Harvest Day

Every Tuesday we go a harvestin'.  

The amount of work it requires of one person to harvest enough vegetables for six to nine families is phenomenal, now add in a three year old.  He loves to help, so creativity, enthusiasm, and teamwork are our keys to success.  He has his own bucket, scissors, and areas of the garden.  Harvesting beans is like a long treasure hunt, so we both clear that row.  Chinese noodle beans dangle at just his level, so he does those on his own.  Last week he harvested over 100.  Cabbages are hard to cut through the steam, so I cut, he takes off the extra leaves.  Together we feed the goats the extra leaves.

Tomatoes are much like green-beans, they are fun to find, so I leave those for him.  Onions, he can't stand the smell, so they are all up to me.  If ladders are involved, you'll always find him at the top.  He loves to pick peaches, pears, and apples.  Blackberries are always fun too, we both take small beach buckets and see who can find the largest berry.  He's so sweet, he typically gives me his largest blackberry and tells me it's because he loves me.  Teamwork is used in hauling the vegetables and fruits back to the house.  In the above picture he came up with the idea of driving to the garden to harvest.  He claimed it would make it easier.  It's down hill to the garden, and uphill to the house with our full buckets.  Easier?

Cleaning veggies and fruits is quite the chore too cause the little crawling monster is involved.  Today he got one of our apples.  When he would go for a new one we would sneak the same one in front of him, so he only took bites off of one apple.  He did however smash the elderberries, at least they were in a bag on not on the floor.  The joys of farming with kids.