2 07/30/04, 12:44 PM

Were it me I would offer to split what I pick with them. They might not have enough time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Plus, they can always say no to your offer to share but yes to your request to pick. That way you come out looking squeaky clean either way.

heelpin · #3 07/30/04, 12:58 PM

Kathy, they would probably let you get all you want for nothing, this is what I did when I was truck farming but you will be amazing at the people who came by and said they heard we were giving away free vegetables but were disappointed when they found out they had to pick their own. I could have charged but if I was through with the patch, it was free. I stopped this later on due to liability issues.

tkrabec · #4 07/30/04, 02:05 PM

I think it's called gleaning. They did a report on it @ npr a while ago. Lots of food goes to waste that way. If it's not ripe or doesn't look good they don't pick it and it gets plowed. There are insurance issues with letting non-farm employees pick.

But if you can make a dela with a local farm

-- Tim

farmerlogan · #5 05/07/06, 04:26 PM

Looking to see if anyone has ever done any gleaning in Washington. We live on the "west" side -- not a lot of large farms around here...

Windy in Kansas · #6 05/07/06, 05:28 PM

If it were me and the farmer has a fair number of varieties, I would offer him $50 for all of the gleanings I wanted AFTER he has been through with his machines or left unharvested. This with the understanding that what I gathered would be only for my family, that I would not be selling any or giving it to others. Also bear in mind this would be if you have the time to can or freeze your yearly supply of produce.

susieM · #7 05/07/06, 09:33 PM

I get to do that here...greenbeans, brussels sprouts, kiwis, apples, peas...and hard corn, for the animals. Never go out for a walk or a drive, without bags or baskets.

Twogun · #8 05/08/06, 08:21 AM

If he is a "believer" he'd probably let you have them:

Leviticus 19:9,10

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God

http://www.amazingbible.org/